Wear It Well

Who doesn't love gift cards? Especially when you get to spend all weekend cashing them in at various stores. I found some great bargains while shopping at Banana Republic and Old Navy...

Can't wait for Christmas!

Party Time

I had one of those amazing weekends that I will always cherish.

It started off with a much needed visit from my brother Matt and his boyfriend Nick. Every time I'm around Matt I laugh so hard my stomach hurts. We had a great time Friday morning at the NBC studios in Philadelphia, where he taped a segment for 'The 10 Show' that we got to watch from the studio audience. We then headed into town to do some site-seeing at Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, topped off with shopping and eating cheese steaks of course.

Saturday, John threw me a super fun Halloween/30th birthday party that was truly great. So many of my friends and family turned out and it felt wonderful. The Betty Boop costume was a hit, and well worth the nearly 2 hours I spent at the hairdresser getting her signature hairdo perfected. Phew!

Here are a few more pics from the party...

Our Annual Pumpkin Face-Off

It's that time of year again...

I'd like to point out that I was trying to simultaneously watch a cheesy, chick-flick while carving my pumpkin. That could be why it turned out so pedestrian (right).

I may have to give this one to John for his googly-eyed Vampire pumpkin and his sneaky suggestion that we watch 'my movie' during our carving contest.

Face Lift

It took a couple of weeks and a lot of hard work, but we were finally able to finish updating our guest bathroom today and I'm pretty proud of it.

We used to have a lot of older plumbing fixtures, including a pedestal sink with a dangerous, wobbly top. Thankfully, now our guests can also turn on the shower without fear of the antique knobs falling off and crashing loudly on the porcelain tub. I've heard it happen a few times and it was always embarrassing, no doubt scary for them.

And, it's all done in time for Matt and Nick to arrive this Thursday. I can't wait!

Let's Gourd Ourselves

This weekend I feel compelled to make our annual trip to the pumpkin patch to pick out all things fall to decorate our home with, and wouldn't you know, I was sent this story today about just that. It made me laugh so hard I may have peed a little.

It's written by someone named Colin Nissan and was recently published in McSweeney's (which I'm a big fan of). I just read it again and am still cracking up. But, be forewarned, the material is definitely very 'colorful' and not for the faint of heart.

Shoe Thing

After driving around today for work in this rainy, dreary, (not to mention COLD) October weather, I was so happy and surprised when I came home and found an early birthday present from my parents waiting for me...

Thanks for brightening my day Mom. I love my new Pumas!

Game On

One of my favorite things to do when I go home to AZ is play board games with my family. We are quite a competitive group and I haven't been able to duplicate that spirit here in PA.

From what I gather the family has moved on from the time honored Scrabble, and is now obsessed with Boggle (an oldie but a goodie). It's been ages since I've played Boggle but since joining Facebook last year, I've had the opportunity to play it's online sister game, Scramble.

It was pretty fun for awhile but I put it on the back burner when I was just beating my high score over and over. However, now my fam has recently discovered it and I am now having a ball playing them from afar. It gives me a chance to brush up on my competitive skills before our Christmas visit.

Let the games begin!