Simply Put

"Happiness is an inside job." - John Powell

Well John Powell said it well with this simple statement...

Nobody gets everything they want!

Carrie: What makes you think something bad is gonna happen?
Charlotte: Because! Nobody gets everything they want! Look at you, look at Miranda. You're good people and you two both got shafted. I'm so happy and... something bad is going to happen.

{I feel like I've been referencing Sex in the City a lot lately. Maybe it's because I've watched it like 5 times since Christmas.} This is how I feel.  When is the storm coming? The skies have been so clear for so long, there's gotta be a storm brewing and heading straight our way.

Everything has gone so smoothly with the process of buying our house (it is so awesome to say "our" house). The negotiations went exactly how we planned, the mortgage approval was simple and super quick, the home inspection went pretty well, and now we just wait for the closing. Easy peasy! Let's just hope there's no storm heading our way!

Pride and Joy

 

Jordan and I have been looking forward to this time in our lives for such a long time. We've been saving and saving and saving for so long so that we could afford the house of our dreams and the time has finally come! Welcome to our house... well almost...

 

We're in the process of negotiating and working out the repairs needed that came up in the inspection and the closing is scheduled for a little over 40 days from now, so it's not ours just yet, but we're super excited about it! It has everything, and I mean everything, that we've wanted in a house, even a goldfish pond for our extremely fast growing goldfish, a garden so that I can grow endless amounts of zucchini and squash, and a beautiful kitchen to cook my veggies! We'll also be neighbors to our good friends! The house is perfect, we really couldn't ask for anything better and we feel so incredibly lucky! We must have some angels looking down on us <3

43 days until closing... but who's counting ;)

A positive happy life

"You cannot see everything as negative and expect to live a positive, happy life."
- Joes Osteen

That's a great quote and something I definitely need to remind myself sometimes.

Lately I've noticed these negative thoughts just swarm some people's lives (i.e. Facebook).  We all want to live positive, happy lives, but often think negative thoughts.. "I hate snow. I can't wait for Spring."..."This traffice today sucks."... "I hate my job."...  "All people do anymore is complain on Facebook."... How are we supposed to live positive, happy lives when these thoughts are everywhere? 

A New Year's resolution maybe?  Think more positive thoughts!

Happy Tuesday!

 

Doesn't that look amazing for January?! I'll take it! Wearing a thin sweater and my Sperrys today makes me happy, even if it's foggy and gloomy.

Happy Tuesday!

Pure Happiness

Wedding season came to a close as we celebrated my cousin's wedding last weekend. It was one of the most unique and fun weddings I've been to and I am so happy I was lucky to be a part of it.

 

The reception was full of fun, laughter, and love with traditional first dances (the father-daughter dance was unbelievably hilarious as my uncle got down on the dance floor shortly after knee surgery-it was seriously hilarious and awesome), an extremely talented high school string band performance, and Polish polka dances. I even got Jordan on the dance floor to do a polonaise, with what seemed like the entire reception participated in, and I think he secretly really enjoyed it. He never dances at weddings and either the alcohol or atmosphere got him in the dancing mood and I loved it!  We had so much fun as you can see from the pictures below.

 

Congratulations to the newlyweds Becky and Addam!

Family Ties

"Sisters function as safety nets in a chaotic world simply by being there for each other."
~ Carol Saline

Journalist, broadcaster, author and public speaker.

This quote made me think about how lucky I am to have a sister and how very lucky I am to have a sister and a brother. The relationship I have with each of them is very different...

My brother and I are close in age, so close that sometimes we were mistaken as twins (I always thought that was funny since I'm the youngest).  We played together as kids (singing in the back of the station wagon and reinacting Legends of the Hidden Temple in the backyard), shared experiences in school together (going on high school chorus trips, sharing the same teachers, and hanging out with friends), and partied together in college (he did have a pretty cool house and group of friends at Pitt).  Now that he lives 4 hours away, we spend time chatting on the phone, laughing, telling stories, and keeping up with each other's lives.  When we do get to spend time together it is nothing short of fun.  He has a liveliness and personality just full of fun that you can't help but have sore cheeks from laughing all of the time.  

My sister and I have a different story, but being 7 years apart, I wouldn't expect anything different.  We went through phases in life at completely different times.  When I was in elementary school obsessed with the Spice Girls and all things girly, she was a senior in high school who only cared about hanging out with friends and apparently, in those days, it was cool to dress like a boy (admit it, you did go through that phase).  She then went to college and I feel like there was a gap in middle school and early high school when she wasn't around and it was just my brother and I.  Then I turned 16 and things changed...  She taught me how to drive, we shared clothes, and we spent more time together.  Although she moved away for a few years, we still stayed close and grew even closer when she moved back to Pittsburgh and got pregnant.  I went to doctor visits with her, we went baby shopping, and spent Friday nights watching movies and eating popcorn since neither of us could drink.  I swear that my now 5 year old niece and I are so close because I spent so much time with her before she was even born.

Both of them have become my safety net in this world.  They've already experienced hurdles and problems in life that I am now going through, so they can offer advice and provide support for almost anything (the benefits I have for being the youngest).  They've shown me what not to do, given advice of how to do things differently, and proven what works in life.  In this crazy and chaotic world, our relationships remain simple and easy and through every curveball that life throws at us, I know that this is one thing that will never change.

 

 

Keep your peace

"Worrying does not take away tomorrow's troubles; it takes away today's peace."

~ Unknown

A New Chapter in Life

Spoiler alert: Jordan and I are house hunting. Eeeeeks!

This is something I have been looking forward to for years.  I love looking at houses.  I love their architecture, observing how people live, and the hunt (for the perfect house).  More importantly, I cannot wait to leap into this new chapter of life with Jordan. We are in the early stages of this exciting journey and we are more than excited!

I'll keep you posted!

New Year Advice

I get an email quote almost daily from befreeforme.com.  Sometimes the quotes are worth saving into my email "quotes" folder, tucked away, to save for days when I need little reminders.  This one, I thought, was worth sharing...

"It's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years!"

~ Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
The 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865

Christmas Joy!

Christmas comes and goes so fast.  That's what everyone says right? I felt like it took forever for Christmas to get here this year, but it sure went fast (especially because my better half was sickened with a nasty stomach bug and cold, yuck!).

We did the usual Elfster gift exchange (if you don't know of elfster and you have a secret santa gift exchange or want to create a wishlist for your birthday, perhaps, you have to check it out) and we ate delicious food, of course, but this year had a few new things. 

My sister and I insisted that we play Michael Jackson on the wii.  It's my most favorite game on the system for multiple reasons! We only had time to squeeze in a few dances (Black or White, Speed Demon (that's what my brother and I are doing in the pictures), and what was the last one? Oh! Thriller... how could I forget since I finally beat Ashley's high score!) Goodness, I love that game! I, sadly, cannot play it at home because my dog would go crazy with me moving around so much, so I try to play it anywhere else that I can, which doesn't happen often. Sad face.

Another addition to this year's festivities was my 5 year old niece purchasing gifts for us that she bought with her own money (I'm not sure how she earned that money. Bribery?).  It was such an adorable gesture that proves her heart is so very big and full of love.  We each took a picture with our present (except I forgot Caster, my dog, in the collage).  My dad (Pop Pop) received a nut cracker, my mom (Grandma) received a coffee mug, Uncle Mike received a toy gun with suction cup darts, Caster received a stuffed animal bone, and the best of all.... Jordan and I received reindeer antlers.  Isabel also picked a pair of antlers for herself so that we could match.  She really put some thought into them (or is that just how kids think?).  We ended up completing a family of reindeer with Papa, Mama, and baby. I love those antlers so much that I wore them until I had to take them off to drive home. They might have been my favorite gift (the dog biscuit maker kit from Jordan's parents was a close second). 

A day with Isabel wouldn't be complete without her making us all laugh a million times, but my favorite laugh caused by her hilariousness was when she opened a gift from Pop Pop and Grandma, then kindly stood up, walked over to Grandma, and said "Now I can tell my secret." We all looked at her a little funny (you never know what will come out of her mouth).  She put her hands on her hips (pictured above) and said, "Grandma, I knew I was getting that because I heard you on the phone asking Shannon if Aislinn would like it, too."  How in the world did a 5 year old keep that secret from EVERYONE for weeks? She just didn't want to ruin Grandma's surprise. I guess Grandma better watch what she says on the phone...

What a fabulous Christmas we had and I'm so glad Jordan was well enough to join us on Christmas day after he spent Christmas Eve evening home in bed by himself (that makes me sound like an uncaring girlfriend, huh? I promise I'm not. I love him very much!). 

I hope everyone had a merry Christmas, too!

Sunday Morning Bliss

Sunday mornings are cozy. We usually don't have anywhere to be, so Sunday mornings are for cuddling and laziness.

Today was different. I had to set an alarm. Gasp.

I met my brother at the mall to do last minute Christmas shopping and we were up early to beat the crowds. (Thank goodness!)

After a hectic start to the day, I got in the car and acoustic sunrise was on STAR 100.7 and the sun was shining bright. Yes!  I love Sunday morning radio because of acoustic sunrise. If you haven't experienced it, you must. It'll instantly put you in a good mood. Just be sure to tune in before 10am.

Happy listening!

Christmas Crafting!

I openly admit that I'm a Pinterest addict.  It's like heaven for me.  One place to share, collect, and organize endless data, it's genius!  Sometimes I have to take a break from it because my mind goes on overload with a billion of projects I want to try.  Here is a craft that I stumbled upon when I allowed myself a few hours to get back in touch with Pinterest after a short hiatus...

Glass etching.
As my friend, Amanda, and I found out, the opportunities are endless (pyrex dishes with your last name as Make It and Love It shows, wine glasses as Happily After All shows, and beer mugs as The Yummy Life shows).  For Christmas gifts, I wanted to make beer mugs for the uncles and wine glasses/cocktail glasses for the aunts (I'll get to those later).  Does that give the impression that my family likes to drink?

This was my first attempt at etching and the tutorials I found were great! The tips and tricks helped to get the etching just right, although it's really not a hard thing to do.  The hardest part was finding the etching cream (Hobby Lobby came to the rescue!).

Materials

Etching cream (Armour Etch worked great)
Contact paper (or any sticky paper to make the stencils) or etching stencils
Glass (dollar stores have a lot of glass items, SCORE!)
Rubbing Alcohol
Gloves
Paper Towels

1. Wipe the glass clean with rubbing alcohol to make sure any residue on the glass is removed.

2. Prepare your stencil.  I used a Cricut machine to cut the letters onto contact paper.  This worked really well as it adhered to the glass and didn't allow any cream to sneak underneath.

3.  Once the stencil is applied to the glass, apply etching cream to the glass and allow it to set for 5-10 minutes (I did 10 minutes to make sure I got a good etch).

What can't a droid do?

 4.  Put on gloves and run the glass under warm water to remove the cream.  Peel off the stencil and wipe the etch with rubbing alcohol again to remove any excess cream.

5. Admire your etched glass! Amazing, right?!

Go try it! It's easy and awesome! You can etch the glass on your fish tank, candle hurricanes, shot glasses, beer mugs, wine glasses, everyday drinking glasses, pyrex dishes (no one will ever be able to steal your pyrex dishes at the next party if your name is etched on it), and the list goes on...  Happy etching!

It's a polka dotted life!

Hello and welcome!

This is where I intend to share my polka dotted life, my interpretation of things that make me happy.  Whether it be an adorable picture of my cute (but sometimes bad) dog, a quote I received in my daily quote email, a recipe I tried, a craft, or something new that I learned, I intend to share it with all of you in hopes to add another polka dot to your life. 

I love sharing my experiences and knowledge. I feel it's a great way to learn more, to pass along more polka dots. I'm inquisitive, my family and friends know this very well.  I ask a lot of questions to add more polka dots to my life.  Here, take some of my polka dots (please give credit, where credit is due.)

Your polka dotted friend,
Beth