When I kept getting comments on the McDonald's Case post, I started to wonder if it had really struck a nerve. Then I realized it was the most recent post on my blog, ya know.. back on OCTOBER 16th.
Sooooo hey, I'm alive.
Here's a recap of our fall (since winter is here with a VENGEANCE) in reverse order, through photos.
{camped out in front of the heat register after shoveling- which was a total bitch.}
{tootie contemplates winter, tucked under his blanket. He loves being snuggled into a blanket}
{Hanging out with Squish- he fancied himself when I turned on the reverse camera, which made for this spectacular photo}
{spooning my bitty- this fall involved a lot of cat cuddles. JUST LOOK AT THAT FACE. wahh}
{sideways dessert from our day-of-the-dead themed dinner party. Being an adult is fun :) }
{day-of-the-dead themed birthday dinner party. Seriously so much fun.}
{M's Halloween pumpkin...}
{and my uncle's ridiculously over the top Pumpkin Carving Party- because everything he does is over the top. M won third place!}
Sooo that's an abbreviated version of our fall in 10 seconds. Because now it's winter in MN. I will say, there's a lot of pressure on Minnesotans to soak up spring, summer and fall and BE OUTSIDE and DO ALL THE THINGS, so I for one tend to embrace the first few months of winter as a chance to hibernate and recharge. That of course expires in, say, February right about after my birthday when I realize we have THREE MORE MONTHS of this frozen hell.
But for now, I'm loving the flannel jammies, warming up under some blankets after work, candles burning, and a snuggly kitten who is also bracing for a long winter.
I'm hoping to get my poop in a group in the next week or two to make a little announcement. I'm not trying to overhype it, but I've been toying around with the idea of opening up a "shop" for some time and am finally taking steps to do so. Some of the stuff will only be available locally, unfortunately, due to the nature of the items but if there's enough interest, maybe I'll delve into shipping. I just think it'll be a hassle, since it's wood- and would be heavy and cumbersome.. but never say never!
I was going to refer to this as some sort of weekend recap but in looking at the few photos I took/am posting I notice a theme: cats. My life, in one word, really.
Friday night M and I made dinner and had a couple over for some impromptu drinks when I happened to see them while driving home from the grocery store.
Weekends (and really every day, now) means tootie gets to snuggle, so here we are spooning before bed.
This is actually how we sleep (minus the eyes open and the light on)- he's my little spoon. Love him.
Saturday I was pretty spectacularly worthless.
I had every intention of being productive but when M left for an all-day golf tournament with my dad, brother and cousin I found myself on the couch watching back-to-back(-to-back) episodes of Sex and the City on HBOGo. [As an aside, it's amazing what I see when I watch them in order and after all these years I can finally say I sort of understand why people hated Big so hard. I get it.]
I did manage to put away heaps of laundry that had been sitting in my closet for most the summer, but this picture of TJ pretty much sums up the day:
I had plans to go over to my dad's and hang out with them after the tournament but I should've known what I was in for when I got a text from M as I was heading over that simply read, "sleepy." .... sure enough I drive 25 minutes and find 2/3 of them passed out on the couches. My 1/3 being one of them, my brother the other. Oy. I lasted 40 minutes before telling them I'd see them the next day (which was consequently my brother's birthday) when they were all more conscious, and I dragged M home.
Sunday we lounged, I went to the gym and Costco, and we ran errands to Goodwill and Target. I got some new flats for Italy, since my other ones have the bungee-heels that KILL my ankles after a long day, and I actually bought 2 shirts at Goodwill (LC|Lauren Conrad top and a brand new with tags on top from Target for a total of $11 !!!!)-- I need to shop here more often. I exercised some self restraint in re-shelving a top from Banana Republic and American Eagle as well. I have to say I'm usually not big on Goodwill because I hate picking through the racks but I may be a convert (also, see the previous post on the B word..).
Sunday night we picked up a small strawberry tort and headed over to my dad's for a birthday dinner for my brother. We plopped Lucky at the table and he thought this slice was his. #cruel
Don't feel too bad though, dad snuck him a lick of whipped cream (in case anyone is wondering why this cat is like.. 100 lbs.)
The big 2-4!
Overall a low key weekend.
The next 2 weeks feel packed- tonight we're using a Let's Dish gift card to make ourselves some freezer meals for when we inevitably return from Italy and are jet lagged and lazy; a HH on Jess's patio is on deck, and another HH/movie night with book club to discuss Courtney Robertson's book, "I Didn't Come Here to Make Friends" (#BachelorNation- yes, it's true) and watch If I Stay, which was last month's book.
So, stay tuned. Maybe I'll take photos.
I've also been thinking about my mom a lot lately.. per usual, but have a post drafted and a few others stewing so maybe I'll publish those as well.
There's only so many ways to title a weekend wrap up. Clearly I'm not stretching too hard to be creative. Mer.
I realize, sitting here on Sunday night, that I dropped the ball last week in terms of posting. Woops. Maybe I'll be better this week.
Moving on to the weekend.
Friday night I met up with some MN Blogger girls for happy hour at the Green Mill in Rosedale Mall. I headed over after work and did some shopping before our 6:00 meetup. I bought a shirt-dress (that you'll see below in a picture) and some mint skinny's. I figure I'm only a year behind that trend, and for $15, it's not too late to hop on the tail end of it, right?
The girls at HH:
Saturday morning I woke up to this little terror:
He gets hungry and starts to act out if we don't get up to feed him soon enough. This particular morning he took pleasure in pulling the table runner down and then stomping on it. He got even more riled up when I was awake and talking to him and still not making a move to get up and feed him.
I finally stopped neglecting him and fed him. Afterward, he slunk back upstairs and peeked from around the corner..
I think someone felt bad about how he acted.
Since we were up pretty early (8:30) we decided to head to one of our favorite breakfast spots in Minneapolis, Moose & Sadie's.
See, Moose is the dog. Sadie is the girl:
It's in the warehouse district of Minneapolis, and has a very industrial vibe. It's a super small spot, but we were one of the first few there. If I was told I could only eat one meal out for the rest of my life, I'd pick breakfast/brunch hands down every time. While I love to sleep (duh), I also love to wake up early still (8:30-9) on the weekends and hit a breakfast spot. Something about being awake before a lot of the world, watching the sun come up, having coffee. I just love breakfast.
It also helps that Moose & Sadie's has some of THE best quiche in Minneapolis, and trust me.. I've done the leg work. (Aster Cafe, across the river, is either tied for 1st or a close 2nd, depending on what kind they're serving). I had the bacon broccoli cheddar. nomnomnom.
After, we swung by Men's Warehouse to put in the suit order. My brother, no surprise, is the only one who hasn't gotten his measurements in. I've been trying to maintain a delicate balance of reminding and not badgering but with family, that line blurs fast.
Then I found TJ's suit that he'll be wearing to the wedding:
JK guys, I'm not THAT crazy.
I'm not sure I've mentioned it before, but we're not having a ring bearer or flower girl or any kids in the wedding party. Don't get me wrong, I find all your children adorable, but to me- wrangling multiple small children for photos, dealing with their antics and moods, and potential 'stage fright' sounds like the absolute last thing I want to do on my wedding day. That, and I'm not exceptionally close to any small children in my family. I think if my brother and I were older or he were married with kids, I'd use them. That being said, I can totally see WHY people do include kids: this tiny suit, I died.
After Men's Warehouse, I talked M into going to Shane Co. to just "look" at bands (I think you can guess how this story ends...). I wasn't sure if I wanted a band, or would find a band that was affordable. (it's a good thing I didn't have any say over how much M spent on my ring, because I have SUCH anxiety about spending large sums of money, especially asking someone else to spend it on me, that I wouldn't have wound up with as nice of a ring as I have if I were a part of the decision). I also wasn't sure if I would like the way a band looked with my ring. (Here's a reminder of what it looks like-->)
I figured I'd need a contoured band since it kind of bows out around the center stone. Well, we walked in just wanting to get a feel for how it'd look. She pulled 3 rings. One straight band, one that bowed out, and one that kind of was a soft sideways "S" (if that makes any sense at all). Color me surprised when the band that was my favorite was the most affordable. I bought it for myself on the spot, haha.
Here it is:
I'm going to refrain from sharing the band/ring combo as it actually looks on my hand until the wedding, sowwy. ;-)
Saturday afternoon I hung out around the house while M helped his dad move into his new apartment. Saturday night was an absolute blast. M's friend from college, Brett, married a girl named Gretchen. It was Gretchen's dad's (Red, is his name) 60th birthday party. Because they live on a lake, a lot of M's friends have spent a lot of time over there and have gotten to know Red. They're so generous and the party did not disappoint. They had live music, and the theme was "Red" for Red (as you can see in the background). I wish the picture was better quality.
We stayed until about midnight, singing along and having a good time.
Sunday we went to church with my parents, and then M and my dad went to the Sportsman's Show in Minneapolis in preparation for their annual Canada fishing trip. My brother's not going on the trip this year so he stayed behind, and he and I went and got Chipotle for lunch. I think it's been hard on him living at home (he and my dad butt heads) and he's often not in the best mood when I see him. Since it was just the two of us, though, we were able to chat and I really enjoyed it.
We got home and played with my parent's cat, Squish. Or "mush" as Syndal calls him. ;-)
We randomly had some legos sitting out in the living room (my mom's PCA had her kids over apparently) so Stephen started playing with the cat with them. This ensued, naturally:
After the guys got home, M and I swung by M's dad's and helped him set up his apartment a bit more. Currently, we're snuggled up on the couch watching the Gopher's embarrass themselves to Florida. Sorry, not even trying to be a downer, but it's not looking good.
Hope you all had a good weekend!
I've had such a hodge podge of posts sitting in my drafts.. maybe I'll finish one or 2 and get my shit together this week. Or maybe not. We'll see. :)
"Just one drink" quickly spiraled into 3 glasses of wine and a table full of appetizers.
I had told M he should come over after work and that we'd go have a mini-date-night in downtown. Well, I filled up pretty quickly on appetizers and ended up buying M dinner out of guilt.
He was quite the trooper, showing up to an all girl (blogger) happy hour. He said it was really nice to meet some of the girls I talk about, though, and that the girls seemed like nice people. Even you, Lo. ;-)
He drove me home, and I passed out during the Gopher's game on the couch.
This weekend I...
got my oil changed, like any good boring adult. This was made doubly fun since I made an 8 a.m. appointment for Saturday (WHY?!) and needed M to bring me back to my car the next morning. It was nice to have someone to chat with at the car shop, and he even stopped and got us Starbucks before coming to meet me.
This weekend we...
GOT A NEW COUCH.
Once again, hi, I'm a boring adult. but OMG it was so exciting. We had this slipcovered nightmare in the living room for the last 2 years. One day a few months ago when I was getting my oil changed, I wandered into the Slumberland outlet store next to Midas (on Excelsior in St. Louis Park- for you locals) when I saw this pretty:
annnnddd then I saw THIS pretty:
and nearly bought it on the spot.
A few months went by,..and as a part of my birthday present for this year, M said I could finally go pick out a couch. Of course, this beauty popped back into my head, so last weekend we were putzing around and stopped by the Slumberland outlet again, and she was still there! (they had 7 others available when we bought ours, so RUN AND GET ONE if you're looking for a couch). We bought it on the spot, and picked it up this weekend.
Here's what it looked like before:
aannnnd after:
I am in love.
TJ approves, as well.
This weekend I...
went over to my parents house on Saturday night with M to have dinner. My brother was working, but it was still nice to get to hang out with my mom and dad.
The guys talked about their fishing trip, and I stared at the wall.
Just kidding, but last year was the first year M got to go along on my dad's annual fishing trip to Canada. I got to listen to them talk about it for 2 months prior to the trip, and a month after.
Well, they're gearing up to go in May again, so the fishing talk has geared back up again.
We hung out for a few hours and watched the hockey game,... and I caught my parents' cat, Lucky winking at me.
He says, "I got you."
This weekend we....
woke up early and headed back to St. Paul to meet my parents at church. It was doughnut Sunday, so we stopped downstairs after mass for doughnuts and coffee and chatted with my parents' friends.
After church, we stopped by Target and did some shopping, and then had every intention of stopping by some open houses on the way home (we nosey, yo).. buuuuttt after swinging by the house, I ended up falling asleep for 2 hours. When I woke up we went and grabbed a late lunch/early dinner at Woodfire Grill in St. Louis Park.
Since then, we've been hanging out at home.
I made a pathetic attempt at writing a cover letter and just wasn't feeling it, so I gave up. My brain was mushy and the words were not coming out eloquently, so I'll take a stab at it tomorrow. Wah.
Well.. It's Monday and I survived the weekend with the 2 terrors. I went to watch my friend run the Minneapolis half marathon Sunday morning, stopped for a solo lunch at Noodles and wrote out my grocery list (they're across the parking lot from one another). Upon my return around noon, I decided to partake in an experiment. I let Lucky out of his room, only this time, after freaking out that they were trying to kill each other and not playing at all, I let them go at it. For HOURS. TJ took great pleasure in stalking Lucky, jumping on his back, and nipping his neck/ears. Joke is on TJ though because Lucky is twice his size and when Lucky ACTUALLY had enough, he'd let TJ know.
After about 5 or 6 hours of that, they seemed to reach an understanding. They could be in the same room without wanting to fight/play, and even co-existed peacefully on occasion! Behold, progress:
TJ even calmed down enough to enjoy one of his favorite weekend activities: sitting in the nook of my arm while I use the computer, read, or in this case.. work on flashcards for barbri.
He's so freaking adorable. I think Lucky was hiding downstairs. I think TJ forgot for a little while Lucky was even there.. or maybe he really is just relaxing to the idea.
such a sweetie..
Mutually distracting activities, such as swinging at bugs through the screen of an open window, also serves as a good "babysitter" for these 2.
All in all, I think we're going to survive, guys.
I do sincerely hope that when I go home after work to feed them one hasn't killed the other one. That'd be bad.
Well... It's Saturday night. I just got back from Snow White and the Huntsman (SO good!) and am watching Friends before bed. M is in Canada.. he left Friday at 5:30 in the morning with my dad and brother, and they're all holed up in the woods with a bunch of other guys until Wednesday night.
My mom has PCAs staying round the clock, but my dad worries about Lucky's care/I'm not sure as a part of their "job" that they'll take care of pets. At least one other time when my dad left town they wouldn't watch Lucky. SO guess who gets the honor of watching him while Dad's away? this girl. Ordinarily I would love this. Lucky was "my" cat long before TJ came along. He's big, fluffy, and SO docile. He's NOT a snuggler though (which is what I love about TJ). BUT naturally, being away from home stresses him out. He's a bit more skittish, vocal, and sad. Which breaks my heart because I love him and I tell him all the time (yes I'm nuts) that he's going home in a few days... because in my world he's thinking I've taken him away from my dad, and honestly thinking about that makes me want to cry/has me tearing up. Yes, again, I'm nuts.
Anyway, Lucky is 7. TJ is 11 months old and CRAZY. You do the math. I brought Lucky home late last night... and ordinarily when introducing cats (who will live together permanently) there's this long drawn out process of letting them sniff each other's belongings, letting them interact under a closed door, etc. Yes, I know these things. Anyway, I don't have time for that shit. In my perfect world, the cats would frolick and lay together, and angels would sing. WRONG. I bring in Lucky's crap last night and put it in the guest room. I give TJ a heads up sniff before bringing in Lucky's carrier. I bring in Lucky's carrier and let TJ sniff him through the bars. They'd met once before... when we first got TJ we were watching Lucky. I opened the doors and BAM: Lucky bolts under the bed, TJ follows, and Lucky makes noises I have NEVER heard him make... growls, hisses,...scary. TJ's eyes bug out and he's meowing (quite distressed) not taking his eyes off Lucky. fuckkkkk.
I start panicking thinking if either of them hurt the other I'll have an upset man in my life (either M or my dad) so I get them apart, put TJ in his room, put Lucky in the guest room, and both just start HOWLING. I had a long, dumb Friday...8 hours of work, was exhausted from tuesday-thursday 12 hour days, had 3.5 hours of BarBri after work, and now these 2. I walked into the living room and burst into tears. It was at least an hour of ugly crying while watching Say Yes to the Dress:Bridesmaids. I go to bed puffy eyed.. Lucky's in his room (and mad) and TJ is roaming the house (which mostly entails sitting outside Lucky's room and sticking his paws under the door. Such a shit.)
4:45 a.m., I hear "BANG BANG BANG". My heart is in my throat, 9-1-1 is punched into my phone, and I'm slowly walking downstairs (something I swore I'd never do if I REALLY thought there was an intruder, but I was 80% sure there wasn't one). Nope, just Lucky, knocking over picture frames and rattling the door because my dad is CRAZY and feeds him at 5:30 in the morning and Lucky was throwing a tantrum because he was hungry.
Anyway, this is what today looked like when I tried to let them be in the same room:
Here's a close up of the bottom 2 frames. It LOOKS like TJ has his arm around Lucky and is telling him a story. In REALITY TJ was mid-"go for the throat"-lunge.
and another standoff (seconds before TJ swung that paw at Lucky's head)
Meanwhile, I'm trying to do this:
(Make flash cards for the bar exam)
Annnddd another attack by the back door.
I finally put TJ away for a while and let Lucky roam around. Poor guy was exhausted from being assaulted by the 8-lb terror.
SO, this is the next 5 days of my life. I have had a perpetual headache. My problem is I care too damn much. I've been rotating them in and out of their rooms, to give each a chance to roam the entire house, which means the one in their room at any given time hates me, and is howling. (although usually only about 10 minutes and then if I'm quiet enough they think I've left and they shut up). TJ is worse than Lucky. Although right now, TJ is in his room and he's whining, and Lucky's out in the open and HE won't.stop.grunting.
Having 2 strung out cats and having to play cat-roulette is stressing me the fuck out. I feel like I'm just upsetting both of them at all times..and that every time I let TJ out of his room and he smells Lucky all over, or put TJ away, that I'm "betraying him" because this is HIS house. omg, I KNOW how nuts I sound, but the whole thing is going to give me an ulcer. Not to mention, I like both of these cats independently because they're QUIET. I don't do well with vocal cats (aka cats that just meow ALL the time, for no reason)... TJ usually trills or purrs but it's sporadic and not annoying. Lucky never meows unless he's hungry. Neither one of them have shut up for the last 24 hours.
Pray for me, people. This is hyper dramatic of me, I realize.... but OMG these 2 are driving me crazy.
