our furry friend

A little furry friend came to visit last night. He sits outside our door and waits for us to open it. And he likes to hide under our bed until we pull him out and put him on the bed. And then he likes to pose for the camera.

 Jackson is really winning Bry (the anti-dog guy) over. Thanks, Jax!

i cooked?!

I did not start off this marriage as an expert cook. I'll actually confess that I basically let Bry cook or got take out for the first few months of our marriage. I'm not proud of it, but the idea of cooking overwhelms me. Not just the actual cooking, but deciding what to cook when there are so many recipes out there.

Since Bry went back to work, I've become more friendly with the kitchen utensils. Seriously, our relationship is positively growing. I'm kinda proud of myself, and I'm pretty sure Bry's proud of me too. (Yep, he is- I just checked.)

Tonight, I cooked Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells. A friend posted the recipe on Facebook and I gave it a go. Well, let me just say, YUM! I prepared steamed asparagus (for B only) and salads for both of us. Delish!

Here's the recipe if you'd like to try it for yourself. The hubs has agreed to take me to 16 Handles for all of my hard work. See ya!

16 Handles

Tonight, we went to this new place in town. It's called 16 Handles. It's probably my favorite spot in town now. 16 Handles is a frozen yogurt place, where there are 16 "handles" or flavors to choose from and 52 different toppings- basically, a buffet of frozen yogurt. There's a couple other similar frozen yogurt options in the area, however, this place... amazing.

They use a weigh and pay system, where you take however much you want and pay per ounce. Tonight, I chose 3 flavors: red velvet cake, vanilla sky, and birthday cake; and 3 toppings: mini-Reese's, Butterfinger crumbles, and chocolate-covered pretzels. Bryan chose 3 flavors: red velvet cake, coffee, and peanut butter cup; and 5 toppings: strawberries, chocolate chips, chocolate-covered rainbow sunflower seeds, Heath bar, mini-Reese's. I think I might give up a meal everyday and eat this instead. Yummm!

heaven

missing the moon

I'm having a lazy day today. Maybe it's because it's that time of month. Maybe it's because I start work in 6 days and I know I won't be able to have days like this for a long time. Or maybe it's just because Bry looked really cute this morning and I'm bummed because he couldn't stay home and cuddle with me. 

 I've been seeing a lot of Honeymoon albums on Facebook lately. Congrats to all those who have gotten married, by the way. And because we didn't go on a vacation this summer, I've been reminiscing/drooling over our honeymoon pictures in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. 

first meal right after we got in. tacos- yummm!

the resort

hubby's morning coffee. on our balcony. on our honeymoon. on his birthday.

he was a happy guy!

loving the sun on November 29. I'm pretty sure the weather in New England was about 30 and cloudy.

birthday dinner with the birthday boy.

who gets to celebrate their birthday on their honeymoon? someone lucky, obviously!

view from the hotel

handsome.

our spot on the balcony. such a perk in staying at a smaller, newer hotel. 

dinner cruise to El Arco

sunset on the pacific.

Christmas decorations in the mall in Cabo.. The nativity scene on the beach with goldfish swimming in the fountain cracked me up!

sunset at our hotel

the marina. 

saw a seal swimming and wanted to jump in and save it from all the boats. 

on a boat ride

underwater taxi boat. 

we were like an old married couple. playing cards in paradise?

heart

 so in love with this handsome guy

we thought it would be a great idea to bring champagne in a water bottle (plastic) down to the hot tub. didn't think about the cap blowing off and had a little scare

ready to parasail!

can you even see our boat?!

we definitely looked out for sharks and whales. didn't see any though.

happy hour. (B hates that I'm not looking at the camera.. whoops)

my sunglasses broke so we decided to play with them.

nerd.

kisses on the roof

beautiful sunset on our last night.

honey, can we go back?!

500 thoughts at once

Well, at least thats what it feels like is going through my head right now... Here's a few:

• We've spent about 40 hours working on the new apartment in the past 7 days. A work week's worth of effort.  This does include several helpers who we thank very much! (Frank, Char, Brad, Kels, and the pups who keep us laughing)
• We  aren't even close to packed yet and are moving tomorrow and Saturday!
• Saturday is Erin's Bachelorette Party in Boston! Which means I'm leaving B and some of his friends to do the heavy-lifting part. This is a very nice perk, but because I am a control-freak, I am somewhat wary of what its going to look like when I come back on Sunday.
• Ooh, that reminds me.. I need a gift for the Bachelorette party. 
• Working tomorrow for 5 hours while B packs... this poor guy is doing A-LOT of the work. I just texted him calling him SuperHubby!
• Oh, did I mention my hubby goes back to work on Monday, which means I'm doing the unpacking/organizing. And since I know what we've packed this far... it's going to take a long time because we basically just threw things together in boxes. 
• Figuring out the classroom schedule and trade books we'll use this year (and I technically haven't even gone back to school yet!)
• Planning a date night with my man. We are in need of some quality time together.  Meaning we need time where we can just relax and not feel obligated to pack/unpack/paint/clean... I just need a little bit of this...

Photocredit: Samantha Shay Photography

10 things you probably don't know about me

{a little sleepy on vacation last summer}

1. When I was 15 years old, I had 12 grandparents... yup...12. Lots of divorce and remarriage going on people. 


2. I would LOVE to be a meteorologist. Weather.com was my homepage until I got married and it changed to Drudge Report.


3. For a short time in my childhood, when people would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would say, "A police officer". Also, I wanted to be a mom of 20 children. I guess I used to be ambitious!


4. I think the holiday season (ie mid-November through beginning of January) is the most romantic time of the year.


5. My bed is one of my favorite places to be. My fiberbed mattress topper and Target's Simply Shabby Chic Cozy Blanket make me never want to get up.


6. I am not a cat person. Dogs, yes. Cats, no.


7. I kind of love that I married my high school sweetheart. 


8. When I was a toddler, I used to sniff fuzzies up my nose from my blanket (this is probably TMI, but it cracks me up to this day). 


9. Sleeping is one of my top priorities. Also up on the top of that list is being a good wife, daughter, friend. Those two should be close in proximity... right?


10. I am somewhat glad that my metabolism doesn't allow me to eat 12 meals a day anymore. A slower metabolism helps me maintain a healthy diet. 

a little jack & jill bridal shower BBQ

Yesterday, I helped throw a Jack & Jill BBQ-type of bridal shower for my friends Erin and Kirks (his real name is Andrew but he's known in the Johnston household as Kirks). These two are getting married in just under a month in September.

Erin and I have known each other since we were babies- literally. Our moms met at their OBGYN appointments and then got us together in playgroups. We both ended up going to the same school K-12 and then went to the same college for 3.5 years. (So much for UDel, huh Er? :) I think thats a good prerequisite for being in each other's weddings.

          

Erin's mom was a huge help by having the shower at her house and renting the tables and chairs through her work. She offered to make most of the food too, so the bridesmaids were in charge of the desserts. We ordered cookies and cakes from a bakery. My sister-in-law Kelsey insisted on making cupcakes, which were delicious (ie.. Kels- open a bakery!) And I wanted to make something a little different so I decided on s'mores on a stick. These were super easy and a fun idea for a finger-food-like dessert!

I am so excited about your upcoming wedding, Erin & Kirks! Only a couple of weeks to go!

prep work

Thursday night, we went to the new apartment to start working on it. First thing we needed to put primer on the ceilings before painting them. This was the first time I've ever primed a ceiling. Luckily, you can't really tell from the pictures that I didn't know what I was doing. I'm pretty sure Mama J and Bry subtly followed me around the room to fix all my globs. But... practice makes perfect right?

thanks hubs.

 {photocred: Mama J}