Monday, March 31, 2014

Hewitt's Thoughts: Episode 2

Hello human peoples,

It's Hewitt. I'm taking over mom's blog today to share my thoughts and observations. I've done this once before (and it was quite a long time ago) so I figured my loyal fans (I'm looking at you Mylie, Gus and Geege) would want to hear from me again.

First, a selfie. (actually, I didn't take this photo...as I do not have thumbs...but I did pose for it.)


Do you see me there? Peeping around the blanket? Yes, I make it a habit of remaining still and quiet. This is how I've come up with my keenest observations of you humanoids. Below are my thoughts on human things.

My thoughts on the new house: I like it. I have many observation windows where I can gaze upon my kingdom...and my subjects. I can also keep an eye on all of the house's perimeters. However, there are three barking Pomeranians that live next door. I cannot pee in peace without them barking at me. I dislike this. They are on my list.


My thoughts on my future daddy: I like him. He's nice to me sometimes but he also doesn't give me as many treats as mommy does. I dislike this. Sometimes, he pets me...which I tolerate. (For the record the only human I allow to pet me is mommy. And even then I sometimes growl under my breath.) Sometimes mommy tries to force future father and son moments with us and it ends up looking something like this...



This is not a face of bliss. It's a face of seething hatred for being held like a baby. Dislike.

My thoughts on bananas: Nothing can motivate me to wake up from a nap faster than the sound of a banana being detached from the bunch. At the mere sound, I will awaken from my slumbers and make my way into the kitchen. Mom might have used this as a way to get me to go potty once. OR twice. That jerk.

My thoughts on television: Humans, there is no need to leave the television on Animal Planet or any other animal/nature show for me while you are away. I prefer the quiet (the better to hear sounds outside) and the sound of whatever animal is on tv often disturbs my day naps and rouses me from my dreams. Please turn off the tv. Thank you.

My thoughts on birds: Dislike.
My thoughts on cats: Like
My thoughts on zoo animals: Not as cute as I.
My thoughts on the government: Naps are way more productive.
My thoughts on babies: No thank you. I prefer to be the only noisy, needy thing in the house.

These are just my thoughts.

Peace out - Hewitt



Thursday, March 27, 2014

How to: One Top Four Ways


Happy Thursday!

I'm big fan of any sort of wardrobe versatility advice or inspiration. I love being able to take one piece and wear it for multiple occasions or with a variety of outfits. To me, that is the true meaning of a budget fashionista! :)

Today, I bring you my own version of this with my One Top Four Ways (1T4W) post. I've done a few other similar posts in the past, but never with much continuity. If this works out well, I might make it more of a recurring post.

The basic premise of this post is the idea that one top (this one, from Target) can be worn for a variety of occasions/events and with lots of different outfits. I've credited the outfit items that I could find exact links for and that are still available to purchase.


The first look is a work one. The fabric and cut of the top (polyester and has a higher neckline) makes it perfect when paired with a suit or a blazer. I loved rocking this at work.
[Blazer | Pants (in navy)]
The next two looks are also work appropriate or can be more business casual. I'm still not sure how I feel about the first look, but I think it's just because I love the second business casual (hues of blues) outfit so much. It's more in my wardrobe comfort zone. Also, I love the colors. :)

The casual look is probably my favorite. (duh!) It's also the most colorful. Something about aqua and pink together makes me happy. I realize this color combo might be a bit much for most people, so you could sub in a navy or gray cardigan and neutral shoes if it feels more comfortable.

Would you ever try mixing up one of your tops in 4 different outfits?



Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Wedding Wednesday: Why I Won't Hunt You Down


Happy Wednesday, friends!

Well, here we are...almost 17ish days before the wedding. I've had a total of around 120 or so guests RSVP that they were coming. I've had about 10 people tell me they won't be able to make it. So, there are about 90-100 guests that I've not heard from. And my deadline on the invitation for RSVPing was March 15.

Surprisingly, this really doesn't bother me. Granted, my wedding is slightly different than most because I don't have a catered reception with seating charts and all of that. It's just a dessert reception set up buffet-style. So, having 120 or 220 people really doesn't make a huge difference to me. I mean, sure it would be NICE to know so that I wouldn't buy food for 220 people if I didn't need it. But, then again, I'd rather have extra than not enough. And, sure it makes a difference in my cake...because if I only have 120 people coming, I could DRASTICALLY reduce the cost of my cake. Again though, I'd rather bank on having 220 people. If I have to eat cake for weeks, I'll gladly do it. :) If I have to pawn off extra cake on friends and family whilst I get my burn on in Jamaica, I will. I'm sure they won't mind.

I'd rather OVER estimate the number of guests (even by something as drastic as 100...which I know won't actually be the case) than UNDER estimate. That's a pretty standard way of thinking, right? Better be safe than sorry. Under promise and over deliver?

So, I'm not going to spend my last few weeks before the wedding hunting down non-responders. If you come, you come. If you don't, still send me a gift. JUST kidding. :) But for real, trying to contact every single person to see if they are coming seems so unnecessarily tedious to me. I realize I'm probably not thinking very "traditionally" when it comes to this...but it's just how I am. However, the other, more worrisome part of me wonders if people even got the invitation. I mean, I know people did...but we did have some mail issues...so...? It's a small-yet-slightly-nagging worry. Still, I think most of the important people/family/friends are involved enough in my life to know the wedding is approaching and would speak out if they hadn't received an invitation. Right? Is that wishful thinking?

How did you track down non-RSVPers? Did you worry about it? Did you count on everyone showing up? I'd love to hear how your actual wedding turned out number-wise vs. the number you invited.







Tuesday, March 25, 2014

MohawkHome Rug Review & Giveaway

Boy am I excited for today's post!!

If you've been reading TSF lately, you'll know that I'm getting married soon and will be moving into a new townhome with my husband once we get married. I've had a few posts about getting the place ready for me to move in (since M already moved in a few weeks ago) and the decorating of the new place. Not long after this post, MohawkHome contacted me about reviewing one of their rugs to put in my new place.

Uh, duh!? M and I were literally just looking at rugs along with a couple other pieces of furniture the weekend before I was contacted so the timing was perfect. I picked out a rug that I thought would work well to define our living room area and blend with the colors and style that we currently have in the room. The rug I chose was this one. It's actually an indoor/outdoor rug but you would NEVER know considering how soft it is. Here's how it looks in the house.




It arrived REALLY quickly and couldn't be more perfect in our new place. We can't get over how "finished" it makes this space look. We literally changed nothing except for adding a rug and it makes a huge difference! Even M, who doesn't really offer a lot of commentary on my house decorating decisions made multiple comments about how much he loved the rug once we put it in the new place. But I think this rug has an even bigger fan than M and I...



These photos were not posed. We actually couldn't get him OFF the rug so we could take photos, so M had to bribe him with a treat. Hewitt loves this rug. M loves this rug! I'm a happy girl! #ilovemymohawkrug

So, now for the fun part! MohawkHome is giving you the chance to win a rug for your home! They have so many beautiful designs to choose from. (Some of my other personal favorites: 1, 2, 3, 4) Enter below for the chance to win a fabulous rug of your choice (up to a 5'x8' and $150). Best of luck!



For more information on MohawkHome, visit their Youtube page and watch their "Still Made in the USA" video, subscribe to their MohawkHomeScapes blog or follow them on Houzz.com.

Full disclosure: I was given this rug free of charge in exchange for my review and its exposure on my blog. All comments and thoughts are purely my own. I am proud to support increasing exposure for an American-made business that adheres to the time-honored values on which it was founded.



Monday, March 24, 2014

Bachelorette Party Re-cap

Happy Monday!

I mentioned on Friday that my bachelorette party was this weekend. I specifically wanted it to be chill, laid back and not fussy. My "Little Black Dress" bachelorette party was exactly that...plus hilarious and lots of fun!

We started out at a nice Italian restaurant where I had some delicious chicken/eggplant/parmesan/pomodoro sauce dish with gorgonzola mashed potatotes. YUM! We wanted to take some group photos outside the restaurant before we ate, and after a number of people tried to take them for us (and fail at their attempts) this random guy came up and started taking selfies with us. He was hilarious!!! He'd just gotten married a few weeks before and was actually really sweet and not creepy and giving great advice for the big day. He was so much fun. (His name was Joey...we kept referring to him later as Random Guy Joey) He got a great Ellen-style selfie of all of us! [Also - deja vu on the dress, y'all. I know. But I love it and I wanted to get at least one more use out of it.]


After the Italian restaurant we went and listened to some live music at a wine bar right across from the Italian restaurant. We had a lot of fun there and our server bought us a round of shots since I was celebrating my bachelorette party. He was so sweet!!!

Afterwards, we went back to my sister's place for fondue and presents. And to change into sweats. It was glorious. I didn't get home until 2 am...that is literally the latest I've been out in a LONG time. I know...I know.

Overall, I had a fabulous time. It was the best (if only) bachelorette party I've ever been to and everything I could have wanted in one. Thanks to my sister, Ashton and all of my friends for helping pull it off. It was awesome!




Friday, March 21, 2014

Bachelorette Party

Tonight is my bachelorette party.

Since I'm not much of a clubber/bar-hopper/going-out-on-the-town-er, a few close girlfriends and my sister are going to a local *fancy* Italian restaurant dressed up in black cocktail dresses. We will have delicious apps, food and drinks. It's a "Little Black Dress" bachelorette party.

Then, we will head to my sister's apartment where I will change from my Little Black Dress to my Comfy Black Yoga Pants and commence a night of fondue, wine and most definitely the movie "Bridesmaids".

I'm sure hilarity will ensue. This is what happened after two glasses of the most delicious sangria I've ever had at my bridal shower.



Caption: Much Sangria I did have.

Happy Friday and happy weekend, friends! See you back here on Monday for a bachelorette party re-cap.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Wedding Wednesday: The Bridal Party

It was initially hard for me to make a decision on who would be in my bridal party. This is mostly because I have a lot of close girlfriends that would make the cut. That, plus my two sisters, and my two future-sister-in-laws made for a list of more than 8 ladies. To me, that just seemed like it would be too much. (for me and for my type of ceremony) Since the ceremony is more casual and simple, I really wanted to keep the bridal party small...but I didn't want to hurt feelings. [Says probably every other bride.]

Ultimately, M and I decided on 2 attendants each. My maid of honor is my sister Ashton and my matron of honor is my sister Allison. Yes, I have both a maid of honor and a matron of honor...which probably isn't allowed in the book of wedding protocols...but, whatever, it's MY wedding and that's what I want. [said with a slight Veruca Salt sneer] M's attendants are his brother and his best friend. Simple and easy. All of my close girlfriends and friends were invited to the bridal shower and will be invited to the bachelorette, so, I'm still including them on all the festivities.

Below are the dresses my bridesmaids chose. They are both in a navy color called "Marine".

Maid of Honor - Ashton


 
Matron of Honor - Allison



M and I wanted to include his niece in the wedding, so she's going to be our flower girl. She's going to be adorable!! Just look how cute she is!

 
And here is her dress!

 
It's precious. I wish they made it in an adult size!
 
That's how I arrived at my bridal party. I'm happy with it. :)
 
Special shout out to my sister Ashton...today is her birthday. Happy Birthday!
 
Wedding Wednesday



Tuesday, March 18, 2014

New Home Update!

Most of my weekends have been dedicated to working on the new place. I'd love to have as close to "put together" as possible once I move in. The good news is that it is definitely live-able like it is now. Mostly, we are working on organizing, unpacking  and then moving my things in.

We have a few furniture purchases we will need to make but we can live without those items for time being. Below are some progress photos of the new house! (I'm not showing everything yet...just the rooms that I've had time to get fairly organized and/or that have furniture!)

Kitchen
 


Our kitchen is really bright and sunny...which I love. Among the things we want to do to this room are to add a few floating shelves or a mirrored window pane shelf thing over the sink in between where the cabinets are. That's kind of a weird space. Also, we are going to replace the cafe curtains on the little window. Those came with the place. Also, we'll add another bar stool. Isn't it crazy how much these bar stools (which M had in his old apartment) match the cabinets?!


Master Bathroom
 
 
This bathroom has dual sinks and a vanity area (not pictured) along with a linen closet and access to our walk-in closet. I just wanted to take a close-up photo of the linens we registered for and have received so far. Our actual towels are dark gray like the rug. We have accent towels that are currently hung. I am obsessed with this gray and yellow right now!
 
The Living Room/Dining Room Area




You may have seen one of these photos on my Instagram account over the weekend. The living room is the most "put-together" room of them all...even though it's just part of the room that is put together. Below are views from other angles that show you the rest of the giant downstairs area.



In this large wall where the brown ottoman and next to the lamp, we want to put two small chairs and maybe another white round side table like the one in the picture above this one. I'm loving the fun slipper chairs Target has right now but M doesn't like that they don't have arms. (Must be a man thing??) We still need to figure that out. But we're in no rush. But doesn't the little reading chair in front of the bay window look awesome?!?!



Well, that doesn't really seem like a lot of progress, but it definitely feels like it. M's parents generously gifted us with new bedroom furniture for our wedding. See it here. That will be delivered next week so I have a feeling that will really ramp up my progress photos. :)


Monday, March 17, 2014

An Ode to Green

Happy St. Patrick's Day, friends!

St. Patrick's Day is a weird holiday to celebrate...if you don't really drink beer, right? I mean, my family is Scot-Irish...but more Scottish than Irish and definitely not Irish enough to really celebrate the holiday. So, if I can't really celebrate the drinking or the Irish part...so why not celebrate the green? Green is one of my favorite colors so an entire holiday dedicated to that color (okay, not dedicated to it...but...heavily incorporating it) is awesome in my book.

Here are some of my favorite green things...


Crayola's Jungle Green


Green apples (Granny Smith to be exact)


Moenay


Green Beans


Squidward

Spearmint gum



The Geico Gecko

What are some of your favorite green things?




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