Let's Take a Little Vacation

Oh hey Bloglandia, I'm currently soaking up some sweet sunshine in St. Thomas right now. It's my last day here since I'll be heading home tomorrow so I'm going to go live it up as much as I can. That means I'm going to go play on the beach instead of play on my blog and that's exactly why I have Kristin taking over for me.
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Hello everyone!  I'm Kristin & I blog over at Crumbs & Curls.  I'm so jealous that Meg is in St. Thomas!  It is a well deserved trip though, so I am also happy for her.  I cannot wait to hear about all of the fun she has on vacation, but until then I'm taking over for the day & am going to share a few of the places I want to go.  I've never been out of the country before (thankfully I've made it to quite a few states, even as far as Hawaii!), I love traveling though & really want to explore the world.  Here are 5 places I need to go, & a little surprise at the end!
1. France

It has been my dream to go here since forever.  I literally want to explore every inch of this country.  There is something about France that is just so glamorous & romantic, which makes it my #1 place I want to go.
2. Italy

I am Italian & love Italian food.  I need to go here to explore & eat my heart out.
3. England

I want to go to England to see London & to get lost in the English country side.  Also I love the Royal Family (specifically Kate Middleton) & would love to catch a glimpse in person!
4. Switzerland

Every time I see pictures of Switzerland it looks like quaint European winter village that would be amazing to visit.
5. Spain

One of my good friends studied abroad here & never wanted to leave, when she told me about her trip I knew I had to go someday.
And the big surprise is…
I'm going to Greece this summer!  I just (like a few days ago) got my acceptance letter for a 6 week study abroad program there & am ecstatic.  Greece seems like such an amazing place, I have always wanted to go & it would be on my top 5 if I wasn't already heading there.  I know a few girls that went on last year's trip & they said it was the best experience of their lives & I cannot wait to be there!  I only have 5 months to wait for all of this gorgeousness:

Well that's all I have for today, make sure to pop over to Crumbs & Curls to see what I have going on!  Thanks Meg for letting me takeover, & thank you to you guys for reading!  I just have one last thing, what are your travel destinations?

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Breaking My Christmas Traditions! Gahhh

For the past few years being in college and living on my own, I have been broke as hell.  Vacation was not in my vocabulary.  But if you know me, you know that I love to travel.  Traveling just makes me the happiest.  I majored in Travel and Tourism for 2 years and for some reason I changed my mind and looking back I wish I had just stuck with it.  During that time though I knew the Industry was in low demand because of the economy.  Maybe that had something to do with it.  Who knows.  I blame it on being young, dumb, and for thinking I knew everything. 

Anyways, It has been a few years since I have been on a real vacation.  But that’s all about to change because the bf and I will be leaving tomorrow to spend Christmas in St. Thomas.  Hell to the ya!  I’m actually dancing in my office right now because I’m so flipping excited.  Yup, that just happened.  I might have had a few weird looks but everyone in my office knows that I’m weird so they just go with it. 

Snapshots from my last vacation in the Caribbean with by sister Erin. 2011.

Actually, this will be my first Caribbean stay beach vacation.  Yes I’ve been to the Caribbean before but only on a cruise and you only get a limited amount of time at each destination.  Philly’s sister happens to live in St. Thomas, I know lucky fucking chick and her and her bf run a charter boat for a living.  Great gig right?  I’m not sure why I haven’t jumped on that band wagon.  The bf’s family drove by boat from the Gulf to St. Thomas so we could all be together for the holiday!  Pretty awesome. 

I really enjoy Philly’s family, they are just great people.  I’m so looking forward to spending time with them.  I’m so grateful to be able to be a part of this vacation with them.  I plan to eat a lot of seafood, learn to paddle board, swim in the ocean, drink a lot of adult beverages, relax, and best of all spend some quality time with the bf.  Hopefully I will have some fun stories to bring back with me.

With the bf's family at the Colts Game!

I will miss my family for sure, as this is my first Christmas away from home.  I am all about the Christmas Traditions.  My Christmas Traditions:  The Christmas Eve party that my mom’s host, getting new pj’s to wear on Christmas eve, making a ginger bread house with by mom, baking, opening stockings before anything else, putting the star on the tree, homemade Irish Baileys, and leaving Santa cookies and baileys, yes I still leave food out for Santa.  Don’t Judge.    So as you can see, it will be hard to be away from home.  To be fair we spent last year with my family in NY.  But part of growing up is that you also have a new family to share holidays with.  I’m learning to be okay with it and to start traditions of my own.  

Pictures from Christmas 2012 in New York!
First Christmas with Philly <3

Is anyone else traveling this Holiday?

I may or may night have some friends taking over my blog for me while I am soaking up the sun.  Or I may even try to get some blog time in on the beach, no promises though!  
If not I'll be back before the New Year!

Enjoy your holiday.  Merry Christmas. Peace & Love. 

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Things That Make Me Want To Punch A Baby

I currently just ate my body weight at my Office Pot Luck and got to thinking about things that drive me bonkers.  Not really sure why that popped into my head but it did.

Everyone has their pet peeves, those little annoying things that just erk the hell out of you.  They just drive you over the edge.  It's silly really but something just triggers your brain and you suddenly just turned into the worlds most pissed of person.  And some times they make you so mad you want to punch a baby.  Okay, I'm just kidding with that last part, I would never punch a baby!  

1. People Who Are Late

My number 1 pet peeve is people that are late.  Hey, shit happen's sometimes, I get it.   It's when you do it all the time, are 3 hours late, don't let the person know that you are running late and lie about the fact that you haven't even left your house yet.  If you tell somebody 6 o'clock it doesn't mean oh maybe I should get ready now.  It' means, be at your agreed upon destination at 6 o'clock.  Time is precious and no offense but I don't want to spend my time waiting around for you when I could be doing something else.  I guess it's more of the waiting that I can't stand more than anything.  
One of my best friends, who I love to pieces, fits in this category.  Sophomore year she lived in the apartment upstairs from me.  Trying to go somewhere on time with her is absolutely not possible. True life: I would be showered, dressed, face and hair done, and have a full belly and I would walk upstairs and she would be sitting in her towel, NOT even showered yet!!!  OMG What are doingggggggg?  I finally learned to immediately come up after I showered to make sure she got her ass in gear.

2. Slurping
Are you trying to have on the attention on you?  I'm trying to read my twitter feed and when you start slurping in my ear, that is all I can focus on! Manners 101 people.  This is something that has bothered me for as long as I remember.  It's like nails on a chalkboard.  

3. People Who Don't Use Turn Signals
You remember that lever that is right by your steering wheel that lets others know where you are going? Ya, use it!  Now is not the time to be lazy!  Driving is such a scary things these days and when people just weave in and out with no signal and are just straight up assholes, its like where are the cops?  I'm not afraid to honk and then flick people off when they due stupid things while they are driving.  So you can bet if you don't use your turn signal, you are going to most definitely get the flipping the bird sign.  #Sorryimnotsorry I'ts the Rules of the Road.

4. People Who Don't Clean Up Their Dogs Poo 

Next time your dog poops on my lawn and you don't pick it up I'm going to come over to your house and shit right on your living room floor.  Maybe think about cleaning up your dogs shit next time.  Part of owning a dog means you take care of them and pick up after them.  It's rude and lazy.  I don't like to clean up poop either, especially when it's still warm but hey, grab a plastic bag and suck it up. 

5. People Who Eat With Their Mouths Open
Are you a barn animal?  I do not want to see what you are eating, nor do I want to hear it.  Close your mouth.  Again, Manners 101 people.  It's rude. It's gross.  Just don't do it.  I'll cut ya some slack if you have a major head cold but other than that go outside if you are going to chomp your food.

END RANT.

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Festive Filled Weekend

FRIDAY

The snow didn't stop me this weekend!  It all started on Friday at 11:30 with my office Christmas lunch.  This was awesome because a. Duhh I love food. b. It was free. c. I had steak. d. The office was closed for the rest of the day. e. Did I mention that we got dessert too? 
I was excited to get home and relax with my pups for a few hours before the bf got home.  The dogs did not let me sleep though, I think they were to excited at the fact that I was home at 2:30 in the afternoon on a friday.  I really really really needed to get my eyebrows threaded as it was almost a must because I couldn't look at the caterpillars that were crawling across my face any more.  There was a line and I ended up getting sucked into Bath and Body Works and buying myself 2 candles that were totally unnecessary but justified it by saying that we will need these if the power goes out.  So it was all good.
By the time I got home it was time to pour myself a glass of wine and get ready for the bf's companies Christmas Party.  What was fun about this party was that the theme of the party was Christmas Movie Characters.  Philly and I dressed up as Jack and Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas!  I was rather disappointed in the amount of people that didn't dress up.  I mean office parties tend to be stiff and uptight and the bf wanted to create a fun atmosphere for everyone to unwind and have fun.  My bf has taken on a lot this year and I am so proud of everything he is doing.  

Ran into Cousin Eddy and had fun playing the "Paper Plate" Game!

For those that have never played the paper plate game.  You put the paper plate on your head and they ask you to draw a bunch of stuff.  We had to draw a floor, a Christmas tree with ornaments, a star on the top, a fireplace and mantel, and a present under the tree.  You get points for different things.  Mine is the one in the center picture.  Actually it's not half bad considering I am a terrible artist to begin with.  

SATURDAY  I had a hair appointment down in Indy, yes I still drive an hour in a half to get my hair done because I absolutely love my girl Brenna.  She knows her shit and just is awesome.  I have been talking with her about my hair loss due to my thyroid issue.  I've been super bummed out about it lately, especially since I've been trying to grow my hair out.  She recommended an energizing natural treatment by davines.  
Since so many people e-mailed me about having thyroid related issues I thought I would share with you what she recommended.  First off I love that these products are paraban and sulfate free. Together the products stimulate the growth of new hair while also helping your existing hair to be healthier and stronger.  
It consisted of a detox shampoo to free the hair from build up and also has caffeine to stimulate growth and a moisturizing conditioner, both done in the shower.  When you get out, towel dry your hair.  The next step is to evenly distributed the Energizing Superactive on the scalp and massage it in till it absorbs.  This is to help with hormone related hair loss.  The last step is to apply the Energizing Lotion just like the Superactive serum.  These products stay in your hair, you don't rinse them out.   All these products give you a tingly, warm and fuzzy sensation.  Its nice. :) For the first month you do this hair regime every other month and on opposite days you are not to wash your hair, but you can get it wet.  The second month it switches to twice a week. The third month you stop using the products completely and shampoo and condition with your normal everyday product.  Feel free to check out the website and talk to your hair dresser if this is something you want to look into because I am by no means a professional on this stuff.  

Since  I was down in Indy I figured it would be nice to meet up with my old rooms.  I haven't seen her much at all since I have moved out of Indy.  We met up at our favorite spot, Black Acre, which happened to be right across the street from our old apartment.  You can bet I spent a lot of time here after work when I was living in the area.  It was so good to catch up with her.  Her and I didn't leave on the best terms when we both moved out.  
Reasons why we left on bad terms 1.  A lot of it had to do with the fact that we lived in a shoe box and were constantly on top of one another and didn't have a place to go to be alone. Even if we were in our rooms and shut the door you could still hear everything.  2.  We worked different schedules.  She had to be up between 3:30-4 am and was in bed at 7:30-8pm every night.  I left for work at 7 and would get home around 6:30.  You can see how this could be a problem. 3.  Our communication sucked.   4.  We were both stressed. 5.  I had some personal stuff going on that I didn't share with her till later and I think had I been more open and honest she wouldn't have been so frustrated with me.  
Anyways I think we hashed it out and got past it all and still want to remain friends. I think the best thing was to let time pass a little and then talk about it.  We have New Years Eve plans together with the bf and friends so I am excited about that!
I headed back home to the bf because I missed him.  We really don't get away from one another or do things separately enough and we both think its important to spend some time apart and that it is okay.  We decided to stay home, snuggle, drink lots of wine and watch 30 Rock.  We even decided to get out and take the pups for a walk and enjoy some of the snow we got.  One of my favorite things about the winter is taking night walks, there is just something about the air, its so crisp.  I just love it.  

SUNDAY

I might have woken up with a slight wine headache.  I might have had 2 bottles of wine to myself the night before.  I might have spent most of Sunday on the couch catching up on my tv shows while the bf went into work.  I might have taken a 2 hour nap.  Okay, you got me, all those "might haves" definitely happened.  
The good part was I wasn't a complete waste of life because we had dinner plans with friends to go to this place called "A Summer Place."  It's this cute lil 1950's town.  We ate at the diner and had burgers, fries, and a banana split.  After dinner we walked over to the lil theater and watched The Polar Express.  I'm so glad our friends invited us to this because I mean it was so out of the norm.  We always spend our Sunday nights watching 60 mins.  It was nice to change up the routine.  

So that was my fun filled holiday festive weekend! How did you spend yours? :)

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My Weekend with the Two Cutest Kids

This weekend I got to hang out with these two lil minions!

They just melt my heart.  One of the best things that's happened to me is becoming an Aunt.  I can't imagine what it's like to have your own child because being an Aunt is life changing. My mind is blown. 

I feel like I need to go back in time a little to when I first met the lil man.  (I call him lil man because he looked like a lil old man for the longest time) I have so much love for these two its crazy.  It all started on March 4, 2011 when my handsome lil man, Liam was born at 1lb 15 oz.  I had not even met him yet because I was living in New York at the time and already loved this kid.  He was born 3 months early due to complications.  

I flew out a month later so I could meet this guy for the first time.  He's the real reason why I decided to move out to Indiana so that I could be a part of his life.  I had an instant connection with him.  In May of 2011 I packed up my car and moved in with my brother  and his family in Indiana.  

 As you can tell he's got me wrapped around his finger.

Then April 3, 2012 I got a niece, Kayleigh!  Now I have two lil minions to love! Thankfully, Kayleigh's birth went smoothly.  She has quite the personality and is a lil spit fire.  I love this girl to pieces. 

So anyways back to last weekend.  I wanted to give my brother a break so Phil and I decided to have the kids over for the weekend.  We met my brother half way at the Waffle House and had breakfast.  They live about an hour in a half away from us so it's easier on all of us to meet in the middle.  
After I stuffed my face because that's what I do all the time,  we got the two car seats in Phils car and headed up to Fort Wayne to this place called Science Central.  We stayed there for a few hours and the kids had a blast.  My compliant is that the place needed some serious renovating and updating.  A lot of the things didn't work and were broken.  The kids didn't seem to mind but I can see an older kid thinking it was stupid, actually there was a kid who walked by me and said "this place is so lame." haha kids will be kids! 

It didn't take us nearly as long there as I thought it would so we decided to head to our house. Phil needed a nap and so I played with them for a few hours.  Next time I need more toys at my house because I was running out of things to do. Once Phil got up and moving we went to get an early dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings.  I didn't even know that bdubs had game type things, but man the things you find out once you have babysit kids.  They loved all the lights and were seriously having too much fun.  
Since we didn't want to take them back home to our boring house we decided to go to the "Mall."  I say that loosely because it has maybe 10 stores in the whole place.  I had asked people with kids what the heck to do in our small town.  Someone had suggested the play area at the mall so I was willing to give it a shot.  At this point I was getting exhausted.  These kids really ware and tare you right out.  We stayed there for a decent amount of time so they could burn off some of that energy.  They had barley even napped yet, how are they not falling to the ground?
  
We went and hung out back at the house for a while.  We had debated going to the local high school basketball game but after the day with the kids we decided it might be too much work. The bf doesn't have much experience with kids but what I actually mean is he doesn't have any. So this was a big eye opener for him.  I don't think he quit realized how much work kids actually are.  He was a super big help though this weekend.  I think a few a lot more weekends with the niece and nephew will hopefully prepare him for kids of our own one day.  :)
The last thing I wanted to do with them was to go see the Marion Walkway of Lights.  I hadn't seen it yet so I thought that the kids would thing it was fun.  My plan backfired and they passed out halfway through it and then we had to wake them up to get them back in the house and then didn't want to go to bed.  I didn't get them to bed till around 10 and you bet I went to bed right after.  
They only woke up twice screaming, that's a win in my book.  I just settled them down and we were good to go.  In the morning I gave them there Christmas presents.  I wont be around for the holidays and wanted to make sure they got there gifts from their favorite Aunt! They were just clothes but they are growing so fast and knew that clothes would be more practical.  They still had fun opening them. Soon after we headed back down to our meeting place at the Waffle House so Aunt Meg and Uncle Phil could go back to bed and get some sleep! :)  I love hanging with these kids, they just are so darn cute but dang am I just straight up pooped out!
#AuntMeg

1st Annual MeghaPhil Friendsgiving

The last couple of week have been flipping crazy.  I could not have been more busy both professionally and personally last couple of weeks and top it off with a thyroid issue that makes you have no energy.  I'm still trying to recover from everything.  Seriously, the week that I have a lot going on at home work is busier than it ever has been.  I guess that's just how the cookie crumbles as Jim Carry would say. 

I have been wanting to throw a dinner party for quite some time and since my family lives in New York and Florida and the bf's family is off cruisin on their yacht (yea i'm jealous) Friendsgiving seemed like the perfect time to throw one. Plus I've wanted to cook a Turkey because it just seems totally adult like, which made my 101 Things in 1001 Days List.  Last month I did a blog switch with my girl Kristin over at Crumbs and Curls and talked about the theme that I was going for.  

For weeks I had been planning and prepping to get everything ready.  And damn is it a lot of work!  I've never done anything like this and I was constantly like what da fuck am a doing?  Cause I didn't have a damn clue but I made it fun.  I didn't want to be super stressed out and not have enjoy myself, cause that's just lame sauce.  

Things I found helpful while putting on this event

1.  Organize - My weeks of prep and organization really paid off.  I found on the actual day I was rather calm and everything was really easy going.  Of course the 30 minutes before all the food was to go out I was a crazy person but ya know other than that it was fine.  Get your recipes together a few weeks before, write out a shopping list, make a spreadsheet of who's bringing what, go shopping for non perishable things the weekend before and make your bf go get the produce a few days before hand. 
2.  You don't need to do everything! - Each guest/couple was to bring a hot dish or dessert to share.  I don't have that kind of room to store food for 12 people and my lil 60's stove just cant handle that kind of craziness.    
3.  Make things ahead of time!  I made my two different stuffings/dressings whatever your neck of the woods calls it, cranberry sauce, and pie the night before.  I also decided to brine my turkey so I got that all ready to go so it could soak in the salty water all night.  
4.  Let your friends help.  There's no point in stressing your self out, its supposed to be fun so when your friends offer to help, let them.  I couldn't have done this without them, they were such a huge help and added to the fun. 

The boyfriend wasn't much help on the actual day, he needed a lot lil guidance but everything I asked him to do he did.  His jobs were more of the prep like things like go to the store,  pick up the table and chairs, stay out of my way and keep my wine glass full type thing. My friends were a big help and came early to help set up and see if I needed any help!  

Friends started arriving at 6 and I had a spread of appetizers to keep everyone tied over till the turkey was ready.  I had made Sweet and Spicy Chicken wrapped in bacon (which was a huge hit! If anyone wants the recipe let me know and I can e-mail it to you), Jam & Brie Bites, Blue Cheese Pecan Bites, and a Cider Sangria.  I few of my friends brought some things to munch on as well including Taco Dip, Spinach Dip and Deviled Eggs.  It was all so yummy!

We finally were ready to eat sometime after 8, honestly i'm not even sure what time it was.  A friend said a prayer, we passed the amazing food around, I've got to say I'm rather impressed with everyone's cooking, went around and gave thanks, and shared many laughs.  I barley even ate anything because I had snacked SO MUCH ALL DAY.  The worst part of it all was the fact that I DON'T have a dishwasher and I had to wash every single dish by hand! Gahhhh.  But lots of people chipped in and helped this girl out.  My hands looked like an 80 year olds but other than that I survived.  

We finished the evening off my duh eating more and this time it was dessert and playing games.  After a few rounds and after every ones stomachs were ready to burst it was time to pass out.  Seriously, I have never been more ready to crawl into bed in my life!    

Even Dragon was all Turkey'd out and ready for bed!

My favorite parts of Friendsgiving:

1.  Taking the Turkey out of the Oven.  Folks I cooked a fricken turkey.  OMG! :)  I feel like an adult now.  

2.  Phil carving the Turkey.  It just was cute to see us putting on an event together and can picture future events like this.  Love this guy of mine so much. 

3.  Giving thanks.  Everyone went around the table and said the things they were thankful for and it just was super special and I am so blessed to be around such a great group of friends.

4.  The photo booth/background.  It was such a fun way to take pictures with the bf and friends!.  I think everyone else enjoyed it as well. 

5.  The decorations.  Not only was it fun to plan but it was fun to get all diy like and see my vision come to life.  

So my friends there you have it the 1st Annual MeghaPhil Friendsgiving, a tradition that I hope we can keep for many years! Did anybody else host a friendsgiving this year?

GUEST POST! Gift Guide: Tech Accessories

Hey Friends!
So I didn't want everyone to think I vanished from blog land, I've got a lot going on lately and haven't made the time to post! :(  I suck, I know but luckily my girl Kristin is making an appearance and sharing her Tech Accessories Wish List.  I don't know about you but I'm already obsessed with those phone covers!  I recently got a new phone and the poor thing is naked and that white and gold cover would make my girl (phone) look damn good! :)  Can't wait to catch up with all of you soon! xoxo 
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Hello Meghan's readers it's good to be visiting you again!  I'm Kristin & I blog over at Crumbs & Curls.  I love when I get to visit Meg's blog, it's so fun to read about her adventures with her boyfriend, her adorable pups, her awesome hobbies (I wish I could box!), & her everyday life, the girl seriously lives it up!  She is such a sweet heart & when she asked me to do a guest post I jumped on it.
On my blog I have been doing a series of 'Wish Lists' because the time to do holiday shopping is rapidly shrinking & I am hoping that these lists will help you when you're shopping for presents or putting together your own Christmas list.  I have been having a blast putting the lists together, so I thought I would stick with it & bring a new list to you guys (I will list the other 'Wish Lists' I have done at the end!).  Today's 'Gift Guide' is for the girl in your life who likes her technology to be stylish.

                                                                                            
                
                


                                   1  /  2  /  3  /  4  /  5  /  6  /  7 8  /  9  /  10  /  11  /  12 As I'm sure you can see I tried to keep a pink & gold theme with all the items.  These colors are so popular right now & will add a little pop to any accessory.  There are so many cute options & buying a tech accessory is a safe bet because everyone has some form of technology in their life!  I am in love with #8 because it is a modern take on the instant camera.  I've always wanted a Polaroid one & this is just the same (but more reasonably priced!).  I also cannot stop thinking about how adorable the Kate Spade Bow USB is, I am obsessed with bows & this is so clever!  I would love getting any of these as gifts & I'm sure any lady in your life would love them too.

Crumbs & Curls Christmas Wish Lists: Skincare Wish List Bath & Body Wish List Haircare Wish List Makeup Wish List Nails Wish List Accessories Wish List Baking Wish List There are so many great options with all of these lists & I hope you find them helpful.  Also I have one last wish list that will be up sometime this week or next week!  I hope that I can stop by & visit again soon!

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