February.

Honestly, that's as creative of a title I could think of. It's been a while, and this month has mostly been comprised of work and me being tired (my life story, basically). But I'm happy to say it's all downhill from here. My sister is getting married this weekend - YAY! - and then my husband and I are off to the beach for a little four day vacation. Cannot. wait.

Hope everyone's Valentine's Day was fabulous. Ours was pretty low key. To avoid the crowds, we went to our favorite local Mexican restaurant, which we probably would have done on Tuesday night anyway. I bought myself a purse (Thirty-One's 5th Avenue, it has a gazillion pockets and is awesome) and told Ross "thanks for my Valentine's Day present!!!" For the record, I bought it used for a significantly cheaper price than what it retails for...so...go me! And then he sent me beautiful flowers at work even though we agreed not to do anything special for each other. :)

I feel like I need to share this with other iPhone (or smartphone in general) users. Maybe I'm behind the times, but I just recently started using the app Songza. Love it so far, and it's serving as a very good replacement for the SiriusXM music stations I loved so dearly but no longer want to pay for.

Speaking of music...I recently went through a week long-ish period of complete White Stripes obsession. Also just recently heard Jack White's new single, "Love Interruption"...thoughts? I like the female vocal, but could do without whoever is singing it. I also finally realized who Jack White reminds me of:

The child catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks that, since I found this picture on google from someone's tumblr (tumblog? I don't know). I then stumbled upon the fact that Roald Dahl was the screenwriter for that film...who knew?!

I've moved on from my incessant White Stripes listening to other things now, and here are a few songs currently on my playlist:
1. Change of Heart - El Perro Del Mar (original version and Robyn's Rakamonie Remix...I think I actually prefer the remix, but I like both)
2. Someone Like You - Adele...I could listen to this song a million times a day and probably not get tired of it.
3. Are You Satisfied? - Marina & the Diamonds
4. As Ugly As I Seem -The White Stripes (a current WS favorite of mine)
5. Come Back Down - Greg Laswell featuring Sara Bareilles

Post sister's-wedding-and-beach update to come soon! I plan on at least getting a good pic of me in my bridesmaid dress I found at a thrift store for $35...AWESOME.

end-of-the-week hodgepodge: movies & money

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween weekend/Monday! I have zero to report from Halloween, since Ross and I spent the weekend hanging out at home. :) This is the first year in quite a while that we didn't dress up and go out, but a weekend of rest is definitely what we needed. Well, a weekend of rest and switching out summer and fall clothes for me. That was a chore, and I'm still not quite finished yet. I really don't mind doing it though, because I forget what I have and then I'm like "I forgot I had that sweater...love it!"

Aside from swapping out clothes, I also spent the weekend watching all the Halloween movies on ABC Family. Saw Coraline for the first time and was thoroughly freaked out. What a weird flick. But then it came on again, and I loved it after watching it a second time. Same with The Corpse Bride (except I loved it after watching it the first time).

We saw Puss in Boots as well. Very cute. It got great reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, and someone even said it was funnier than Shrek. I wouldn't go that far, but I'd say it's worth seeing if you like Shrek-ish movies. Had no idea Zach Galifianakis was in it either, so that was an added bonus.

On a completely different subject, in my quest to be more organized lately (I haven't gotten too far with that), I've also been thinking about getting organized financially. I will be the first to admit that personal money management is not my strong point, nor has it ever been. Marriage has forced me to be a little better about finances only because I know that my decisions affect someone else now. So this is mostly a question to you all. What are your tips on money management? What budgeting programs (if any) do you use? What have you found to work and not work? I've tried using Mint.com, but it was too elaborate for me. I just need something simple where I can keep track of everything, and see when I'm spending too much in one area, etc.

Not that this post needs anymore randomness, but I want to end with a couple links:

Clean Mama - I stumbled upon this blog somehow and found "31 days to a cleaning routine" (and free printables to go with it). She also has an etsy store for all her additional cleaning/organizing printables which look awesome. AND, there is currently a giveaway going on for two of her starter kits! *crosses fingers*

Best Case Scenario Me - Something I really enjoyed reading. Featured on KylaRoma.com, written by Sarah Von from Yes & Yes

It's beginning to look a lot like Halloween!

So glad fall is here! Well, it's sort of here. Not a fan of this 40 degree morning/80 degree afternoon thing. Weather wise, those are my LEAST favorite times of the year (when the weather can't make up its mind). Either way, Halloween is my second favorite holiday, so I'm definitely excited about that. Here are some of my favorite fall things!



Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte. I know, I'm one of the bajillion people who talk about this when fall comes around, but it truly is fall in a cup. I would also recommend the Salted Caramel Mocha (but maybe in latte form - the mocha flavoring was a little too much for me).



More of an excuse to watch one of my favorite movies: Hocus Pocus! Finally bought it at Best Buy the other day. The cashier said, "I used to love this movie!" And I was thinking...um, I still do. Speaking of Halloween movies, can't wait til ABC Family's 13 nights of Halloween...The Addams Family, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and CASPER! My kind of "horror" flicks. :) AND more of an excuse to watch Young Frankenstein and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (both of which I have on DVD). The Addams Family musical is actually coming to Charlotte this month, and I think I'd like to see it. I wonder if it's any good.



Fall candles. This is my latest favorite - Woodwick Glazed Pumpkin. Combination between cookies and pumpkins. It smells soooo good. And of course makes that fun crackling noise.


 
Oh, and while I'm talking Halloween movies - does anyone remember watching this? As a child, it was one of my favorite things to watch on Halloween. I watched it on The Disney Channel every year. There are listings on ebay for it, but they are mostly 25 year old VHS copies that go for around $80.00. I so wish Disney would release it on DVD...maybe someday!

Aside from those things, I LOVE decorating for Halloween, and I also hope to make some pumpkin cupcakes before the season ends. Not sure if Ross and I will do anything costume-related this year, but I'm hoping we'll have some trick-or-treaters at our apartment. There seem to be a lot of younger families/children where we live, so I'm assuming we will. Happy Fall!

Ten on Tuesday

(Questions from Roots & Rings)

1. If you could watch only one movie for the rest of your life, what would it be?
The Holiday, hands down. I just love everything about it; the actors and actresses (Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Cameron Diaz and Jack Black), the storyline, and all the music. Pretty in Pink is a close second.

2. Let's say someone wrote a screenplay about you; what actor/actress would you choose to play you and why?
Zooey Deschanel. She is one of my faves, and she was just the first person who popped into my head. I'd say her or Kate Winslet.

3. What's the first movie you remember seeing in theaters?
Pocahontas. It came out when I was ten years old, and I'm thinking surely I had seen something in theaters before that. Although, with two siblings, it's possible my parents avoided movie theaters in order to save the $343254.00 they'd have to fork over. I do have very fond memories of my mom renting Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Pony, and Rainbow Brite movies for me, though. :)

4. Did you ever make out at the back of a movie theater in middle school/high school?
Definitely not. My intense moment in a movie theater would have been when I "held hands" with a guy at the movies in sixth grade. Gettin' a little crazy!

5. Are you a Netflix-er, Blockbuster-er or a Redbox-er? (Or none of the above?)
Redbox just because it seems to be the easiest, but I think Netflix is in my future.

6. Name one actor/actress who you would give anything to have a dinner date with.
Tough question. I actually don't think there is one that I would "give anything" to do that with. I don't care that much. But I think dinner with Tom Hanks would be interesting. He's such a good actor, and I would like to just sit down and talk to him.

7. What's the worst movie you've ever seen?
Luckily, it's been a while since I've seen something that was absolutely the worst. I've seen movies I didn't like, but that was more on a level of personal preference.

8. Do you sneak snacks into the theater when you go?
Of course. Snacks AND drinks. One of the many perks of always carrying huge purses.

9. Movie theater popcorn: love or hate it?
LOVE. I actually worked at a movie theater in high school, and we could have all the popcorn we wanted. I never did get tired of it.

10. What is the all-time best Disney movie in your opinion?
I'd have to say Mary Poppins. My personal favorites would include Sleeping Beauty and Alice in Wonderland.

visit to NYC & randomness

Finally getting settled after my first week back to work (always so much fun). Spent the week before that visiting NYC for the first time! LOVED it. Not somewhere I'd want to live, but I definitely want to go back - specifically closer to Christmas. Likes about the city: so much culture, so many different people, so many options. Dislikes: dirtiness, too many people, no sweet tea. And I take back my earlier statement. I think I could live there, but not for more than three years ish.

I have been watching a Grease 1 & 2 marathon for the better half of the day (while doing other things, so it wasn't completely unproductive). Of all movies that would get old fast, you'd think it would be those two.

New favorite: Florence + The Machine. I feel like they are old news (well, not old but not new), but I downloaded their album, Lungs, because it was $3.99 on amazon. Hellz yeah! "Cosmic Love" is my new favorite song, with "Unison" by Björk coming in at a close second. Florence Welch has one heck of a voice...saw her not too long ago on tv, and she was amazing. Considering that it's not unusual for singers to suck on tv/live, it says a lot to not be in that category of performers.

Really really excited that the Christmas season is here. Trying to find some good new xmas music to invest in, although I think I would be happy with just having Sarah McLachlan's Wintersong. And to all you I-want-to-celebrate-Thanksgiving-first haters out there, I have nothing to say to you. I bought a new small Christmas tree for my room today. :)