Welcome 2012!

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I think it should be painfully obvious that I'm willing to say goodbye to 2011, real fast. I'm VERY grateful for my trips with Mike, our wonderful friends and family, and the blessings that we had, but the overall injuries both mental and physical, robberies and break-ins were almost too much for me to bear. I have high hopes for 2012, and I look forward to getting it started. I'm really going to embrace this blog and see where it takes me. 

By the time this posts, I'll be out in Asheville with some "new" friends to celebrate NYE, and I couldn't be more excited.

Oh, and as far as resolutions go, along with the ever present "get fit, drink more water, meditate, yadda yadda", my big resolution is to say YES more often. I want to go outside of my comfort zone just a little more and see what life brings. Mike's is to be more "present" in the moment. Experience the here and now.

Weekend Update

We got an earlier start on the weekend, with a tasty dinner at NOFO in Raleigh. 

I've talked about the place before, remember? Old Piggly Wiggly? NC products? Ashe County Cheese? 

Yup, there we go.

We went for dinner this time and had a delicious steak (with Mac and Cheese), salmon (with fried pickles as a side?, YES PLEAAASE) and a DELICIOUS brownie, that had pudding in the middle.

Yup. 

Pudding.

It'd been a while since we'd really hung out with any of "The Core" and we were missing them something fierce.  So Friday, we all set a date.

We went to Sushi Nine on Western Blvd in Raleigh

BOGO is always amazing. 

Our waitress was a cartoon character, and the only option I knew about was Sapporo

We Feasted. 

We ended up getting Yummy Yummy, Victorias Secret, Fiery..something, and a Hurricane.

your guess is as good as mine..

We caught up, laughed and stuffed our tummies til we decided to head back uptown. 

To World of Beer.

The Core

We made new friends...along the way, and reacquainted ourselves with old ones..

Emily and Shannon.

 

Sunday morning, we headed out to Flying Saucer for brunch, like ya do. 

Then we headed out to find a great wreath for the front door. 

 

We did TOO well, as now the door will not close...

but no bother. It IS Christmas :)

Sunday night, Mike took me on a neat date to Raleighwood.  

Tickets were super cheap, only $4.50, and you can get DINNER at your seat. 

(Your super comfy-leathery-office-swingy-chair)

We saw the Ides of March, which we had ALWAYS meant to get around to seeing and never got the chance to, it's really an AWESOME theatre, smells nice, good food and decent drink selection.

Great date night, you should check it out. :)

Awesome, awesome weekend.

Head Start!

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There are a few things that I get so obsessed with that I never get very far from. Sephora's blockbuster was one, Sparkle Toms (soon to be mine) are another, and occasionally, a DIY project will tickle the same bone.

So a few months ago, when I was perusing Design Sponge  and found this project, I was in love. I've always wanted to be a journal keeper. Someone who had books and books of heartfelt page filled with the day to day.

but.

I'm not

This little fruit basket, index card journal, would be a wonderful little way to document the BIG things (or tiny things) that happen every day. Dinner dates, sweet notes, game changers..I just keep thinking about how cool it could be to look back and see what I chose on 12-13-08.  I started a mental hunt for all the goodies I would need to pull this off. 

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And, after I found this on Anthropologie, I'm hooked. As soon as our "do not buy anything" ban is up, I'm totally scooping her up, plopping her on the countertop and getting my 2012 resolution firmly in place.

Happy Holidays :)

It's definitely beginning to shape up in the Hershler House. (get it? totes cute) 

Last night, our tree topper was delivered so we finally finished off the tree. 

new traditions have begun, old ones have continued and the season is in swing. 

A quick glance at some of our favorite ornaments:

Mike's GT yellow jacket and my NCSU block S have snuggled up together, with the yellow submarine (that we scored in Vegas at LOVE

 

And a cute little antique. Baby's first christmas ornament.
My mom held onto that for the last 25 years, well 24 til I stole it last year. 

Now, I just need to grab a wreath for our door ala Apes and we'll be good to go. 

Hope your Season is spectacular so far

Christmas Dreamin

Just a few of the goodies I wouldnt mind (nope, not one bit) finding underneath my Christmakkah tree. <3

1: Who doesn't need a super cute cookie jar

2: A lovely eggplant purple cape to wrap up in, a steal at only $952

3: Seriously,this super convenient awesome glitter package would look STELLAR in my stocking, and on millions of projects. (Rumor on the street, is you can find a 50% off coupon easily on the Michaels website, to use in store..just sayin Santa..I'm here to help you, really)

4: Ladylike North Carolina pride! 

5: One step closer to being Hermione. This is actually an adorable 'out for drinks' bag

6: Ok, so maybe I don't NEED more measuring cups. (At all actually) But, these are so stinkin' cute!

7: Ask Mike. I squealed when I saw these. The 'neutral' color is already catching my eye. I've been looking for a ceramic fruit box for years now. 

8: We saw something similar at a friend's house and we started to adore it. Maybe it's time to bring one into the family. 

9: Finally, a trio of metallic polishes to wrap up the holidays. 

jumpback

Finally back into the land of the computer. Just starting the process of catch up. Good luck on the Hawridays everyone. I'll be around :) 

Whether Weather

REALLY RALEIGH? It's no wonder we all stay sickly and confused about what to wear. This week, still without photos from vacation, is filled with painting classes, cleaning, schoolwork (for Mike) and cooking up a storm for Friendsgiving. The holidays, yes they are in full steam.

On the importance of glitter..

Earlier this week, I went on a boot hunt. I NEED shoes for fall and winter. I can not go with just rainbows and ballet flats, my feets get cold. Then Mike has to suffer. I ventured out to the mall, (where I did not find the boots) but I found this:

I love you, coat.

SERIOUSLY? Shut the front door. I have been craving a glittery jacket for my entirelife weeks. It'd be perfect for so many happy occasions, including every day, because err'ybody needs more glitter. There it was. It was IN MY SIGHT:  Sequin, rose gold jacket. In the store window. Oh Forever 21, this was your chance. However, inside, it was no where to be found. There was no rose gold, no gold gold, not even the black one (which was also in the store window.) And the window one was a size 2. I was so sad, I stopped the search for boots, for blazers or for bras, and went home (with comfort food in Chick fil A) (ok FINE, and I stopped at Lindor for truffles) So so sad.

I'm still on the hunt.

I seriously need a sequin blazer.

Wait? Wha? NOVEMBER?!

ugh

It seems that my last post was on September 27th. *shudder* I'm sorry, really. I know you've heard it before and you don't believe me at all. October..was..insane. Mike said it best last night. We've had one BIG THING, taking over our week since the start of October. There was his Residency, our little anniversary, then we had movers coming to move me into the House (for real, not for fake like it has been.) Then we had to clean the house, then my parents came into town for the State Fair, then we had more of cleaning the apartment. Then, on the 25th, my ultimate fear came to life. Not really gonna talk about it, yet,  but that took over the rest of our time until vacation. (Oh that glorious purple stripe.) We went down to FL for Mike's Grampas 90th birthday, then out to Las Vegas, up to Utah, down to Arizona and back to Vegas before flying back home. Now, we have cleanup from "The Event", clean up from the moving, Mike's school work, and TONS OF OTHER STUFF.


I promise that I want to show you pictures, I just have to wait for them to be put up onto the computer first, which looks like it might be next week.

Those were the days.

Work today, was insurmountable. Mike had  the same. We got home, almost simultaneously at 7pm. I have stacks upon stacks of magazines in the mail today (I think the carrier was holding them all hostage, I refuse to believe I got 5 in the mail on the SAME exact day.) So I figure the best thing to do, is curl up with a glass of wine, my magazine stack and some brownies. :)

I'll catch you guys tomorrow. <3

Getting to knoooooooooow you...

Oh Blog, I'm so sorry to constantly ignore you.I have such high hopes for this blog. A place where I can dabble in the recipes I love, the house we're making a home, our adventures, fashion, and the day to day...but I just get to where I feel behind, and then..lesigh I find it hard to know where to pick up... Mike says in 21 days you can change a habit. SO, Here goes 21 days of blogging. 

To get acquainted (again) lets try this.. 

Age: 25

Bed size: queen

Chore you hate: dishes. good lord dishes. 

Dogs: not yet. soon though..

Essential start to your day: lately? poptarts...sadly

Favorite color: Green.

Gold or silver: definitely depends.

Height: 5'7ish"

Instruments you play: Um, I tried piano and flute as a child. I can do drums

Job title: Advanced Research Technician

Kids: in the distant future, I'd love to.

Live: Raleighwood

Movies or TV: TV

Nicknames: daddy calls me sweetface

Overnight hospital stays: when I had some freaky flu in HS

Pet peeve: when people chew audibly. 

Quote: "My candle burns at both ends, it will not last the night. 
But Oh! my foes and Oh! my friends it gives a lovely light" 

Righty or lefty: Righty

Siblings: nope, but I'm close with my cousins

T. time you wake up: M-F, 8ish (i hate mornings)

University attended: North Carolina State University

Vegetables you dislike: Brussel sprouts, beets..anything I havent tried

What makes you run late: the lovely Mike

X-rays you’ve had: my stupid knee. 

Yummy food: carbs, especially potatoes

Z. zoo animal favorite: big cats and big bears

Weekend Recap

       This weekend was glorious. We got some early moving done, watched some football, cleaned, odds and ends checked off the list, and Mike got school work finished.

Click Me!

          We also managed to make a trip to the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, NC. They were having their Science of Beer event on Thursday. Basically, they open up the Museum and all of it's exhibits, throw in a bunch of craft breweries (handing out free samples), Arts and Crafts booths (see the awesome pink koozie pictured) and they even had Beer Pong Physics. (You can see Mike signing the Wall of Champions)

I left my heart in New York

...like I always do. A few weeks ago (where DOES the time go?!) Mike and I flew up to NY for a mini trip. We went to the JETS opener, the Mets game, and over to the WTC. We also managed to fly around 9/11 instead of on it, which made everyone sleep a little better. The trip, like always, was amazing and we had a blast. In order to keep this short, I made a little baby collage of our trip. There are, as always, more pictures on facebook. 

click to make huge!

, 

We're already ready to go back. 

Finally!

Guess what I made this pile of junk into?

......!!!!.....

We FINALLY got a bar cart! Horray!! Mike and I put it together the other night and filled it up with all of our boozes, and some new glassware (from ChezCat- my apartment.) Along with our other bar goodies. :) Sweet! Its nice having all the booze, glasses and tools for cocktails sitting right next to the beer fridge.


Furthurmore, if anyone needs glassware, or tableware..we have tons. really. TONS.

Brew Day! Pumpkin Ale!

Duct Tape Thermometer: Classy

12:52, Mike wonders why I'm not upstairs documenting his new brewventure. I'm still healing, and not willing to give up my couch potato status. "BUT! How am I going to remember that I popped the yeast at 12:45?!?"  Time to shift into advanced healing.

1:21, After trying to work on my resume and failing due to head poundings and the lack of coffee, I'm back to la blog. Mike's steeping and watching the pot.

goop, or malt, whichever you prefer

1:26, A lively debate over book vs google in terms of brewing knowledge or learning a new skill. It should be noted that this debate is going on strictly on Mike's side of the room, as he talks himself in and out of both.  The little yeasts are growing in their baggy and the soontobe-beer is in the not too cold, not to hot water.

say it with me now..

1:52. Mike is on the hunt for brown sugar. "Add the sweetness, Sweetness." I can officially say I helped now. Also, malt extract looks gross and goopy, and I have taken to calling the grains "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINZ" in a zombie voice.

2:26 Ladies and gents, We have a boil.

2:37. "I got me some good yeast, I am a happy Man"

mmm, floaty pumpkin bits

2:54. Me "is there anything exciting happening?" Mike "no"

3:15 He's added the pumpkin into the brew. Did you know pumpkin is a fruit? 5 minutes left to boil, then we have operation cool down.

Milton.

3:26 I'm supposed to go outside and help turn on the water spicket. spigot? really.. spicket is spelled spigot? weird..ANYWAY, I'm supposed to go outside and turn on the water, but Milton lives nearby and we already angered him once today. He's grown a crap ton, and I am not a fan of him moving closer to me.

Floaty Ice oooo!

3:33. Operation COOLDOWN has begun. We started sawing open the water bottles we bought. We have a goal of 15 minutes to cool down, since last time took 2 hours. The bottles are completely frozen so there's a ton of freakin cold water squirting everywhere. I completely ruined my nails (oh hush up, I know) Mike has frozen toes and is questioning my blogging judgement.. "So, it's more important to you to blog this *now*, than to get me a towel?"

carnage

3:45, we are out of tools to cool down the beer. its 75. Holy crap, that worked...

4:02, While waiting for the brita to fitlter to add the end of the water. Mike reviews, edits and corrects my post. Awe, couples who blog together... well, until he scurries to take the OG: 1.060 and it "tastes great" Apparently, that means it's be a really..um...strong..beer.

4:26 Beer is fermenting. Mike is cleaning. All is well in the HershLer household.

WHAT? I never blogged Florida!?

I. Fail. Badly.

My First Palm Tree. AWWW

For Mike's gramma's birthday, we headed down to Florida to visit the family. To sweeten the deal, we also headed to Universal studios for HARRY POTTER WORLD.  It was a ton of fun, and the photo albums for the day are available online, if you so choose to peruse them, however, I'll do my best to sketch it out. Cause, yeah, seriously, it was an awesome awesome trip. BUT, never travel US Air. We finally got in super late at night, and basically crashed. Hard. The first morning in Orlando we woke up and went off to HPW. 






They have done a remarkable job of replicating everything. I took dang near 200 photos in that part of Universal alone. There's a Hogwarts express with a conductor as soon as you walk in. He's a very very friendly man and was super charming as I dorkily asked for a picture. Mike also got in full swing with the "lets take all the pictures we want game" and for the price of admission, you really can't do it any other way. There's a Hogwarts ride, that the line is ridiculously long for, but it doesn't phase you because the line weaves through the castle where they have tons of movie props and interactive things for you to see and watch. I'll meet you down near the end of the HP pictures in a minute...

I thought he did a good job..

Hello Butterbeer. :)

Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home. 

 

 No, I didn't get a wand. Yes, I regret it...After  I finally got my fill (only temporarily, I promise.. I already wanna go back) of Harry Potter, Mike and I finally went around the rest of the park. We played some old school arcade games (I was better at skeeball) and even rode the Hulk. My motion sickness was not a fan of the Hulk. I was. There was also an old school comic book land.  Seriously, old school. Rocky and Bullwinkle, Marmaduke, etc. They had these signs all over the park which made for delightfully fun photo ops.

curses!

 Mike's favorite part..this bridge. There was a small water ride going underneath the bridge and if you stood on top you could squirt the unsuspecting riders with water. He had a blast. Seriously. I haven't seen him giggle and run back and forth to plan his attacks like that before.

sneaky

 After all that was said and done, we headed out to dinner at Bubba Gump, and then home to the hotel room. I have never passed out soo quickly in a hotel room like I did that night, but seriously I was gone. 

You have to have the ears picture!

We woke up the next morning to head down to Boca Raton, but we had a few hours to kill so we headed over to Disney for a bit. I mean, you kinda have too.Seriously. They have everything. There's an entire store dedicated to kitchen decor (all Mickey themed), one dedicated to Christmas ornaments, one for Mickey collectable pins, and that's not including the large array of other shops. We popped into ESPN world, for Mike to get a Mets hat, and then in and out of a few others until we found the general "everything" store.  We walked around playing with the Star Wars toys, the Pooh bears, the Princess things, clothes, jewelry, mugs, stamps, .... Yeah, I'm gonna stop now. 

the ceiling

Once we got hungry, we headed over to Rain Forest Cafe. I've wanted to go for a while, and never had the opportunity, but Mike was game so, yeah. They had mechanical animals that would come to life every 15minutes. They also had a rainstorm every half an hour. The sky would get dark and thunder would creep around and lighting would go off. The "sky" or the ceiling, also went around the times of day every couple hours. You would see an awesome sunrise, then mid day, sunset, nighttime (dispersed with the storms). We were sitting right next to a GIANT fish tank, and it was pretty cool watching all the fish come over and stare at us. 

 Before we left, we made one final stop at Goofy's Candy Store. Mike (and a young dork in training) were enamored by the Disney table of elements and the Baking calculus on the wall. I was enamored by the BIGASMYHEAD caramel apples.  As we were leaving, the REAL skies opened up, so it was nice to make it back to our super swanky rental car. On the way to Boca, I finally had a Slushee, and we arrived at his Aunt and Uncle's just in time for tea and B&W cookies. We spent the next few days hanging out with his family, and we had a great time. His family is incredibly warm and friendly and welcoming and I had a great experience meeting everyone. Hopefully we can make it back to visit everyone shortly.

It really was an excellent, excellent trip. And now, that I've finally blogged about it, I feel better :)

Sammich Wars!

how do you make an awesome, adult, fancy grilled cheese?

BOOM: Grilled Cheese, apple, pepperoni, avocado, and tomato. DELISH. 

you're welcome :)

LustLust

I tend to become obsessed with certain things. Then, I stalk them. I have to prove to myself that they're something I want more than 20minutes, and THEN, I can have them. This LustStalk gets worse when I have little money...

Late last year, I fell in love with this awesome coat from asos.com. I watched as it trickled down from 112.05 to 52.94 , and then as the choices in color when to Khaki and the one I wanted "Doe" and then ..low and behold, there was only 1 size left. US Size 8. Now, normally. I wear a size 8. So, you think this should be perfect. HOWEVER, it's a coat..so it should be alittle large right? and the sleeves? what if they're too small? or what if the color looks like baby poop on me? UGH, normally. I would go to the store and try it on, but, asos is from the UK, soo yeah, I bit the bullet...

Buy me!

AND THAT BEAUTIFUL BABY FIT LIKE A GLOVE. Seriously, the sleeves are perfect, color looks AMAZING, and its definitely "my style." I wish I had a great picture so you could see the back, but, that will have to wait.. AND I saved $60! 

Inspired by my awesome luck, I started allowing myself a bit more LustStalk. So far, I only have three tiny wishes...

$148, VS, it's a steal

First off, because now I have an awesome coat in Khaki, I need one in a darker color, right? My new favorite neutral...yup, leopard. I first started wanting the MadMen leopard trench from Banana Republic, but I kinda like the large graphic print on this, and the darker hue. It's cheaper too, soo, maybe a sale will hit soon?

only $34?!

You may have seen my Sephora blockbuster palette from two Christmases ago. The only real complaint I had with the SUPER HUGE PALETTE, well ok 2, was that 1) I didnt really know how to blend and mix the shadows without playing with 80+ randomly, and I dont have that kinda time, and 2) the lipglosses suck. They're great for *right that second* but, you have no chance of reapplying unless you take it with you. ENTER the pallet from the lovely ladies at Allure magazine. They have instructional videos on line, and you can pop each little set out and take it with you, ALSO, LOOK! They have real live glosses, that you can carry, and keep applying! Horray! I have a mini goal set for the rest of August, if it works, we shall be the newest owner of this lovely set. Ohhh, yes we will. :)

$54, oh nordstrom, you devil..

Oh, sparkles are important to me. I would have never known this little beauties existed, had Apes never worn them out one night to Big Boss. They added the neatest little POP of sparkle, and I've heard Toms are seriously comfy. Plus, for every pair bought, another pair is donated to kids in need. If I get the new job at DreamJobPlace, I will buy these with my first paycheck. I dont care if they skyrocket. It's all about goals here people. 

Hopefully, this teeny little list makes it through the rest of the week. It's been rough. Also, Mike is drawing on my toe, as he desperately needs a shirt ironed for tomorrow, and apparently the Iron is not his friend. Goodnight :)

Rememer the Big Goals.

explodingdog.com 

Tonight's BIG GOALS:

Make Chicken with Peach salsa.. (not feeling it)
CLEAN THE KITCHEN, kthx
get mike to clean the basement (bahahahaaha)
write a blog about B, B, BBQ. (maybe)
nap? or shower? (i feel I must choose one)
a bit of wine and scheming, mayhaps.

Girls Night Out

Everyone needs one occasionally, and this was mine. Possibly my oldest friend is getting ready to move to NYC for school, and though waters have gotten choppy, she's still the closest confidant I've got. So, I was thrilled to get all dressed up and head to Carrboro to see her for one last dinner date.. (for now)

I feel like I should be forced to explain the super girly photo below. B  made me a makeup addict, and then showed me her AMAZING Sephora makeup "Blockbuster" palette. I waited, not so patiently, til last christmas and scooped it up as soon as it hit shelves. Ive used it ever since, and as you can see, barely touched it. The lip glosses aren't the best, but the shadows, blushes, liners and pencils are awesome. Needless to say, whever I use it, I think of her, sooo yeah, it's totally fitting. Also, please ignore the broken into 2905729014812 pieces toilet, Mike's in the process of "fixing" it.

After getting ready, I traveled on down to Carrboro. I've really never been, since its a 40minute drive, but it really seems worth it. I mentioned to Mike renting a cheap hotel somewhere there and making a weekend vacation of it (right in the backyard almost.) B mentioned some awesome bars, ice cream places, and brunch eateries, paired with the tons of things to do in Chapel Hill and (now I need to find "activities" in Carrboro)

you know it's good if this is the only photo I take.

We ate at ACME and  we both got the steak. B mentioned that the crab cakes were equally amazing, but possibly not the grouper. Anyway, two bottles of wine and an AMAZING peach /blueberry cobbler later (or 3 hours..however YOU measure time). We had covered just about every subject, chatted the whole time, and was faced with the fact, that we had to leave. :-(


Oh well, we're having a goodbye party on Friday for her, and Mike does live in Long Island, so I'm not too tore up about "never seeing her again." But, I do adore her for introducing me to new places, new make up and always having my backs.

Good Times