recent loves

Book - I cannot stop reading Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. I'm totally hooked! Perfect for anyone who likes mysteries and/or chick lit.

Source: thephantomparagrapher.blogspot.com via Kelly on Pinterest

TV Show - I'm loving the show White Collar. The characters are endearing, hilarious, strong, and smart, the acting is excellent, and the writing is fun and engaging. I highly recommend it if you like shows like Bones, Body of Proof, In Plain Sight, etc.

Source: amazon.com via Kelly on Pinterest

App - I've had Instagram for several months now, but I've just recently become really hooked. Recording and sharing the small but meaningful parts of life adds a little extra celebration and positivity to each day. Plus, the photos of other users are so fun and inspiring!

Source: instagr.am via Kelly on Pinterest

Beauty - As I've mentioned, I'm getting more and more interested in the world of beauty, particularly nail polish. Right now I'm really loving Nicki Minaj for OPI Metallic 4 Life.

Source: aluxabeauty.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Snack - Lots of people adore cake. I'm not typically one of them. However, I do enjoy cupcakes and cake pops. As a result, I tried Starbucks's new cake pop, raspberry truffle - and fell in love. Delicious!

Source: starbucks.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Workout - Have you ever tried Zumba? If not, you must! I truly love it. It's fun, and a really is a great workout without even feeling like it. I've been going to a class once a week most weeks for the past couple weeks. I'd love to increase that number or pick up the DVDs.

Source: shape.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Quote - I find quotes by First Ladies to be particularly inspiring and wise. This sentiment by Martha Washington is no exception.

Source: Uploaded by user via Kelly on Pinterest

What have you been loving lately?

my life: meet josie

I am lucky to be engaged to a man who has an amazing family, and I love seeing great things happen for them. His parents recently adopted a 4-year-old beagle-mix named Josie. This event was especially exciting because (a) it's exciting when anyone gains a furry family member, (b) this furry family member happens to be a dog whose part beagle, and (c) it's the first time Dan's mom has ever had a dog! I got to meet Josie a couple weeks ago, and she is ADORABLE. Her and Madison are already fast friends.

P.S. If you think this video Dan made excellently showcases her cuteness, you should see her in person!

new year's all year 2012: february reflections and march goals

Source: godlysouthern.tumblr.com via Kelly on Pinterest

In January I introduced the 2012 New Year's, All Year Challenge, in which I made broad "endpoints" goals for the year and explained that each month I will make specific small goals that are stepping stones to my endpoint aims. Each month I will also reflect on the previous month's goals and efforts.

My goals for February were:

• Health: track food daily; do yoga at least once a week
• Finances: save specific percentage of each paycheck; open separate wedding fund account
• Relationships: cook dinner for Grandma; plan presents and cards for birthdays in March
• Wedding: set a date for engagement photos; research vendors
• Career: sub 3-4 times a week; reflect on swim season and start prepping for swim team award night
• Self-enrichment: Cook and bake more

Reflections on February:

I did well with my goals for career (subbing is going well and swimming ended nicely), wedding (we might have our reception venue chosen!), saving money, and planning out gifts. While I continued to eat decently the majority of the time and attend Zumba when I was able to, I did not do much yoga in February. Also, while I did spend time with my grandma, I was not able to cook a nice dinner for her last month. Similarly, I wasn't able to bake as much as I would have liked. I hope that I will be able to do more (or all!) of these activities in March, as it seems there will be more time since swim season and all post-season work (except for awards night!) is complete now. All that being said...

My goals for March are:

• Health: get enough sleep; stay hydrated
• Finances: keep saving money
• Relationships: complete as many little acts of kindness as possible - like cooking dinner for my grandma, for instance ; )
• Wedding: continue researching and meeting with vendors and start booking them
• Career: read more articles and books related to my content area (social studies)
• Self-enrichment: volunteer - hopefully at the local animal shelter

Do you have any goals for 2012? How are they going? Any for last month? What are your goals for March? It's not too late to become part of the challenge!! : ) Shoot me an email if you decide to join in.

weekly gems

Source: crushculdesac.tumblr.com via Kelly on Pinterest

• Recipes I want to try: chocolate caramel brownies or brownie squares, bacon cheddar scones, browned butter blueberry muffins, and bacon arugula pizza
• I love the idea of a pancake bar for any party!
• In honor of her birthday this past week, here are some rare and unpublished photos of Elizabeth Taylor.
• The photo diary of Uggie, the canine star of The Artist (and Water for Elephants!), is so cute!
• Do you watch Parks and Recreation? Its newest star is another canine actor - a three legged pit bull named Lucy. Also, check out this playlist inspired by the characters of Leslie and Ben.
• Great tips on how to style an entryway.
• Pumped up for Mackenzie's Design Darling Boutique!!
• I'm also loving these these Hello Giggles posts: 1 & 2
• The peplum is in right now, and I'm surprised to say I'm liking it.
• The best articles about this year's Oscars: best quotes of the evening & an interview with Christopher Plummer

my life: happy birthday daniel

Today is my fiance Dan's birthday! I am so lucky, blessed, and grateful that I not only have him in my life, but that I get to marry him! : ) Dan is from Columbus, OH, and we met in college as members of the same teaching program. We worked together as peer facilitators for that program, shared a group of mutual friends, and took the same classes due to having the same major (social studies education). Over time, we became close friends, then best friends, then boyfriend and girlfriend. This past fall, we got engaged and have since began planning a summer 2013 wedding. I am so proud of all Dan does and who he is, and hope he has the best year yet! In celebration of his day and our shared love of history, here's a list of other great things that happened on March 1st. Happy Birthday, Daniel! I love you! : )

• 1692: The Salem Witch Hunt began
• 1781: Articles of Confederation were ratified
• 1790: Congress authorized the first U.S. Census
• 1803: Ohio became the 17th U.S. state (History of Ohio was the first class Dan and I took together!)
• 1845: U.S. President Tyler signed the congressional resolution to annex the Republic of Texas
• 1867: Nebraska became the 37th U.S. state
• 1869: Postage stamps with scenes were issued for the first time
• 1872: Yellowstone National Park was established and became the world's first national park
• 1917: The Zimmerman Note was published in the U.S. (WWI is Dan's favorite topic to research and teach about!)
• 1928: Paul Whitman and his orchestra recorded "Ol' Man River"
• 1936: Hoover Dam completed and turned over to U.S. government
• 1941: FM radio began in Nashville, TN
• 1949: Joe Louis retired
• 1961: Kennedy established the Peach Corps
• 1966: Soviet probe crashed into Venus, becoming the first unmanned spacecraft to land on another planet (Dan loves to learn more about space and the world's space programs!)
• 1968: Johnny Cash and June Carter were married; Elton John's first single was released in England
• 1969: Mickey Mantle retired (Dan proposed to me by writing "Will You Marry Me?" on a baseball we played catch with!)
• 1974: Queen began their first headlining tour in England
• 1987: The Boston Celtics defeated the Detroit Pistons for the 2,235th win (Dan is a big basketball fan!)
• 1995: Yahoo! was incorporated
• 2002: Announced there is a possibility of water on the planet Mars
• 2005: Honda unveiled its new Civic (which is the type of car Dan drives!)
• 2008: The naming of the U.S.S. New York occurred

Some famous birthdays on this day: Glenn Miller, bandleader (1904); "Deke" Donald Slayton, astronaut (1924); Robert Clary, actor known for Hogan's Heroes - a show Dan & I love to quote! (1926); Robert Daltry, musician in The Who (1944); Alan Thicke, actor known for Growing Pains (1947); Bryan Winters, basketball player (1952); Ron Howard, producer and actor known for Happy Days (1954); Javier Bardem, actor (1969)

Sources for information: 1, 2, 3

Photo above of Dan & Madison, summer 2011

LOL: muppets google+ hangout

In case I haven't made it clear on this blog, I adore the Muppets. This new commercial for Google+ (featured during the 2012 Academy Awards) just puts me in a fantastic mood. Watch it and I dare you not to smile!

use it: nail polish

Though I'm not a huge beauty product person, my interest has increased over the past couple years and I'm always on the lookout for useful, bang-for-your-buck goods. I'm especially a sucker for nail polish. My favorite colors as of late are:

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in All Fired Up

There's no need for any base or top coats, and it lasts without chipping for at least a week (maybe more if you are better at maintaining polish than I am!). I love the shade All Fired Up - it's the perfect, classic "Matchbook Mag" red.

Essie in Peach Daiqiuri + Essie Luxe Effects in As Gold As It Gets

I love Essie nail polish for its adorable bottles, cute names, and gorgeous shades. This fun pairing was just what I needed to brighten up the gray days of February in Cleveland. I fell in love with the Luxe Effects and want to collect all of them. Next time, though, I will use a clear top coat in addition to the top coating of Luxe Effects in order to make the job last longer.

Butter London in No More Waity, Katie

One of my best friends, Elizabeth, got me this polish for Christmas this past year. We are both big "royal watchers" and adore everything to do with the Middleton sisters and 2011's wedding of the year. I was excited to get this shade not only due to fact it was created in honor of the royal nuptials, but also because it is truly a beautiful shade. A glittery polish, I applied two-three coats until the shade appeared solid on my fingers and added a clear top coat. It holds up well for basic day-to-day functions, but not so much for tasks that require a great deal of handwork, like big cleaning projects or something of that nature.

In addition to wanting to try more of the Essie Luxe Effects line, I really want to try out Zoya nail polish, as I've heard a lot of good things about it in the blogging world the past few months. And of course, I've been wanting to try Deborah Lippmann polish for quite awhile now. Have you tried either line? What do you think? What are your favorite brands and shades?