Harvesting

So all my hard work this spring is paying off in the garden. We have had tomatoes, some lettuce, jalapeño peppers (guacamole baby!), and lots of green and yellow beans. Tonight I harvested the potatoes. The tops were all dead, so it was time to dig them out. I was impressed. There were more than last year. Not only were there more, they were bigger too. Quite proud of myself!

Thought I should share a little story. My family will appreciate this. So my man went out and bought a fan because I don't turn the AC down to freezing in the house during the summer. I don't care that he bought a fan, but a box fan in 2013. Really, he couldn't find anything else more aesthetically pleasing or a little quieter? The thing it loud and then the TV has to be turned up louder just to hear it. I have complained about the fan all summer. 

Well, it was hot after I dug out the potatoes and I wanted to sit down. It was even hotter in the house and I really didn't want to shut the windows to turn on the AC. So what does a girl do? Turn on the fan that I have complained about ALL summer!

Seriously, the man couldn't have bought a better looking fan? He is right, it does work well when it is hot! HaHa! Now I have to remember to turn it off before he is home and he will never be the wiser! 

Christmas in August

I had mentioned a few weeks ago about signing up for a stamp class in August at Stamp Fanci. It was something fun for me to do just one night a week. Well the time arrived the other week to go and I can not tell you how much I enjoyed it. It was right after work, no traffic to get there and just an enjoyable evening with other women. I left there feeling so relaxed that I signed up for another class in October. I have decided that I will take one class a month because I came home so stress free!

If you know me, I'm a planner and very organized. So it was appropriate that the class I took was for Christmas cards. Yes, I know that Christmas is 4 months away, but it will be here before you know it! I'm trying to be realistic! 

The class is set for 2 hours. It is great in that all the prep work is completed ahead of time, meaning all pieces we will need are cut out except the "new" product stuff we are trying. So you can try the products, the die cuts were what we got to cut out. Smart thinking!

The first card was a Christmas wreath over two doors. This is pretty, but not my favorite.

The second card was another wreath and definitely more my style. I love the reflective silver.

The final card was my favorite and the reason I took the class.

The trees are so simple and yet so much fun!

And before anyone thinks this is what my Christmas cards will be this year, they may not. Those cute little trees are a different type of die cut than the ones I have. This means I have to get different trays for my machine before I even buy the die cut. I haven't decided if I want to invest in that equipment yet. It will probably only be $20 for the tray and $15 for the die cut. However, I have so much stuff already, I'm trying to stick with what I have. So, I'm taking another class in October that is for, you guessed it, Christmas cards! 

Black and Gold

So on Wednesday when Carmela texted me about the game, I wasn't sure if Sam would be able to go or not. Turns out, he was able to go, so I was very excited. This was going to be my FIRST Steeler game in Heinz field. Granted, it is a preseason game and it doesn't count, but at $60 a ticket instead of $260 a ticket, it counts for me! Carmela also had never been to a NFL game in a stadium so it was destined to be a good time.

There isn't as much tailgating for a preseason game, so we thought we would be thrifty. The casino is right next to Heinz field. We paid $40 to park. Yes, you are reading that correctly. $40 to park the car. However, if you ate inside at the restaurant and spent $50 you would be reimbursed. So we all ordered a meal and a drink on one check and we made it over our $50, parking was FREE!!

We still had some time to kill and while we are not big gamblers we thought we would spend a few dollars. Travis and Sam played the tables. Carmela watched me play some slots. Sam lost $20, Travis won $120. I had played a $.25 game because I couldn't find a $.01 slot. I had won $5 but then lost my winning and went down to $5 (I started with a $10). I cashed in at $5 and Carmela and I walked around. I found a penny machine and started to play. Honestly, I had no idea what I was doing. I had $5 and I was going to spend it. The guys found us and at that moment I hit what I thought was the wrong button. I landed on something and won $76! Craziness! I immediately cashed out and we headed to the stadium. 

Oh, I forgot to mention, Carmela is a Giants fan. Seriously, not sure what she is thinking! But we had fun. 

Since we got in to the game early, we went down next to the field. It was so cool! This is me just leaning over the edge and taking a picture! Carmela is tiny enough she thought about jumping over onto the field and pretending to be an excited little kid!

When we went to find our seats and found out they were great! Good job Carmela!! This was our view of the field.

We were the front row that could lean on the metal railing. Lots of leg room!

The Steelers have the reputation for having the greatest fans. They are so passionate about their team. When the Steelers would make a play, the stadium would go wild. It was incredible. The cheering, yelling, and the terrible towels just waving in the air. I took a picture so you could see the sea of black and gold. I would think this has to be part of our home field advantage. It was very impressive!

Even though we um, lost, to the Giants. It was a great night! Still smiling at the end.

So how do you finish a night like this? You order some Primanti's sandwiches and pick them up on the way home so you can go to bed with a full tummy!

Sugar High

My cousin Travis, his daughter Zoe, and his girlfriend Carmela are in this weekend. Normally I cook breakfast in the morning but I had suggested we visit the legendary bakery, Oakmont bakery this morning.

This place is amazing. It has rows and rows of baked goods. The selection to choose from is incredible. 

Look at all this goodness! The hardest part is making a decision as to what one thing to get. I settled on an egg, bacon, and cheese croissant. Heaven! Sam was at home sleeping so I brought him back some goodies. A bear claw and a PB&J doughnut (jelly filled doughnut with peanut butter on top).

Time to go take a nap once the sugar burns off!

BridgeBox

There seems to be a new trend in mail subscriptions and it turns out to be actual products, not just magazines. I do love magazines, so this is right up my alley. The Internet is filled with all kinds of subscription box services. The ones that I have heard most about are Birch box, Beauty Box, and Ipsy. Some of the blogs I read highlight these on a monthly basis. The ones I mentioned are makeup and beauty product based. 

Several weeks ago, I read about BridgeBox (http://www.etsy.com/shop/riverandbridge). It is a monthly subscription service and it is based on notecards and personalized stationary. Every box contains $15 of stationary. Their mission is to bridge the gap between inbox and mailbox. I have to say, I love making cards so I thought this was pretty cool. Who doesn't enjoy receiving mail that is not a bill and something you can physically hold onto! On top of that, the store is based out of Etsy and I liked the idea of purchasing from a small business owner. I also thought this would make a cool birthday present for my cousin. However, I couldn't give a present without testing it myself first, right? I thought you would agree!

I ordered my monthly box by the 15th of July. The day after I purchased it, I received an email asking if I preferred "Angela" or "Angie" on the personalized stationary. I loved this attention to detail and great customer service. I then received an email that it would be shipped no later than July 24th, again great service. Sure enough, my packaged arrived shortly after.

I was so excited to open my little surprised and it definitely didn't disappoint.

My favorite are the 3 notecards which are like postcards on the back. I'm thinking about framing them. At least the top one. I do live on beach street after all! The personalized notecards are so cute. The Aztec/Indian like design of the other notecards are probably my least favorite. However, they are nice cards for a guy or just in general. Overall, I was very impressed. Here's hoping Tara enjoys her box as much I have enjoyed mine!

Family Reunion

This past weekend was the 59th family reunion. It is held at the hunting cabin my dad and uncle belong to. Family starts to arrive on Friday with the main meal on Saturday at noon. Some relatives stay over and others just come in and out on Saturday. It is a great time to sit back and relax as well as eat and eat and eat!

Here are some of the photos of the weekend.

We started by celebrating Tara's birthday.

There was some serious catch and release fishing going on down at the pond!

I chased, played, and adored this little man all weekend. Be prepared, he was my main subject for many pictures!

And let's not forget about our friendly visitors!

Oh, and here is one more photo of an incredibly cute little man!

Great weekend! Can't wait for the next time we are all together!