Happy Third Anniversary

Happy Third Anniversary to my amazing husband.

This last year of marriage has been my favorite (I say that every year). I feel like I learn more about you and understand you in better ways every day and am just now starting to truly appreciate what a great man you are and how great we are together.

I'm so lucky to have you.

Recipe for a Great Saturday

Today's recipe for a great Saturday is as follows:

Take one beautiful setting

Add an adorable rescue dog

Add a husband who wants to spend the whole day with you and makes this face at you when you take his picture.

Mix generously with really good wine

Serve in a very roomy and comfy container (leave extra room for cheese)

And you'll end up with one super happy lovely little Saturday.

Extra sides for fun:

A super fat baby that makes your baby fever go into overdrive

Watching your husband play soccer with a very cool and polite little boy

Good music

Great cheese

Perfect weather

And now, a ton of pictures!

Thank you Slack for another beautiful day!

This Sunday Currently

Currently I am...

Reading: Nothing, I really need to pick up reading again!

Writing: E-mails, blog posts, and our grocery list for the week.

Listening: To Mike watching soccer in the other room.

Thinking: That I need to lose some g-damn weight.

Smelling:  My hairspray.

Wishing:  For a job and ten less pounds on my fat ass.

Hoping: That it's not too windy outside today during Mike's soccer games.

Wearing: Two This Sunday Currently posts in a row not wearing pj pants...huzzah! Right now I'm wearing some old Gap jean shorts (old because they are my only shorts that fit, ahem), a yellow and blue striped J.Crew top, clear drop earrings, and a brown wrap bracelet.

Loving: That we have had such a great weekend so far.

Wanting:  Motivation.

Needing: To lose some weight (this post has a theme) and to go put makeup on.

Feeling: Sleepy, chubby, and happy.

Clicking:  Gmail to send some e-mails, Revolt to work on my detox for next week, Reddit because duh, and Facebook.

A couple other things...

On Friday, we met my dad and step-mom in Annapolis for the day. Since we got there early, we stopped in to Dry 85 for some delicious cocktails. Cannot wait to come back here and try more.

Yesterday, we spent the day at Jubilee Farms to celebrate the blessing of the vines for Slack Winery. I still cannot believe we live so close to beautiful farms like this. So gorgeous.

Romance

I was talking with my dad the other day about how people show their love in different ways and it can be a hard thing for everyone to understand. Mike, for example, is not a mushy outwardly romantic person. He doesn't exclaim how much he loves me every day or show me a lot of physical affection. But after being with him for so long, I've learned to recognize and appreciate the other ways he shows that he loves me.

A couple days ago, I mentioned to Mike that I need to start making breakfast smoothies again and he'll need to teach me to use our new blender because I'm useless (basically). We hadn't talked about it since and this morning I woke up to a note with his smoothie recipe and the instructions on how to use the blender with the blender sitting out and ready for use.

It's such a small thing, but I know that this morning at 6:30 a.m. before going to work, he thought of the fact that I wanted to make smoothies again and took the time to write that note and get out what I needed. It's thoughtful and sweet and Mike's kind of romantic and I just appreciate it so much. Thanks honey. :)

Good Idea/Bad Idea

The other day I got the grand idea to clean out my e-mail account. I made the mistake of clicking on "All Mail" and realizing I had over 10,000 e-mails in there.  That's just insane and unnecessary. And since I'm unemployed and have nothing better to do really, I started going through them and cleaning them out.

This was both a good and bad idea.

Good because I found some great old photos and conversations.

Like these gems:

L&B in 2007, so long ago!

Me and my husband on our first trip to Disneyland. He looks like a damn baby.

Demon Corgi

Yoda Ears

Quality pug smoosh

This one needs no caption

And a hilarious e-mail thread between my sister and I when a former employer had Scientology experts come teach us their management program (that is not even a little bit of a joke) that we code named Mission Xenu and where I sent her things like this:

Am starting to think that the mission is in fact a big ole bag of bullshit 

Quotes such as, "Nothing is remembered unless it is written down." have led me to this conclusion.

    Also defining exhilaration as "being grateful."

    Have a very strong urge to poke out my own eyes.

That's just good stuff right there.

It was also a bad idea. 

Because it was like getting smacked in the face with eight years of the most whiny, bitchy, cranky, and dramatic side of yourself. I saw fights I forgot I even ever had, horribly dramatic e-mails sent to boys I used to like that didn't deserve it (sorry Fancy Pants!), begging my parents for money year after year, and complaints about everything under the sun.

It's actually had me in a giant funk for days. I can't help feeling that I'm just not a great person. That I'm a whiner, complainer, loser, bad friend.

So I'm dealing with that and I'm sure I'll get over it, but damn, don't read your old e-mails. It's not always pretty.

I have determined to stop sending out e-mails that use the word hate. I think that would have been the most common word in all those eight years of e-mails. I hate this, hate that, hate everything. Yuck. I'm going to stick a big ole' sticky note on my computer screen with a reminder to stop using the word hate.

I will say, since this all happened, I've talked to my mom on Skype and she has said some lovely gushy things about me as a person and how much she loves me and yesterday I had drinks with my dad and he did the same. So that helps and mayyyybe I should give myself a break. But I will take this as a learning experience and hopefully not be such a turd in the future.  Hopefully.

Because there's a meme for everything...

Life Lately According to My iPhone

I didn't do a This Sunday Currently today because...Jesus? I don't know. I'm in a mood. BUT as I type, we have homemade lobster stock bubbling on the stove, Mike is dicing preserved lemon that has been hiding in the pantry for a couple weeks, and giant chunks of fresh lobster meat in the fridge waiting to be added to risotto later on tonight so that should lift my mood right up! So here is my life lately according to my iPhone. 

Cocktails on the back patio of Port Tobacco Marina Thursday night

The only part of Easter I actually care about

Drivin' Muzzy won battle of the bands on Thursday wahoo!

So we actually left the house Thursday night and went to a country bar. We stood out a little bit because I wore booties and Mike wore a pink tee (whoops) but it was still pretty darn fun and the band was great and I'm so glad they won!

I love this outfit no matter how unflattering it is!

Unemployment means binge watching True Blood since I never finished watching it the first time

Boys Behind the Blog

Today, I'm linking up with Amanda for Boys Behind the Blog where crazy blogger chicks' husband answer questions for a blog post! Because it's fun and I don't have a lot going on to blog about. Here goes!

He's so darn handsome, that one.

1)  Your significant other's blog - a blessing or a curse?

Mike:  Blessing; It's a way for friends and family to see what we are up to without any effort on my part, it's a fun hobby for her to do alone or with me, it's a way to catalog and remember all the things we have done, and it occasionally brings in money for us to do more fun stuff with.

2)  Do you read Val's blog?

Mike:  Not really, I'm usually a part of the stuff she's blogging about so I don't really feel the need to read about it. Every now and again I will binge read the last couple of months or read about a particular trip or something, especially since that's usually how I see the pictures we took.

3)  What is one thing you can do better than anyone you know?

Mike:  Make cocktails, which really makes it hard to go out for a drink. Margaritas and daiquiris are very simple drinks to make so I can't understand how so many places get it wrong.

4)  What is your favorite TV sitcom from the 90's?

Mike:  I don't have a favorite. I didn't get into TV watching until much later in life. I wasn't inside at all as a kid, especially as soccer started to dominate my life during high school.

5)  If you were opening a small business or shop, what would it be? What goods or services would you sell?

Mike:  Right now it would probably be a speakeasy style cocktail lounge. It's in vogue at the moment and I love it.

Val:  Seriously you guys, his cocktails are REALLY good. Also, I love him for using "in vogue" in one of his answers.  Love that guy.

Thanks Mike!

Amazon

While doing some styling for a client recently, I started browsing Amazon's dress selection. I'm obsessed with using my Amazon Prime and anything I can get with free shipping, I'm all about it. I was honestly shocked with the dress selection at Amazon. I cannot wait to get a job and start amping up my dress selection with some of these beauties!  (Okay, this post sounds crazy sponsored, but it isn't...I really am this excited about the dress selection at Amazon...I have so little going on in my life right now, you guys)

Here are a few of my favorites:

I love colorful dresses and this one can be mixed with so many different shoes and accessories. It also reminds me of one of my favorite Project Runway looks:

{via}

Find here

I love dresses with a jeweled neckline. This one is super short, but I'm super short so it should be fine. Would love to wear this one in the winter with some black tights and booties. So cute!

Find here

I love brocade. This dress would be amazing with some jewels, black tights, and black heels for a dressy event or even belted with some flats for work. Love!

Find here

I love yellow and I love Catherine Malandrino and this dress looks super comfortable. Wouldn't pair it with those shoes though, needs black or a pattern, I think.

Find here

This one is one of my faves for sure. It's retro and modern at the same time and I'm quite the sucker for exposed zippers.

Find here

I really like this one because it can be so easily remixed. It's perfect for a fancier occasion, but throw a blazer over it and it would work for the office or tie a chambray top over it and it's ready for a more casual day. Great price too!

Find here

I love shift dresses because you can accessorize them so many different ways and they're super comfy for work. This one is an amazing color and has pockets. Winner!

Find here

Love the sleeves and cut of this dress SO much. I love how they styled it too, perfection. 

Find here

I've never worn a drop waist dress before so I'm honestly not sure if I could pull it off, but I'm just in love with this color combination.

Find here

I love the pattern mixing of this dress, the sweet little sleeves, and just the easy breasyness of it. 

Find here