Why I've been MIA...

I know, I know...I said that I was back for good to blogging on a regular basis, but last week was complete insanity. I have a lot of events that I'll be attending this summer (4 weddings, 2 wedding showers, Taste of the Vineyard...) and of course I will want to look as cute as possible at all of these fabulous outings. Looking at all of the adorable dresses on Lilly, VV, JCrew, etc. got me to thinking that even though my taste is simple, it is VERY expensive. I made a stand and have decided to make all of my own dresses for this summer. So exciting!

I had my first wedding this past weekend and I was really happy with how my dress turned out. I used a white on white patterned fabric for the top and a blue coral print fabric for the skirt section. I had actually started to make another one, but made this one last week for the wedding instead. The difficult part was that although I have a sewing machine, it has decided to just stop working on me. AHHHH! Of course when I actually need it, it goes kaput on me. Sooooo long story short I sewed the entire dress by hand. Hence why I've been so busy! Here are some of my favorite photos from the wedding... (Oh, and did I mention that Kevin was the best man...so I had to look good!)

Can you tell we love to dance??? hahah

Now onto making the next dress!

New Fun Things

Hello, Hello,

Happy hump day all! The middle of the week is upon us, which means that the weekend is nearing in. Yay! This post is going to be pretty random, so bear with me lol. I have had some new fun things going on this week that I wanted to share...

1. New Workout:

Zumba! I had my first zumba class on Monday night and loved it! It is definitely an intense workout. I can't remember the last time I sweat so much during a workout haha. I would highly reccomend it anyone who is looking for something new a fun to try. It is all fun, current, and upbeat music so you really don't feel like your taking a workout class. It seriously just felt like one big dance party! And who doesn't love a good dp, right? I am feeling more and more sore as the week goes on so I know I worked it haha. I'm excited for next weeks class!

2. New Hardware:

I have the best boyfriend ever! Kevin surprised me with this little beauty yesterday morning before I left for work. He said it totally reminded him of me lol. I am loving the color!

3. New TV Show:

Has anyone else seen 'Taking the Stage' on mtv? I caught some clips of episodes here and there when it was on during the weekends and thought it was okay, but this week I started watching the full episodes online and got completely sucked in! I would have loved to go to a high school like SCPA when I was a teenager. These kids are really talented. I am totes jealous of Mia's voice. It's amazing! I do hope that she gets signed to some label, because I would definitely listen to her music.

5. New Music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB0GOs92o70

I've started to hear this song on the radio and a few other places and I absolutely love it. Erin McCarley seems like a really cool artist and I'm definitely interested to hear more from her in the future.

I hope you enjoy my new favorites!

xoxo M

Weekend Recap

Now that the warm weather has come, I feel like my weekends are jam packed and are over in a heartbeat. I wish my company would move to a 4-day work week. It would be so amazing to have three day weekends every week. Ugh, sadly though, it looks like that will not be happening. Onto the good stuff- this weekend was absolutely fabulous (although I wish I was able to get some more sleep!). Friday night we headed up to Maine for a party at a friends house. It was an 80s themed party and Kevin and I were dressed to impress. I have always been a huge fan of theme parties and always get decked out lol. Unfortunately though, I didn't take any pics this weekend :(. Saturday morning I was up early to surprise my oldest sister for her birthday. My other sister and I went over with my niece with mimosas, coffee, & muffins in tow. She loved the surprise. What better way to wake up on your birthday, right?! That night we did mother's day with my family along with my bestest M and her friend J. M & J live on the vineyard, so it was a special treat having them visit for the night. We went out for drinks in Portsmouth and met up with a bunch more people. Yesterday we headed to Kevin's parent's to celebrate mother's day with them. By the time we got home last night we both crashed!

Although I've been really tired all day, I am going to my first zumba class tonight! They are offering it weekly at the gym in my work building. I've heard that zumba is intense and that you can burn 700 calories a class! I was a dancer for 15 years, so I have a feeling I am going to love the salsa/hip-hop/aerobic dance mix. I'll give you all the full report tomorrow!

P.S. Run, don't walk, to your nearest Marshall's. All of the Lilly items have arrived and the prices are unbelievable!

Back from Hiatus

Hello Strangers!

I have not blogged in several months- I apologize. The winter was so blah that there really wasn't anything exciting to chat about! Now that the summer is revving up again though, the fun starts! I hope that I can become more frequent with my posts, because I love reading all of yours so much! A lot has happened over the past few months, so here is a recap:

Kevin and I moved in together! We celebrated our three year anniversary in April :). We have the most amazing apartment, and I honeslty have no idea how we lucked out on this one.

We live right on the beach! I love being able to step outside to the smell of the ocean everyday. I've always said that I could never live far from the ocean- its something inside of me that craves it. I feel truly blessed to have found this wonderful spot. Here are some more pics of our view:

We have only lived there for a month so there is still a lot to be done:painting, decorating, etc. But we are loving every minute of it!

Since I haven't been blogging in forever, I would love your suggestions on some new, fun and exciting blogs that I should check out. Let me know!

So excited to be back in the blogging world- I've missed you ladies!! xoxo

Hello Winter

Nothing too exciting to report here- I was completely snowed in this weekend. I received about 2 ft. of snow. Yes, winter has officially arrived. With nothing else to do, I did about 6 loads of laundry, caught up on all tv shows and knit. By last night I had a huge case of cabin fever. Unfortunately I ended up getting sick and having a horrible tension headache last night so I went to bed extremely early. I love the holidays, but sometimes the stress of it all can be overwhelming. Tonight I'm baking for the people in my department and hopefully will begin packing for Christmas (I'll be staying at my parents from Wednesday night through Sunday morning), as well as finish the hat for my niece. Once I do I will be sure to post pics!

I hope that you all are almost ready for the holidays and are safe in all of your travels! Cheers!

I am LOVING etsy.com

Etsy.com is certainly my go to place when I have no idea what to buy for a gift. I have been so busy this holiday season that I was behind on finishing up my shopping. This morning I had some fabulous finds that I just needed to share with all of you:

Seller: rumpunch

* beautiful handmade monogrammed silver pieces. I purchased this necklace for one of my friends:

Seller: KM Thomas Designs

* Cute stationary that can be personalized with any words, names or initials. These are the choices I made for my mom and sisters. Each with their initials on the top:

Seller: Acorn Beach

*more handmade jewelry. I purchased a handstrung glass bead necklace. (sorry no picture)

A few more great sellers that I came across:

Pink Pins and Needles
Decal Monograms

Pecan Pie Puppies

Happy Shopping!

Knocking and Knitting

I'm sorry, but I need to vent. When we are little, aren't we all taught to knock on a door if it is closed before entering? The motion isn't very difficult, and there are many techniques to make it your own, but why is it that some people still just try to barge into places without knocking?! There is a single person bathroom by where I sit at work. AT LEAST twice daily when I am in there people try to open the door without knocking! It always scares me half to death! Why wouldn't they be afraid of walking in on someone? I'm always afraid that I am going to forget to lock the door and someone is going to barge in on me. It is common curtesy America, knock before entering!

On a higher note, I have decided to take up knitting. I know it is very 75 year old grandmother of me, but it is something that I have always wanted to learn. I watched a few 'how-to' videos on youtube and gave it a whirl. I am attempting to make my niece Maeve something for her first Christmas. I figured that something for an infant would be easier than a scarf or something as it will be much smaller :). I'll let you all know how it goes!