i'm famous

Ok, well not really. But I did get a message telling me that I was being featured somewhere on Etsy! Check it out here! It's the second picture... in case you didn't recognize Winston. I'm not sure what exactly this means, but feel free to leave a comment there about how much you love my flowers :)

...update... I have since found out that this Etsy "Treasury" is a place where people on Etsy can make lists of some of their favorite things, and these are the lists that get featured on the home page! How cool that somebody picked one of my flowers?! And it would be even cooler if that list ended up on the front page!

The person that made the list that features me is part of a group from this blog (which is now in my sidebar) that is called Etsy Team Discover - Hidden Talent Uncovered. Cool! Check that out too!

i bet you thought it was over

So my obsession with my wedding isn't over yet! Even though we've been married for 89 days (uh oh our 10% discount on registry completetion items at Macy's expires tomorrow). Here are some of my favorites of Patrick and I from our photographer, MB Photography (who has an awesome new look on her site!), thanks again Melissa!

Well hello, handsomest husband in the world :)

Love this, it makes me feel so glamorous (I had to sing the Fergie song to make sure I spelled that right)

How fabulously chic does our wedding party look?!

Love :)

Heading back to the party...

Enjoy!

whiney butts

So today my dogs are being babies. Big, fat, huge babies. They are so whiney and so needy. And I love them. Although I could do without the 90 pound lab trying to climb into my lap every second and getting in my face and drooling on me, and my stinky breathed schipperke literally kissing me close to death... This is the story of my life:

Jack giving me kisses, he has me pinned down and his legs across my throat (and Winston is also sitting on my arm). Pardon the quality of this picture, I was busy whipping my head from side to side just trying to get a breath in. Oh, and I was laughing hysterically.
Look at this face. This is the face that's in my face all day.

And he's in my lap...

They've both got me pinned, there's no hope.

I gave in and fed them early (they used to eat at 4... now I can't take it and I feed them at noon) and they are napping quietly. Hallelujah. I heart snuggle time :)

high/low

So a few weeks back, while out at dinner Patrick and I started this new thing. Before I tell you what it is, you need the back story.

Patrick is a starer. He will sit and stare at people until it is uncomfortable, which is long past they've noticed. It gets really bad is when we're out to dinner. This next part is a scientific fact, it has been tested... We could sit through an entire dinner without speaking. Patrick will stare at people, and I will stare at him waiting for him to realize how he's neglecting his wife. I'm sure people out in public think we hate each other.

To avoid these awkward silences (awkward for the people Pat's staring at) we have instituted high/low. We tell each other the highs and lows of our day. Which luckily for us, leads to conversation.

Last night I couldn't decide what my high and lows were at dinner, and it made Pat mad. He kept telling me he could've thought of 15 highs and lows in the time it was taking me to think of one. Well in hind sight I see why it took me so long... My high/low didn't happen until after dinner, at the grocery store (is it weird that we go grocery shopping after dinner? I can't decide).

Ready for my high/low?

Since I like bad news first... I do my low first.
Low: In the checkout line I lost our little game of "how much do you think the total will be" by $1! I guessed $58, Pat (being the butt that he is) guessed $59. The total was $60. This didn't help me like grocery shopping any more. Confession: I hate grocery shopping with Pat because he has to go up and down EVERY aisle. In case we see something we didn't know we absolutely need. It takes hours.

Now for the high.
High: The banter we had going back and forth over our stupid "how much is the total?" game had us laughing so hard that even the cashiers were laughing with us and throwing in some trash talk of their own. I've never had so much fun grocery shopping, or losing! Huge nerd right?

Side note to all of my engaged friends out there... Enjoy it while it lasts. This is what you have to look forward to after the wedding. Ahhh, the joys of married life. Personally, I love it.

putting my degree to use

So remember that time I studied Marketing?

Think back... oh yeah, there it is!

Well I'm finally getting to use all that knowledge I have been hiding. I'm working on advertising my Etsy shop! First stop: Team Boo. One of my favorite blogs to read. Carolyn, the owner of the aforementioned blog, has started accepting ads for her page (hooray!) and I'm putting together some possible badges/buttons to send in.

What I need from you is your opinion on the following gems. Which one is most aesthetically pleasing? Which one is easiest to read? Which one screams "click me!" ?

I can't get numbers in the middle of all of these guys for some reason so use the following format for voting:

1 2
3 4

5 6
7 8

Any tips/suggestions are also welcome! Thanks!

an army of flowers

That's what I promised Patrick. A whole army. This was after I went a little bit crazy in the fabric section of Walmart last night. He said I had to "use every inch" of fabric to make flowers, and "they had better sell". (so tell all your friends!)

So this morning I added some items to my Etsy shop and today will be spent making more! Check out this cuteness...

A big thank you to my models (an an apology to my husband who I'm sure will not approve). Love, love, love.

miss now mrs.

I would like to say that I officially have changed my name (and residency)! I finally feel like I'm married (only kidding). But seriously, what a relief to have this process over with.

I was told several times of a service at www.missnowmrs.com which I can sort of say I looked into. But basically I'm stubborn and I wanted to do it on my own. It only took a cool 68 days, but it's almost done! I have a new social security card, a new license (finally!), a military ID, health insurance and car insurance that all believe I'm married. Oh, and my bank account knows, I'm just waiting on the new card (we already got the checks with both our names - oh the excitement married life brings). The only thing left is my passport, and that can wait til we have an international trip planned, which I already know won't be for a long, long time.

Check out my driver's license, new state and new name (I promise it's there, but I just don't want all my info out there for the world to see...)

roses are red...

These flowers are blue! After being inspired by my bff Carly, and being obsessed with Emerson Made, I have actually made something pretty!

So far I only have grey organza and navy tulle, but hopefully soon I can get more fabric to make lots of different color flowers, and put them on things like necklaces and headbands!

I can't wait to add them to my Etsy shop!

PS: I actually used a needle and thread on these. I don't think I've done that since home ec. class in 7th grade. Family and friends can definitely attest to that. Especially last year when getting ready for the USMC birthday ball my dress ripped and I had no idea what to do. My first thought was "Where can I go buy another dress!?" Then, my wonderful husband (then fiance) then pulled out HIS sewing kit and stitched it right up! God bless the military for teaching him how to sew (and iron)!

let's be honest...

The first of my 2 confessions: The dogs don't get a break from the camera for very long. As you know from previous posts, I have been molding them into artists! Here are some pictures of the process...

Jack ready to go with the towels, paint and canvas (and his raccoon)

Jack says "ok Mom, let's do this" Jack trying to get cleaned up before going back insideI don't have pictures of Winston in the process because he's always running around instead of being my shadow (like Jack) until it's time to paint.

But this is a funny picture of him sniffing around the deck (probably looking for Mr. Lizard)My second confession is that I apparently have no clue how to use the self timer on Pat's camera. Check out the following attempts...

trying to get set up

adjusting... getting the dogs in position... Jack bumped the camera take 1take 2
take 3 and take 4

I have the best boys don't I?! I heart them.

fish are friends not food

As promised, a few shots of our 46 gallon bow front tank :)

our hammer coral and an orange mushroom

Dude, our cinnamon clown in the xenia he's hosted Bubba, our snowflake moray eel and a feather duster and torch coral the whole tank in the daylight bulb - from left to right:

Gobes, yellow head sleeper goby

Elvis

Fred, Clarkii clown fish

Dude

bottom right corner: Bubba

and a forest of pulsing xenia taking over the tank

the whole tank under actinic lighting

it's not easy being green

It's also not east being unemployed. I find myself outside with the dogs a lot. And since they don't like to pose for pictures too much, I have to look for other subjects while they are running around like mad men.

Enter Mr. Lizard. When I let the dogs out the other morning he scurried across the deck and right up the column and just sat there watching me watch him. Thankfully he hung out while I ran inside to get my camera.

It wasn't long after my lizard friend had run off to bask in the sun somewhere quieter (and with less of a threat of being squashed by passing dogs) that I stumbled across the following odd site. This is a tree in our backyard. For as long as we've lived here I have never seen flowers on any of the handful of trees that are growing out of the sand.

Low and behold, one bright red flower, shining out all alone. I really appreciated this spot of color in the sea of green leaves; it made me smile. But was gone the next day...