Bring on the weekend!

Oh, how I love accomplishing things! This week, we are ticking things off our big to-do list of life with a vengeance. Sunday we registered for wedding gifts, and in way under three hours, hooray! Not to rub it in to Jenny and Tim, who spent five, count 'em five! hours in Bed Bath and Beyond doing their registry. I still don't know how exactly that happened. Eric should be proud of me, because I'm so ridiculously organized that I had most things picked out before we entered the store, and we wasted no time shooing the bridal consultant out of our way. Eric was ready to go in an hour, and holding the little scanner did nothing to excite him, despite the consultant's assurance that it would be thrilling. The girl even wrapped me in a bath sheet at one point, swearing that EVERYONE just HAD to experience the plush, cuddly joy of an insanely over sized blanket after a shower. We didn't register for those.

Monday we picked up our new car. Our first new car, actually. It is Eric's car of course, since he didn't have one at all, and I actually like my RAV4, even though he calls it a lawnmower. He got a Mazda 3, the same car my brother in law and his best friend both have, and in the same color, too. If you ask him, he will tell you that it is not the same car at all, because it has four doors and theirs have five. True, yes, but still. I actually love it, and the color. It's a really cute car, but don't tell him that.

I also applied for several new jobs and scored an interview on Friday. Sadly, a massive snowstorm is scheduled to hit us late tonight, with snow continuing into Friday evening. Great. Instead of cute interview outfit and heels, I'll be donning layers, a snotty nose, and snow boots. I'm sure to get the job.

Eric leaves for a five day business trip to Germany on Saturday, which means he misses the Superbowl festivities yet again. Luckily our informants told us that for the first time ever, the game will be broadcast on German TV for free! The hotel is setting up a projector and screen for their group to watch the game together. It will be around 3 in the morning there, and I'm sure they will all be hammered. I'm going to amuse myself by imagining Eric trying to teach a bunch of drunk Germans all about American football: the fouls, the plays, the padding. It's really funny if you know my husband and his utter lack of sports knowledge. Think of Mr. Rogers doing the commentary for a WWF wrestling match and you get the idea.

As for me, I'll be hanging out with my few MI friends and trying to convert them all into Patriots fandom, since their Lions suck. I'll also be feeding them healthy food, without them knowing it, to cancel out all of the crap beer they drink. I hate that Superbowl falls a month after the holidays, when lots of people have lost some of that holiday weight, only to dive right back into those five pounds thanks to a platter of pigs in a blanket and the big sandwich. So I leave you with a few of my football party favorites, lightened up. Trust me, no one will know, but your belt will thank me.


Reduced Fat Spinach Dip
Easy Guacamole
Cha-Ching Chili

And no I will not apologize for the gratuitious Brady shot. Go Pats!

All I need is food and creative love...

I realized that I haven't posted anything craft related in a while, so it's about time to share what I have been making lately. Especially since I was really excited to learn that a scrapbook I made as a gift for my mother was chosen as one of the Craftster Best of 2007! There are literally thousands of projects posted there over the course of a year, so it was really nice. Anywho, being temporarily unemployed and in a new town has given me lots of free time! Of course, I should be working earnestly on the wedding to do list, but more on that later. In the meantime I have had Valentine's Day on the brain. I know it is a bit early for some of you, but go look in the stores and you will see I am not the only one!

The Little Chapel of Love you see above was inspired by a tiny bronze bird and the Paper Crafts Sheet Music Challenge over at Craftster. I made this up as a Valentine for Eric, but not to worry, he never reads my blog, so I am fairly certain it is safe to post it! It is constructed of corrugated cardboard and lots of embellishing, with a removable roof. Through the window you can see a photo of us, with lots of little romantic notes inside (for reading in the future when we get all cranky with each other :P). I've entered it in the challenge and voting opened today, so make sure you pop on over and vote for me!

I also made a ton of Happy Hearts, inspired by the lovely Sarah. We'll be swapping a bunch and making pretty little garlands to display them. You can download her template and make some of your own. I used mostly vintage ephemera and ribbon for mine, but you can do anything. It makes a great project for kiddies, too!

I've also designed a bunch of new valentines which you can check out on my flickr account, but they will have to sit in a box until next year. Why? Because my invite design is finished, and I have got to start printing! The amazing Bonnie helped me by doing all of the Illustrator work, so I have my own custom made designs for my invites now. I've ordered my ink and paper, so hopefully I can get gocco-ing in the next week or so. My little print press has been waiting patiently in the box for months, because I didn't want to waste any screens until my designs were ready. Yeah, I'm a cheapskate! I can't wait to break it out, and I'll certainly be posting my results asap!

On the Road Again...

...for what I dearly hope is the last time for a long time! This weekend Eric and I made the long trek back out to Michigan from Rhode Island with a 17 foot Uhaul, towing my car on a trailer. He did all of the driving, while I tried desperately to find anything other than country music and Christian ranting on the radio. We made excellent time, found 32 of 50 state license plates, and arrived at the condo before noon on Friday. I was really excited, as we have been gypsies for over about a year and a half now. Finally, our own furniture, our own bed, and my whole wardrobe back at my disposal! Sadly, the buzzkill was pretty immediate. The condo was filthy. The previous tenants hadn't even cleaned the bathrooms when they moved out, so you can imagine my distaste. Two of the three bathroom sinks were rusted, and there were other minor damages. The real estate agent brushed the whole thing off, as is her job, I'd guess! After the movers left, I spent 6 hours scrubbing the place down before we started unpacking. Then my parents arrived Saturday afternoon and we did a massive overhaul. We did some bargain hunting (4 lamps for 13 bucks!) and worked a little decorating magic. By the time they left on Sunday afternoon, the place was clean and livable, cozy even. I spoke with the owners (who live overseas) and they were really apologetic. They gave us a credit on the rent for the mess, and are sending a plumber over tomorrow to replace the sinks and fix the rest of the issues. I love cooperative people! Plus we are in a great location, a very short distance from downtown and the football stadium. It took a few days, but the place has grown on us already, and should feel like home pretty soon. Eric started work today, so now my job hunt is on and we'll soon be off to explore Ann Arbor. That and to learn about Big Ten football, spread the Patriots love, and make our friends eat hot wieners.