Category: Weekend Recap

Since I was in bed around 9:30PM on Friday, let’s just start my Weekend Recap off with Saturday.

Saturday

Saturday morning, I had a hair appointment to get my hair cut!  Don’t get too excited… it was just a trim, but it feels so much healthier now.  I REALLY needed that cut, badly. 

After my hair cut, Bryan and I went down to Center City for the Rittenhouse Row Festival.  My friend Neil’s band, Field of Play, performed until the rain started coming down pretty hard. 

(source) – This photo was from a previous show, but that’s Field of Play!

After listening to the band and wandering around the festival, Bryan and I drove home and relaxed.  We definitely needed it, after a very long day. 

On Saturday night, I swore I would stay awake long enough to watch Saturday Night Live, but that didn’t happen of course. 

Sunday

On Sunday morning, I went and checked out a tanning salon in my area.  I typically HATE tanning salons, and I know the bad things that can come from tanning, but I’m in a wedding on June 1st and I can’t look white with the color dress I’m wearing.  So I’m making the exception for the next two weeks. 

After tanning, I went to the gym.

Yes, you read that correctly.  I.WENT.TO.THE.GYM.

Confession: I haven’t been to the gym since January.  Ouch, that hurt to say, but it’s true. 

I am super happy to be back into the swing of things.  I only did a mile and a half on the treadmill and then another slow 10 minutes on the elliptical.  It’s a start.

After going to the gym, I came home and plopped on the couch for the rest of the day, watched random YouTube videos, downloaded a random episode of The Spin Crowd, and painfully watched the Billboard Music Awards.

Now, it’s Monday.  Have a good start to your week!

Talk to Me

• What did you do this weekend?
• Did you watch the Billboard Awards?  What did you think?
• What are you working on at the gym these days?  Muscle building?  Cardio?  Toning?

Monday is here again, folks.  Wahoo.  (I hope you noted the sarcasm there) 

Although I’m pretty bummed that the weekend is over, I can’t complain about the weather today.  It’s bright and sunny, which is the ideal way to start a Monday.  No need for any gloomy starts to my week!  Sure, it’s a bit colder than the weather we’ve been having but I’ll take no rain. 

Here’s a recap of my weekend.

Saturday

Since nothing really too exciting happened on Friday, let’s just start with Saturday.  Saturday morning we didn’t wake up until after 12PM.  Bryan went out with some friends on Friday night and didn’t get home until almost 3:30, so I waited up for him before heading to bed.  That being said, I wanted to get a full night’s sleep so I slept until the afternoon  

After finally getting up, we drove over to our jeweler to fix my engagement ring.  On Friday night, I noticed that one of my side diamonds that go around my band had fallen out and one of the prongs had broken off.  I was VERY happy that they were able to fix my ring in an hour’s time!  I definitely can’t complain. 

While waiting for the ring to be fixed, Bry and I went to Rock Bottom Brewery for some lunch.  I got the veggie burger with a side of jalapenos and black beans.  It was a great choice!  Unfortunately, I didn’t take any photos to show you but you’ll just have to trust me on this one.  If you have a Rock Bottom Brewery in your area, you must go and get the veggie burger.  Here’s a list of their locations:

• Glendale, Arizona
• Phoenix, Arizona
• Campbell, California
• La Jolla, California
• Long Beach, California
• San Diego, California
• Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Denver, Colorado (downtown)
• Denver, Colorado (Denver International Airport)
• Loveland, Colorado
• Westminster, Colorado (Orchard Town Center)
• Centennial, Colorado
• Westminster, Colorado (Westminster Promenade)
• Des Moines, Iowa
• Chicago, Illinois
• Lombard, Illinois
• Orland Park, Illinois
• Warrenville, Illinois
• Indianapolis, Illinois (downtown)
• Indianapolis, Illinois (college park)
• Boston, Massachusetts
• Bethesda, Maryland
• Minneapolis, Minnesota
• St Paul, Minnesota
• Charlotte, North Carolina
• Omaha, Nebraska
• Cincinnati, Ohio
• Portland, Oregon
• King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
• Homestead, Pennsylvania
• Nashville, Tennessee
• Arlington, Virginia
• Bellevue, Washington
• Seattle, Washington
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin

After coming home from the mall on Saturday, I ended up using the engagement card that Leslee got us as a decoration in our bathroom!  I think it looks awesome.

Sunday

On Sunday afternoon, we went to Bryan’s parents’ house for Mother’s Day.  I had grilled lobster and Bryan had lobster and grilled steak.  Everything was so delicious!  After dinner we had mini cupcakes from a bakery near their house.  My favorite was the salted caramel vanilla cupcake.

Sunday night we finished up watching Dexter (not sure what season that was… but it was the one with the guy from 3rd Rock from the Sun).  *Don’t spoil anything for me in the comments!  I love that show.  We took a few months off from watching it, but I’m glad we picked it back up again.  It’s always so surprising and suspenseful! 

Talk to Me

• What did you do this weekend?
• Have diamonds ever fallen out of your ring?
• What do you typically order when you eat out?  I usually get a salad or veggie burger!

Sometimes weekends pass me by and I’m grateful for how relaxing they were.  Other weekend – like this past one, reminds me that I’m grateful for amazing weather and a busy schedule. 

Friday

Friday night, Bryan and I hung out with Leslee from Her Happy Balance and her boyfriend.  The night consisted of playing Clue; eating lots of grapes, pretzels and cucumbers; listening to country music and eventually falling asleep for a little bit on the couch.  Yep, I can’t party too hard these days without dozing off. 

Saturday 

On Saturday morning, Bryan surprised me by taking me out to breakfast.  He found a random restaurant on Yelp called Alfredo’s and wanted to check it out.  Breakfast is probably our favorite meal of the day so we’re always looking for new places to try.  Alfredo’s is really a hidden gem.  It’s actually a pizza place, but they are known for their breakfast all-day. 

I ordered three scrambled eggs, home fries, and toast with orange marmalade (my favorite).  I was very pleasantly surprised!  The outside of the restaurant looks like any other pizza place, but inside it was pretty quaint.

After breakfast, we stopped at a local coffee shop and then went to the Norristown Art Festival.  There were a lot of people there, probably around a few hundred.  There was also a Montco Idol competition.  All three contestants were very talented!  Can’t wait to check back and see who wins this Friday. 

Once we were done walking around the festival, we came home and relaxed!  We even took a nap!  It was so amazing to just come home and sleep for a few hours.  Once we woke up, it was right around dinner time.  After dinner I made an amazing fruit salad with honey!

(kiwi, pear, banana & honey)

Sunday

On Sunday, we did SO many things.  Many more things than normal Sundays, that’s for sure. 

First we went to IKEA and finally bought office desks.  Oh, and a watering can and a fake plant for our bathroom.

After that we stopped home, unloaded the furniture and then headed right back out the door to the Chestnut Hill Home & Garden Festival.  I read about the festival online last week and knew it would be a good time and it was!  The weather was absolutely perfect and there was definitely a lot to look at.  I’d say there were probably over 350 vendors there.  If you’re from the Philadelphia area, the festival took place on Germantown Avenue and was probably at least a mile and a half long!  We walked around and Bryan bought a sandwich that had basically everything you can imagine on it, and I got us beer and a margarita.  I had to have a margarita – it WAS cinco de mayo of course. 

After the festival, we had a lot more errands to run.  We stopped at CVS for my prescription, then over to Target to look at air purifiers.  We ended up buying the air purifier from Target only to get home and have it break.  So… we went back out again.  This time to Target to return the old one, to Lowes,  to Home Depot and then back to Target.  We ended up getting a really nice one on sale at Target.  It was a long day.

Just hanging out at Home Depot

Talk to Me

• What did you do this weekend?
• What’s the last home appliance you purchased?
• Do you have street festivals where you live? What’s the best one you’ve been to?

This weekend was super relaxing.  I don’t think I did anything out of the ordinary, but one thing is for sure – I relaxed and relaxed and relaxed some more. 

(source)

Saturday

My alarm on Saturday went off pretty early for a weekend – 6:30AM.  I had to get out of bed and get dressed for a client event in Philly.  The event lasted until 2PM and then the day was mine!  When I got home, I relaxed on the couch and did nothing for a few hours.  A nap was probably involved as well.  I don’t really remember.  After dinner, Bryan went out with some of his friends.  Although I didn’t have any plans, I knew I wanted to take advantage of the gorgeous weather we were having so I sat on our balcony for a few hours with my laptop and some wine!

Nothing is better than quiet time, watching the sun set and having a nice glass of Riesling.  Having that quiet time is super important.  If you’re anything like me, sometimes your mind just says “Go, Go Go!”  It’s IMPERATIVE to remember that everyone needs to SLOW DOWN.  Even if it’s once a week (although I’m trying to do more), it’s good.

Sunday

Sunday morning was pretty glorious.  No alarm clock!  Bryan and I woke up mid-morning and had breakfast out on our balcony.  The weather was great again and we wanted to soak in some sun.  We would have gone for a walk at our local state park, but it’s allergy season and Bryan wasn’t feeling too great.

I was hoping for a suntan, but it didn’t really happen. 

The sun was out for a few hours in the morning, but by lunch time it was pretty cloudy.  Oh well.  After breakfast, we watched Homeland!  The show obviously has gotten great reviews, so I’m not sure why we waited to long to start watching it.  We’re only on the 3rd episode, but I’m already addicted to it!

(source)

After watching homeland, we took a nap on the couch for a few hours.  I LOVE napping with the sun shining.  Not sure why, but it really is great!  If it were up to Bryan he would sleep in complete darkness.

My Sunday night ended with some more quiet time before bed reading this book.

Creating Your Best Life is a book I bought a few years ago while I was in Graduate School.  I read it briefly last summer but I don’t think I ever finished it.  I decided last night to re-start the book and this time do a full review on the blog afterwards. 

Talk to Me

• What did you do this weekend?
• How often do you take “quiet time”?
• When is your favorite time to nap?

tIt’s Monday again.  I’m pretty glad that this weekend didn’t go by too quickly, because I was able to get a lot accomplished.

Friday

Friday right after work, Bryan and I drove about an hour and a half (with traffic) to drop my Honda off at the shop.  After getting in that small accident a month ago, my car is finally getting fixed.  After dropping Shelly (my car has a name, yes) off at the dealership, we went to Chickie’s and Pete’s for dinner!

We were so hungry, that I forgot to take a photo of our dinner. We ordered crab fries to share, I got crab cakes for my entrée and Bry got the McGooby.  If you don’t have a Chickie’s and Pete’s near you then you probably have no idea what crab fries and McGoobys are.  Crab fries are basically french fries seasoned with Old Bay.  The McGooby is a sandwich with shrimp, melted cheese, and some other stuff on a roll. 

I chose a Blue Moon draft, because I haven’t had one in a LONG time! 

Saturday

First thing on Saturday morning, Bryan and I went to pick up my loaner car to use while my car is in the shop.  I got a Jetta!  It’s really nice inside with leather seats, but I really love the dashboard on my Honda Civic.  The Jetta didn’t have navigation on the steering wheel nor did it have a large display box for the radio.  Oh well – the car is pretty sweet though because it can go super fast!  A lot faster than my Civic.

Once the car was picked up, Bryan’s sister and I went to breakfast then got a gel manicure.  Unfortunately, I have to go back to the nail salon this week because the woman who did my nails painted over my cuticles instead of cutting them.  When I took a shower, my cuticles ended up getting soft (as expected) and then all the polish came off of them.  So now, I have a huge gap where my cuticle is an where the nail polish starts. 

After getting my nails done, we went to Party City, Lowes and Target for random items for our engagement party.  It’s coming together pretty well, but there is so much other stuff to buy.  Can’t wait until next Saturday.

Once we were done shopping, we had dinner at Bryan’s parents house – grilled steaks and shrimp!  Of course I had the shrimp, and they were delicious! 

Sunday

Sunday was a pretty relaxing day.  Without setting an alarm, I was able to sleep in until about 8:30AM when I had to get up to use the bathroom.  Bryan and I made breakfast Sunday morning – homemade waffles and fresh squeezed orange juice!  I’m telling you, since buying a juicer, I am unable to drink store bought orange juice.  It just doesn’t taste good anymore. 

While eating our delicious breakfast, we watched Silver Linings Playbook.  OMG so good.  Of course I cried at the end.   Want to know something random?  The guy who wrote the book “Silver Linings Playbook” is a La Salle University graduate!  La Salle is where I got my master’s degree.  Oh another random fact – the high school that Bradley Cooper works at in the movie is my old high school.  Hell yes.  I love movies set in Philadelphia and the Philly suburbs.

(source)

After the movie was over, we went to the King of Prussia mall so I could do a few things:

• Buy a rain jacket
• Try on Tory Burch flats and pick a pair out to purchase at a later time
• Buy an engagement party dress

I only did two of those three things. 

I did buy a rain jacket!  It’s called the Carli from North Face.  I basically LOVE it.  I’m so happy that I finally have a rain jacket.  I’m not sure how I lasted so long without it.  Now I don’t have to run around in my North Face fleece in the rain looking like a complete idiot.  

I also picked out the Tory Burch flats that I like:  the patent leather Revas in tan.  I tried on other flats there without the scrunched back and they didn’t fit as well as the Revas – which I’ve been told NEVER go on sale.  Oh well, I think I’ll just buy these soon.  I need a new pair of flats to wear to work ASAP.  I thought they were pretty true to size, but I’ve been told by many people that if I’m buying a pair to get a half size bigger. 

I unfortunately couldn’t find an engagement party dress, but I’m going to go to the mall after work this week and buy one.  I only have a few days this week that I can go after work, so I must find one soon!  I’m looking for a white cocktail dress, preferably something on the conservative side – nothing crazy!  I actually tried a dress on today from Nordstrom’s Top Shop section that was so short that I couldn’t bend over.  No way am I buying that. 

Talk to Me

• Do you own a pair of Tory Burch flats?  Did you have to do a half size up?
• Where is the best place to buy a white dress?
• What did you do this weekend?

It’s Monday again, my friends.  This weekend seemed to fly by!  It’s crazy how some weekends can seem like they drag on (yay!) and some just seem to end at the blink of an eye.  Although the weekend went by quickly, it was a pretty great weekend. 

Saturday

On Saturday, I went to my friend Lauren’s bridal shower and bachelorette party.  As bridesmaids, we all picked a month and decorated a wine bottle to celebrate a specific holiday during that month.  I picked December and did First Christmas Eve.  Here was the poem I wrote (with Bryan’s help):

After the bridal shower, we all went down to Center City Philadelphia to get the bachelorette party started!  First we went to a pole dancing class!  It was actually really fun – completely more difficult than you would expect.  Pole dancers must have crazy upper body strength.

Not the best photo, but that was our instructor showing us all the cool tricks she could do

After finishing up with the class, we went back to the hotel and got ready for a fun night out.  We walked over to Rumor, a nightclub in the Rittenhouse section of Philly.  I haven’t been to a nightclub since college and those were always gross, not classy ones.  You know, the clubs that allow “17 to party, 21 to drink.”  This club was completely different.  It had about 5 or 6  different rooms playing different types of music.  When we got there we were actually the first group there.  Who knew showing up at 9:30PM was early?! 

(Source)

Unfortunately I don’t have any photos yet from Saturday besides that random one of the pole dancer, but Lauren’s sister in-law is going to be sending them soon.  I’ll have to share all the ones of me that aren’t too crazy!

Sunday

On Sunday morning, I slept in until about 9:30AM which was the best feeling ever.  After that we headed down over to Bryan’s parents’ house for grilling!  The weather was pretty much perfect all weekend, so we wanted to take advantage of that and eat outside on the deck.  Bryan’s sister made grilled shrimp, sausage, peppers and onions.  They were SO SO good.  (I don’t eat sausage, as you know, but Bryan said it was amazing).  Luckily for us, we have lots of left overs.

After eating, Bryan’s mom showed me all the stuff she already has for our engagement party.  I’m glad I checked with her first, because I probably would have bought double of what she already had.  She had a punch bowl, a serving table, a bucket for drinks and a lot of other cool stuff.  Random thought:  Our engagement party is on the 20th and I still need to get a dress. AHH.  I’ll probably go shopping this week and pick one out.  I have a general idea of what I want it to look like, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find a white dress in April.  Especially with graduations coming up and other spring-time festivities, the stores usually have a lot of options this time of year.

Talk to Me

• What did you do this weekend?
• Was the weather warm in your area?
• What was the craziest thing you’ve ever done at a bachelorette party?