March is here...

... and there are so many things that I'm excited for!

1. SPRING! Today was sunny, cold still, but at least sunny. I got prematurely excited that spring was on it's way and decided to forgo boots and wear my Toms. I wouldn't say it was a terrible idea, but there are definitely a few more weeks before Spring actually arrives haha I CANNOT wait for flowers to start blooming.
2. A trip to Florida. Turns out that a lot of our friends are going to be gone for the weekend we'll be in town because of a music festival, but that will give us some much needed time to hang with my family, relax and soak up some of that wonderful sun and warmth :) WOO! SPRING BREAK!!
3. Continuing our wedding planning. Next up is making our invitations, getting passports and planning a honeymoon. My continual hope is that I'll find joy through this whole process, so far so good. Yesterday we went to Crate & Barrel to finish some of our registering. Every Sunday in February they did a special Sunday event for couples to register so we got to have yummy breakfast treats and endless mimosas (that makes the whole process WAY more fun).
4. Finishing up the painting in our apartment. We're half way there! Just two more rooms to paint, then we're going to fix up some dressers and make our room a little more organized. I'm very very excited to decorate afterwards and get some pictures of friends and family hanging up.
5. Growing our community here in Philadelphia. I feel so silly talking about how happy it makes me to say that we're starting to make friends here, but it's true and it's really awesome (sorry we sound like desperate losers haha). We've already had a house guest for dinner, and we're excited to have more. Keith and I just both came from living in apartments that always had friends coming in and out and we would love to have that kind of community here in Philly.
6. Exploring new places to eat! We love food! and Philly has lots of it to offer. This weekend we tried a new place for brunch and even though I was a little cranky because we woke up early (sorry :/) we both enjoyed it a lot. We also scoped out a really yummy burger joint to try sometime soon.

I'm so glad for all the things that put a smile on my face. I'm excited for March and for the snow to melt so that I can worry a little less about Keith driving to work.

I hope that my spring break is productive, and that I continue to keep up with all my school work, get a leg up on some papers and get some studying done for my German exam (ugh).

Lastly, I'm a little bummed that the Olympics are over, Canada was just so comical throughout. I can hardly wait for London in two more years!!

The woes of snows

Before you read this, please note that both Keith and I are completely fine, just a little sick of trying to commute in winter weather. (but moms, you can feel free to call and check just in case haha)

So it's hardly any surprise at all that yes, it's snowing again! I think that universe just wanted to provide us with another fresh blanket of white stuff because the Winter Olympics are on and I needed that encouragement to test out ski jumping in my own front yard.

That being said both Keith and I had terrible commutes today :( I managed to walk to the train station, though the wind threatened to take me down, only to find out that the trains were running an hour behind "due to frozen switches" (I think that means the wire things over the train are frozen, gotta learn more train lingo) I needed to be at school at 9:30 for a meaningless lecture that should have been cancelled but regardless, I didn't want to be the only one (out of only 6 of us) that didn't make an effort to show up. So even after Keith encouraged me to just go home I walked over to the closest bus stop and hopped on to head in the direction of school. Shortly after I get on the bus the driver announces that the bus is going to be detoured because of snow and ice and that they wouldn't be going anywhere near school which was my whole purpose of being on it. In an effort not to get stuck in some scary part of town I quickly exited and decided that it was time to give up and just come back home. I had to wait on the side of the road with no side walk for about 15 minutes for the next bus going the other way but I did arrive back home safely. I understand that we've had an INCREDIBLE amount of snow storms this winter and that businesses, and in my case, schools, don't want to close, but sometimes it's just necessary.

On to Keith's story: this morning we thought maybe the mall would be opening later than usual to accommodate for the ridiculous weather but they were not. Keith headed out to work and I naturally assumed all was well when I hadn't heard from him. As I was waiting at the train platform trying to make a decision on what to do I get a call from him that of course doesn't go through. We play phone tag for awhile, then I finally get ahold of him, and the first thing he says is "take a deep breath, I'm at work and ok but..." great. While he was on the highway driving this morning he hit a patch of ice that sent the car into a ditch on the side of the road. He's fine and the car is fine because he was driving very slowly but it's just stuck there. Keith then hitched a ride to Wawa (7-11 type store that is WAYYY better) and then tried to find someone there that would give him a ride to the mall about a mile away. No one wanted to help so finally the manager of the store gave him a ride. If this were me? I would still be sitting in the car, probably crying haha He called a tow truck that is going to go and get the car later this afternoon and take it over to the Wawa for him to get after work. Fingers crossed nothing happens to it while it sits there though.

Snow is making me crazy! It is pretty, and looks nice. It covers up a lot of the trashy-looking parts of this city but overall it sends everyone into a frenzy and it is impossible to get around. I ready for the trains to run at a predictable time, and to not worry that Keith will make it to work alright. We are ready for a trip to Florida for sure.

In other news! Our precious little boy (yes we are obnoxious cat owners and treat our cat like he's our child haha) had his first vet appointment yesterday! He had to go and get his shots and get tested for leukemia. I was nervous because I couldn't go with him but he did just fine and made Keith and I very proud. Apparently he was not a fan of getting blood taken or having them check his temperature but the Dr. gave him some cheese wiz and he didn't even notice when she gave him his shots haha Also, now everyone in our family has health insurance including Theo which means in 3 weeks he's getting fixed. I'm secretly excited for that to happen so that he will calm down a little bit. I love my playful kitten but sometimes it's a little much and I would really love him to be sweet and cuddly all day haha

I couldn't help but add this photo of him as well. I couldn't find Theo the other day and when I walked into the living room he was on the couch burrito-ed up in my folded snuggie haha

Another piece of news is.... we painted the kitchen yesterday! It was a little bit of a hectic day with Theo's vet trip and me having to go to school but we managed to get the entire kitchen painted. There are still a few touch ups to be done and I need to put everything back up on the shelves but this means we're getting even closer to being finished with the whole apartment!

Here are a couple shots of what it looks like (I didn't take any shots of us actually painting, if you are interested though we look the same as we did while we painted the bathroom haha)

The walls are just a neutral beige color, and we did a chalkboard wall as an accent. We're both pretty excited about the chalk board wall and are already having fun with it haha everyone needs to come over and decorate it with us!!

Only two more rooms and we will have finally turned this place into a decent home :)

Here's a video of what it looks like outside.

One more thing

I really love this commercial a lot.

Adventures in Washington DC

Things I learned this weekend:

• Snow makes people crazy
• Don't get too caught up in your own plans, everything is going to happen in it's own time
• I get way too excited about the Olympics haha
• Ikea is great until you really need to use the restroom and you're lost in a maze of never ending bedroom sets and fake kitchens
• Boy cats don't get along well :(
• You don't need to try on millions of dresses to find the perfect one
• Traffic makes everyone cranky
• There are still people in this world that are willing to lend a hand to total strangers
• Our cat loves riding in the car

To elaborate on those points some more I have a bunch of pictures and stories to share from our latest long weekend trip to visit Andi and Katelyn in DC (well.. Hyattsville, MD to be specific). On Thursday evening Keith and I packed up our favorite little cat Theo and headed a couple hours south despite the lackluster weather and huge piles of snow and ice. Like I mentioned in my list, Theo seemed to greatly enjoy his ride in the car. He spent the first half hour staring out the window and then settled into a warm cuddly spot in my arms. Unfortunately he didn't get along with Andi and Kate's cat Spooky as well as we all had hoped. After a treacherous fight between them it was decided that we needed to keep them separate for the rest of the weekend, which caused a little bit of stress but Keith are I were both happy we didn't have to leave Theo home alone.

We seemed to spend a lot of time eating, watching the Winter Olympics and sitting in traffic haha but despite a few set backs it was wonderful to get out of town for a few days and to spend time with good friends.

So I guess it needs to be mentioned... I got a wedding dress!! I feel like that puts us a step closer to the big day (which is exactly 6 months away!) Unfortunately I'm starting to learn that nothing regarding wedding planning comes without the potential for a slight headache and dress shopping was no stranger. I had an appointment to try on dresses at Jcrew on Friday night, but after sitting in traffic for 2 hours (only trying to drive 8 miles) and walking 12 blocks through snow and ice on unshoveled sidewalks and streets, Katelyn and I were brought to tears (ok, I was the only one crying boo hoo) to find out that the store was closed and we had missed my appointment by about 45 minutes. When it felt like all hope was lost, it surely was not.. we were able to reschedule for Saturday afternoon and there was no need for stress. Even though the day was saved, everyone involved was exhausted and in need of some food and alcohol. While I was supposed to be dress shopping Keith had made plans to hang out with his friend Cooper who recently relocated to DC from Nashville. We all met up and went to a pizza joint for some cocktails, beers, food and Winter games opening ceremony. Over all the night turned out to be a lot of fun and we all learned a lesson in trusting that everything will work itself out in the long run.

So for my Saturday appointment, there was no question that we would be taking the Metro instead of trying to get into the city with the car again. We made it there with plenty of time and I was able to actually relax and make a decision on a dress without feeling rushed. I only tried on two before I knew which one would be perfect. I'm by no means an expert on weddings and really know nothing about fancy dresses so I wasn't sure if this is an occasion that you're supposed to make a split decision. Personally I think I would have a panic attack walking into a David's Bridal type dress store, but are you supposed to try on a certain number of other dresses before you take your pick? The bridal specialist, Katelyn and Andi all agreed that I just needed to go with my gut, find something that made me happy and was comfortable and beautiful. Well this fit all of those requirements so I just went for it, PLUS! Jcrew has a very sneaky 15% student discount that they don't advertise but since I'm a student I'm obviously eligible... what a deal haha I couldn't be happier with my decision, and can't wait to wear it!

Kate and Andi got a chance to try on some bridesmaid dresses afterwards and then we headed to grab some dinner with Keith, Cooper and Andi's sister Susie who came to town Saturday. It was SOOO good to see her, because I don't think Susie and I have seen each other in more than a year, yikes!

Something else that I could add to my list of things I learned this weekend: After you've eating a big hamburger a milkshake tastes really awesome, but you're always going to be too full to finish it. While everyone else went and got shakes for dessert Keith and I debated getting our own, first because we didn't really want to wait in line and we were both bursting at the seams. After about 10 minutes Keith and I ended up with everyone else's shakes in front of us because they were too full haha good things come to those who wait!

I'm very glad that Keith and I have gotten more in the routine of documenting our lives through photos. It was something that I did almost naturally up until a couple years ago when I just fell out of the habit. Many thanks to those of you who have actually read this far.

While we had a wonderful time hanging with friends, all three of us (Theo included!) were very happy to get home last night. Unfortunately we did experience our first real winter hardship before we could truly relax, and that's where we learned that there are still some people out there that are willing to lend a hand to total strangers. While we were gone the street that we live on never got plowed. After a weekend of melting and refreezing, our street is a solid 6 inches of ice just waiting to trap unsuspecting cars. Of course we got stuck, and with just the two of us working to get the car out we weren't getting very far. Thankfully some strapping young college boys from across the street heard us struggling and came out to help (which seriously almost brought tears to my eyes because I'm not sure if I could take getting sprayed with freezing mud much longer ugh) It took them about an hour to get the car out, and we payed them kindly in beer; little things like that give me hope for our generation. After our terrible ice experience Keith helped two other cars get freed from the same spot so hopefully some winter karma will be sent our way.

Now, back to work for Keith and back to school for me...

Love me some Apolo Anton Ohno

While I do agree that the winter Olympics aren't quite as epic as their summer equivalent, I can proudly say that I'm very VERY excited for round the clock Olympics watching come next week. Something about cheering on fellow Americans in sports that I would never attempt myself is strangely exciting. Go team!