a look back at goals i set six months ago

ok, so a few months back i decided to make some "the year is halfway over" resolutions. i thought now would be a good time to reflect on what has come of these goals and add some new ones to the bunch.

here are my previous goals:
1. Make a conscious effort to be healthier. i feel like i can cross this off my list and not feel like a liar. because i DID make a conscious effort for a good period of time during the last few months. if you were a reader a couple months ago, you may have noticed my buff mama monday posts...and that they suddenly and abruptly disappeared. i don't really have a good reason for that. i got sick, didn't go the gym for a while, then when i was ready to go back, i learned that they had closed down. sooooo, i stopped working out. but i did go for a couple months, so i'm counting this as done.

2. Take a graphic design/web design class. i can most assuredly cross this off my list! i took a graphics communication class at the junior college that was bascially an intro to photoshop. i learned a lot, including that graphic design is not something that i will be pursuing further. i'm so happy to have acquired the photoshop skills that i did, but i'm ready to move on.

3. "Finish" JC's room. this definitely did not happen. not too long after i made these goals, we learned that we would have to be moving at some indefinite date. so the idea of decorating a room that we would be packing up soon, lost it's steam. but i do have full intentions of taking this back up once we move into a new house.

4. Learn to sew. my old sewing machine never got fixed, so therefore it stayed bootsy. but, there is a glimmer of hope at the end of this because i got a new sewing machine for christmas!! yes it is still in the box but only because i'm not sure where to set it up for now. again, a problem with living in a house that you won't be living in for much longer. i'm not ready to commit to a space, but once i do, it will be done!

5. Open an Etsy store. so this is a complicated one. i did it, for sure but i am officially closing up shop for now on aquamarine vintage. i thought i had a good combination of vintage goods and hand knit goods. the shop wasn't a complete failure because i did sell everything that i listed, it's just that i didn't list very much. i was unable to set aside enough time to find goods to sell or knit anything to sell. so this is done but i am done with the shop. i do have ideas for a new shop but am not ready to break ground quite yet.

6. Start saving money for a down payment on a house. i'm not going to cross this off because we didn't really make a conscious effort to save anymore than we already had set aside. here we are, six months later and we are REALLY looking at buying a house but don't have much more to show for it. we'll be able to do it, but we just are not going to be able to put more down.

7. And last but definitely not least, plan our wedding. welp, the wedding is not completely planned but is definitely further along. do i still want to throw up when i start planning the wedding for longer than 20 minutes? a little bit. do i still beg charles to let us just elope? sometimes. but we are getting further along. we have a date set, a venue reserved, a photographer hired, and most of our bridal party picked out. so we are getting there.

all in all, i'm pretty happy with what i accomplished. i gave myself the freedom to not feel tied down by my goals. if the goal was no longer important or relevant, i didn't have to beat myself up for not pursuing it or finishing it. i am ready to continue pursuing a couple of these and adding more to the bunch; i'll post about them tomorrow! happy new year everyone!

autumn has arrived

{ bittersweet wreath I pumpkin pie marshmallows I wall decal I angry birds costume }

I am SO ready for Fall! It is my favorite season and I always feel shortchanged living where we do because we always have such a short autumn season. Even though it's officially fall, it is 90 degrees today and the next couple days as well. We'll probably get two good weeks of cool weather before it starts raining everyday. That being said, I am going to try and take full advantage of this season before it slips away. Behold, my fall bucket list:

{1} Visit a pumpkin patch
{2} Take fall-themed family portraits
{3} Decorate for Halloween
{4} Decorate for fall
{5} Visit Apple Hill
{6} Visit the library regularly
{7} Bake a pie
{8} Stand outside in the rain with JC (just for a little bit)
{9} Buy tall brown boots
{10} Make homemade apple cider
{11} Bake cookies for Charles to bring into work
{12} Cook something for Thanksgiving
{13} Dust off the crock pot
{14} Knit matching beanies for Charles and JC
{15} Take Tsunami for more walks
{16} Enjoy some cool days at the park before it starts raining
(17} Do something crafty for Halloween
{18} Do something crafty for Thanksgiving
{19} Make hot apple cider from scratch
{20} Spend a rainy day snuggling with my main dudes

I'm so excited, especially for October. Not only is it the month of one my favorite holidays (ahem, Halloween!) but also my birthday and Charles and mine's anniversary (ELEVEN years dude). AND, I don't think I've mentioned it enough yet, but we are going to VEGAS! Holla! Happy beginning of fall everybody!

week in iphone pics, w.10

Whoo hoo! I did way better with pictures this week! We did a lot of running around this week. If you read my post about goals for the rest of the year, you'd know that one of my goals was to open an etsy shop. I've been doing so much prep for that this week and I'm so excited to finally open shop. My goal is to get everything open by the first of August. We'll see!!



Monday, Grandma Janie came over for a little bit in the morning. JC and Tsunami had to say bye. The afternoon was spent running all over the house and getting into new cabinets that he hadn't discovered yet. In the evening, we went to Papa John's house and got to sit in the big chair. JC also had his first experience with corn-on-the-cob. I'm not sure he got much corn off of it but he got a little butter. And I think that was alright by him. And one bathtime nudie pic. That belly gets me everytime.



Tuesday, was a little less crazy. We hung out in the Old Navy dressing room while I tried on some shorts (fail). Then we hit up the grocery store and JC couldn't wait to dig into his favorite pasta. And my Toddler 411 book finally came!! I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed with it so far. I was looking for more advice on discipline but it's kinda generalized. I guess every kid's different sooooo. If you have advice for disciplining an almost 14 month old, it would be much appreciated.



Wednesday, JC slept in until 10:20! It was crazy. Of course, as soon as I tried to do something he woke up. This was a new discovery this week; apparently, we have a busy little beaver on our hands. I guess I need to get one of those gummy crib protector thingys now. We got JC's new sandals!! These are his first pair of "legit" shoes. He's definitely not as good at walking in them as he is while barefoot but practice makes perfect, right? Right before nap time, we hit up Goodwill to get stuff for my etsy store. Found a couple cute items. Then, it was frappacino o'clock. This definitely doesn't fit with my plan of making healthier choices but I haven't had one in soooooooooooo long. I deserved it. And JC is super adorable when he brushes his teeth. I just wish he would let us brush his teeth also.



Thursday, we hit up Target to get stuff for the backpack we donated. School supply shopping! Then we came home and played a little before dinner. JC tried to share Curious George and he continued his "ball" obsession (I realize how that sounds...teehee) by pointing to his alphabet train to proclaim the he found the "BALL!" on it. This kid loves balls (teehee) so much, they are definitely his favorite toy right now. We had the most awesome pizza for dinner. It straight up had balsamic vinegar on it. SO GOOD! Healthy factor, notsomuch. LAY OFF ME I'M STARVING! Points if you get the reference. We finished out the night by playing with JC's second favorite "toy", the spatula. He carries this thing E.V.E.R.Y.W.H.E.R.E. And he tries to beat the cat with it, but we try to discourage that. He also had been carrying around the pack of Uno cards this week so I finally gave him what he wanted.



Friday, JC played with another game cabinet discovery while I gave the dog a much needed bath. Hey, whatever works. During naptime, I worked on something for my etsy shop. And I die a little bit when I see this picture. This kid loves to play peek-a-boo and be chased. He goes around the corner and waits for you to come and then he crawls full speed to get away. All while giggling uncontrollably. He's awesome.

Well, that was our week! Just going over it again made me tired. Alright, now I've got to try to get some other stuff done before the boss wakes up.

Linking up with a good life and life rearranged.