Back into my Illustration Groove

Good morning!

It's a short and tiny tree but it will do for our first married Christmas 

We most definitely put up our Christmas tree last night! We decided to just put the lights on it because we might be moving it to the top of our staircase since Andy has a tree that we still need to pick up from his parents house. Nevertheless, it was still super exciting to see the tree all lit up in our living room! I'll share another picture when we get the ornaments up!

The red cups are back!

Let's back up a little now. Yesterday afternoon was spent sipping coffee at Starbucks with Krystine while working on a project for work. We just learned earlier this week that we will be doing a collaboration design for our annual holiday gift for our clients. Each of the designers chose a month on Friday and then will design a calendar header for that particular month.

The end result will look something like this:

(source)

She chose October, while I went with the month of September, since it's my favorite month of them all. After chatting away while designing from opposite ends of the table, I came up with this. I'm still working on refining my tree and will add more leaves and branches, but this is the just of it! 

The apples/leaves signify Fall, while the cut-out letters reference the whole "back to school" craze that ensues the month of September. Do you think the picnic table needs something on top of it? Krystine and I were stumped by this and couldn't come up with a logical object to place on top. It's too early for pumpkins, and if I put a picnic basket, then I would need to add people to the scene.

Thoughts/suggestions are welcome!

While we were plugging away on our MacBooks, I mentioned to Krystine that sometimes I forget that I really enjoy design. I sit at my computer 40 hours a week designing all sorts of things but it is easy to forget what made you love it in the first place. For me, illustration is what gets me excited, inspired, and motivated and getting back into the groove of it all was a great reminder of this!

Alright, I'm off to wrap up some loose ends before hopefully heading over to the gym before 10am! Here's to being productive!

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Do you get excited for the red holiday cups at Starbucks? 
Is your Christmas tree usually real or artificial? 
Favorite holiday drink at Starbucks? I love the gingerbread one, only coming in second to the Pumpkin Spice latte!

Harvest Party, New Snacks, and The Photo Challenge Returns

Good morning and happy weekend! 

I woke up starving this morning so I made a bowl of pumpkin oatmeal with a big scoop of peanut butter on top. Seriously, don't knock it until you try it--it's so good! For the pumpkin oatmeal, I made oats on the stove using milk, pumpkin, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and about 1/2 cup of oats. So good paired with some gingerbread coffee in my new Mrs. mug!

This week has been a crazy one! During our first full-week at home together, I somehow managed to break our microwave! 

I promise I've been using more than the microwave to make our meals! The other night I made white pizza with chicken--can you tell which side is his and which is hers? 

Luckily the new microwave will arrive soon so we can resume convenience cooking. It's crazy how much you don't realize how much you use the microwave. For example, last night we made baked potatoes to go with our turkey burgers; normally I pre-cook the potatoes in the oven for about 8 minutes, then toss them in the oven to get crispy since they will cook much faster. Well, last night sans microwave, I stuck the cold potatoes directly into the oven and nearly an hour (!!) later, they were done. They were still super tasty though! 

Harvest Party

Earlier in the week, on Halloween night, my friend Amy hosted a little harvest party for us. It was so fun to see some friends and kick back while catching up with one another. 

My contribution, along with caramel Chex mix! See the bottom of this post for the recipe! 

One of the girls brought a recipe and ingredients to make peanut butter caramel corn and wow, was it ever delicious! Recipe will be appearing on the blog when I make it sometime this winter. 

Last night around 8:15pm, we had the great idea to unpack the rest of our boxes and organize Andy's office. Two and a half hours later, we called it a night and we'll be wrapping it up today (hopefully!). I can't wait to get all settled in so that I know exactly where things are. Andy also suggested putting up our Christmas tree so I am way excited about that--whenever we get around to it. It'll be fun to celebrate our first married Christmas together! It's so hard to believe that it is literally right around the corner.

New Snacks

www.snapzcrisps.com

I recently tried these new apple crisps and thought I'd share my thoughts on them because I was really impressed. 

I've tried apple chips in the past and I feel as though they are either hit or miss; a lot of times they have a chemical-y aftertaste or just taste "off." However, these new snacks didn't disappoint! 

The flavor was spot on and the crunch was perfect. Each snack size bag is made from 1 whole apple, has 45 calories, and is 100% all-natural. Now those are stats to get excited about! You'd better believe I will be picking up some more of these soon! I'm thinking they'd be a great addition to my snack drawer at work--you know, for when you get the munchies around 3pm.

Photo Challenge Returns

Now that I'm almost back into my routine, I'm happy to reintroduce the 30 Day Photo Challenge that I started awhile ago. Looking back, I left off on Day 10, which brings us to: Something I made! 

The mix before adding the m&m's and candy corn

For our harvest party, I contributed a caramel snack mix that we soon dubbed as "Rot your teeth mix" since it was so sweet and addicting. I first sampled this yummy mix a few years ago when my friend Allie brought it over to my house--I remember not being able to stop munching on it--that's how good it was! I randomly remembered it last weekend while I was trying to decide what to make for our party and decided to give it a whirl. 

You may find the recipe below, which I snagged from a forum about cereal recipes. Although, I switched it up a bit by adding some candy corn to the mix--had to make it festive for the occasion, you know! 

Caramel Chex Mix

• 1 lg. box Crispix cereal (Rice Chex will also work)
• 10 oz. bag thin pretzel sticks (I used the pretzel rounds)
• 2 cups of peanuts
• 2 cups of m&m's
• 1 small bag of candy corn

Mix all ingredients except for the candy in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

• 2 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. butter
• 1/2 c. corn syrup

Boil 2 minutes. Pour over cereal mixture and stir. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Take out and stir. Bake another 8 minutes. Spread on foil to cool completely, then add candy, stir, and enjoy!

Saturday Plans

On the agenda for this weekend: unpack/organize, meet up with Krystine for a Starbucks design date, gym time x2, and maybe make some granola with my mom! 

When do you usually put up your Christmas tree?

Would you last long without a microwave?

Do you prefer sweet or savory Chex mixes?

Wedding Recap: Getting Ready

Hello friends!

Happy Halloween! Do you have any fun plans for a costume party or trick or treating? I'm headed over to my friend Amy's place this evening for a harvest party with a group of my favorite girls! It'll be fun to catch up, snack on treats, and make caramel corn together.

If you're just catching up from the weekend, my blog was back in full-swing since my wedding/honeymoon hiatus.

• On Friday, I featured a recap of the days leading up to our wedding
• Saturday's post was a random mish mash featuring a new coffee creamer, my new office, and reminiscing American Girl dolls
• Lastly, yesterday's post was a brief overview of heading to my parent's house to open all of our wedding gifts

Getting Ready
As promised, here is a recap of the morning of our wedding.

I jumped out of bed as soon as my alarm went off that morning to hit the shower before heading out the door. I quickly dried my hair, sipped a smoothie, and grabbed my duffel bag of cosmetics, shoes, and toiletries that I had packed the night before. I was a little tired but the excitement outweighed it.

I was dropped off at the salon at 8:30am and found Krystine, my personal attendant waiting for me with a Starbucks' double tall soy latte in hand. Oh yes--a great way to start the day! Heidi, the hair stylist that I've been a client of for the past 3 years, joined us soon after. I actually found out about Heidi through Allie, who also is a client of hers.

Kaaren arrived soon after as she had a hair appointment as well. Her undo turned out so cute! All curly and such!

My hair stylist, Heidi, always has Dove dark chocolates at her station in the salon. So delicious!

Please note the hair horn on the left side of the picture. Awesome. 

I knew that I wanted my hair up for my wedding so that it would not get tangled or in my face throughout the course of events. Heidi and I went over the style earlier in the week and discussed options for the style and what to bring to the appointment.

I found it interesting that she had me wash my hair that morning. I've always heard that slightly dirty hair styles better and holds curls much longer; however, I'm glad that she had me come with fresh hair since my hair is very thick yet fine--so it gets dirty very fast, especially when I apply product to it.

It's all starting to come together now--I love all of the twists she added!

What is that sharp object being pointed at my scalp?!

Tucking in the bangs

At first, I was going to have my bangs down, but after discussing it with Heidi, we decided to pull them up so that they wouldn't be in my way throughout the day for pictures and everything. Plus it was a little windy out and we planned to take photos outside later on that afternoon both before and after the ceremony.

Spray it down!

Andrea arrived about 45 minutes into my appointment so that she could do my makeup before Krystine drove me up to the chapel to change into my dress.

Checking it out--I was impressed!

When I went in for my consultation appointment the week before, she had mentioned that I might want to get a flower to pin in my hair for a cute detail. She pointed to another stylist in the salon and said "a flower like hers would be perfect--let's go ask her where she got that one." 

Well, long story short, the other stylist ordered hers online for a wedding as well, and when she heard that my wedding was just a few days away, she pulled her clip from her hair and handed it to me. 

"Here, this can be your something borrowed--just return it to Heidi after the wedding and she'll give it back to me."

Wow! I was so taken back by this kind gesture! I was so happy to have found a flower so quickly--without even any searching on my part! 

We tried pinning in the veil that my mom had made, but it just didn't feel right, so we all made the mutual decision to do without it. I was kind of relieved because I didn't really want to wear a veil in the first place but gave it a try since it is a nice tradition.

Ah, she is so great! It was such a relief to have a stylist that I know and trust do my hair for me on my wedding day.

We headed into the bathroom to primp. Lots of giggles ensued as 4 nervous girls were in a tiny bathroom and people kept knocking on the door.

It was so nice having my makeup taken care of by someone else so that I didn't have to worry about getting it perfect. Andrea does such a nice job!

After she finished my makeup, I quickly brushed on some mascara before we scooted out the door! Krystine, Kaaren, and I hit up Bruegger's for some bagels before heading to the chapel to get changed and ready; which I'll save that story for another day.

Have a great Halloween! Eat lots of candy!

Do you have a stylist that you always go to or do you request whoever is available?

Favorite Halloween candy? I think mine is candy corn but I pretty much love all candy...

Dove chocolates: do you prefer the dark or milk variety? Dark all the way for me!

Wedding Recap: Gift Opening

Hi!

I was so surprised when I rolled over this morning and saw that the clock said 9am! I'm not sure if I'm still jet-lagged or what, but my sleeping schedule has been so off for the past week or so. Normally I'm up by 6am each day so waking up mid-morning feels a bit foreign to me.

Yesterday morning began with some pumpkin spice pancakes courtesy of Allie's recipe. You can check out how to make them over on her blog! Not a bad way to start a Saturday!

Back on the Healthy Train

The gym at the resort

Oh well, I guess my body needed the rest! Yesterday I headed to the gym to get back into my healthy-life routine and boy, did it feel good! I worked out a little bit on our honeymoon: hiking, swimming, using the resort's fitness center, etc. but nothing compares to a nice strength-training session followed by a spin on the cardio machines in your usual gym.

Yesterday's setup

I enjoy using other gyms but nothing really compares to have a "home gym" that you frequent most. I like visiting other locations of my gym for variety, but when I want a really good workout, I rely on the one that is most familiar to me so I know where everything is and what days/times it is busy.

The machines at the resort's fitness center were pretty nifty--you could plug your iPod right into the machine and browse your music on the large display screen rather than on your device. This made switching songs while running a breeze!

Speaking of running, it was hot in there! I swear I was sweating within the first 3 minutes into my run and the machine was a mess afterwards--ew!

Gift Opening

Last night, Andy and I headed over to my parent's house for dinner. We were celebrating my brother-in-law Andrew's birthday and opening our wedding gifts that my parents had stashed at their house while we were on our trip.

The resort that we stayed at for the week!

It was fun to see everyone and show them pictures of our honeymoon while reminiscing of stories.

I loved this bag!

One of my favorite gifts--Mr. and Mrs. coffee mugs

Another favorite--a personalized apron!

(source)

After all of the gifts were opened, we headed down to the kitchen for some delicious homemade apple crisp topped with ice cream while we opened all of the cards we received. I opened one card and as I opened it, a baby-themed Target gift card slipped out. I stared at it in disbelief trying to figure out if someone bought the wrong gift card when I suddenly realized it was a joke. Two of Andy's groomsmen went in on a baby-themed gift card together as a joke. Hahaha, made my night.

Andrew's 21st

My dad gave my brother in law a 6 pack since he is turning 21 on Halloween! I saw this and started cracking up--they're so young! My sister's birthday is in March, so her 21st is right around the corner, too.

Off to go tackle organizing all of our gifts and finding places for them! My next post will be the "getting ready" part of my wedding day--hair, makeup, etc. so keep your eyes peeled! 

Have a great day! 

What kinds of gifts do you usually give for weddings? I usually go the "game" route--either a board game or a lawn game.

Do you like visiting a gym regularly or do you like to switch things up?

Favorite flavor of pancakes? I like blueberry--my grandpa makes the best blueberry waffles!

Wedding Recap: The Days Before it All

Good morning!

After a much-needed vacation with my new husband (it's still weird saying that!), I am happy to be back in Minneapolis as we start this next chapter of our life.

Thanks to my Aunt Lori for taking some pictures during the ceremony! 

Our wedding turned out so well and as fun as it was, I am glad it is over! Planning a wedding is a lot more time and money than you expect! We are anxious to get back into our hobbies and have more free time to spend with each other rather than working on wedding to-do's. Everything went really smoothly though and just like they say, your own wedding always flies by much faster! I felt like the whole day was only 3 hours long!

The last few days have been kind of chaotic--we're still pretty jet lagged and it has been tricky getting back into a routine since we spent the last 8 days laying on the beach.

However, our honeymoon was so worth it. Andy surprised me by planning an 8-day trip to Maui! He had me guess where we were going while we were driving from the ceremony site to our reception so that I could tell our guests of our travel plans. Hawaii was absolutely gorgeous--complete with ocean views, tropical plants and flowers, amazing sunsets, and stunning mountains all around.

I'll recap getting ready, the wedding, and honeymoon in separate posts, so stay tuned!

The Days Before It All
Wednesday during wedding week was my last day at the office before taking the following two weeks off. My coworkers actually threw me a surprise wedding celebration before I left--complete with cake and gifts! What a fun surprise!

It was so nice to have Thursday and Friday off to run around and get last-minute things accomplished before the wedding. On Thursday afternoon, I drove down to my sister's place to do a wedding day makeup trial run.

My sister definitely got the girly gene and does an excellent job at makeup. She expertly applied my makeup for a fresh look on my wedding day. Since she works second shift and had to head into work, I headed out after the makeup application and ran a few errands before meeting up with my friend Kaaren for coffee.

During the last few weeks before the wedding, I didn't get a chance to spend time with friends and I was starting to really miss them. It was so great to catch up with her and hear pre-wedding advice from her since she's been married for a few years already.

Friday morning was spent grabbing a hot cup of coffee at Starbucks--it was freezing out! After picking up a warm drink, I spent the remainder of the morning being pampered by getting a shellac manicure and pedicure--a gift from one of my good friends, Kara Lynn as a bachelorette party gift!

This was my first time having a pedicure and oh my goodness--it was amazing. They had a huge tv, massage chairs, and hundreds of colors of nail polish to choose from. I ended up choosing "Strawberry Margarita" for my toes and a shellac French manicure on my hands. The lady at the salon added a quick sparkly top coat on my fingers before I headed out the door--what a fun touch!

Don't worry, Andy didn't get his toes done...

After the salon visit, I ran a few other errands before stopping home to change and get ready to head to the rehearsal. The rehearsal was great since it was laid back and we all got to chat with family and friends. It was great to connect with those close to us before the big day. The only freak-out moment happened when our wedding coordinator informed me that the flower girls could not use real flower petals on the hardwood floors of the chapel. Ahh! Luckily my amazing personal attendant, Krystine, stepped up to the challenge of running to the store to find fake rose petals!

After running through the ceremony order twice, we headed over to the restaurant for a delicious dinner. Before I knew it, we were headed home to try to get some sleep. Despite my excitement, I actually fell asleep pretty quickly!

I'll continue where I left off in my next post; it's time to scoot out the door to work. This week is flying by since it's been a short week for me--thankfully! After work, I'm headed out to grab coffee with my friend Bre before joining some friends for Krystine's birthday party later this evening. I'm looking forward to catching up with them!

Have a great Friday!

Where did you go for your honeymoon? If you aren't married, where would you like to go?
Mani's/Pedi's--love them or no?
Do you get jet lag after returning home from a far-away trip?