All Rabbit Everything

I love rabbits
I'd probably have a half dozen of them if I had a yard to Keep them in.
I love them their cute wiggly noses, whiskers, and fluffy tails. They are so sweet. 
It's hard for me to resist buying any kind of shirts or sweaters with rabbits printed on them. Or to resist buying anything bunny shaped or printed in general. (Shh! Don't tell mike but some day I'm probably going to turn into the crazy bunny lady.) So when I saw this wall in a magazine It sent me down a rabbit hole of not so crazy, actually kind of cute, grown up rabbit home decorating possibilities. Not that I'm a fan of this yellow,  but it turns out I'm not the only bunny lover out there so it's easy to find chic rabbit inspiration.

My Dream House

Even though we are still technically newly weds, some days it feels like Mike and I are an old couple. Especially when we take Sunday drives. Driving through the countryside just to see the scenery is something that I always used to do as a child with my paternal grandparents. So whenever mike and I take scenic tours it's easy for me to picture us doing the same thing when we are old. Except, instead of a Ford, we'll be driving a Cadillac. Because in my head that's what cute elderly couples, like my grandparents, drive.
It was on a sunny Sunday drive just like that, last weekend, that I spotted a "house for sale" sign. The road isn't far away from our workplace at all but Mike and I had never noticed it before. Quickly, my husband turned the truck around.
After a short trip down a country road, just past a gaggle of puddle-hopping ducks we sat at the end of a long driveway looking at a piece of paper because we couldn't see the house from the road.
That might seem like the middle of nowhere to some but to me it's a good thing.
Can't see the house from the road? Great! Surrounded by trees? Perfect!  According to the sales flyer that I grabbed from a box at the end  of the driveway the amazing features don't stop there; Four bedrooms, Four bathrooms, Open floor plan, Wood burning fireplace, and even a pond! (In the picture)
Mike's exact words were "this is my dream house." And it was for me too.
It has an open floor plan with lots of light, just what I need to Instagram my creative culinary "masterpieces". Plus four bedrooms and 17 acres for kids to roam. Plenty of room for a small farm, Mike's beekeeping, and sugar maple trees.
Honestly,  I can already picture myself during a peaceful morning,  drinking coffee while overlooking the pond. Or all the summer evenings grilling with friends on the patio while the kids catch fish.
  I love it. It's perfect. It's nothing fancy, no game rooms or backyard pools, but it does have plenty of space and that's all that I need. Even the price is reasonable.  And that's where it became too good to be true.
Sure Mike and I could afford the payments. But I don't have the balls to ask after our financial rough patch last year. All I can do is hope and pray that that house is still there a year from now once our credit has recovered. For now I'll just be keeping that sales flyer in a safe place to remind me what my goals are.

Chronic Spring fever

Spring always brings a fresh perspective to every thing.
Maybe it was the time change, or maybe it's the air. But I woke up yesterday feeling with a chronic case of spring fever and ever worsing cravings for all sorts of fresh spring vegetables, like asparagus.
After Mike and I took a morning drive through the nearby town of Sugar Island to see if the Maple sap was running (It is, and we  are eagerly anticipating syrup), I began planning a couple apartment friendly container gardens.
I decided what to plant based on space, what freezes the easiest, and what my family would use the most of. As always, it was extremely hard for me to stick with only a handful of plants. Eventually, I settled for chives, tomatoes, string beans, and herbs like cilantro and basil with, possibly,  some marigolds and sunflowers mixed in. All arranged in a few large planters with their companion plants (A good list of companion plants can be found at  http://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html. )
Have any of you ever tried container gardening before? Any advice? This will be my first year, and I can't wait to get started.  Stay tuned for updates!

Not a Typical Valentine's date

I spent valentine's day weekend like every other weekend, ice fishing with my hubby and a few close friends and relatives.
Mike had been looking forward to this particular fisharee, or ice fishing tournament,  with boyish excitement.
He was confident he would win, and I was confident he could, because he's the luckiest person I've ever met (and I'm not just saying that because he's married to me).
I worked till 12:30 the night before, and tried to get a few hours of sleep before our alarms went off at 4:00. The fisharee began at 6:30 and Mike wasted no time setting up. We're allowed three lines per person and It didn't take him long to drill holes for our tip-ups in the perfect spots.
A few minutes after he had finished baiting our hooks and was warming up next to the heater, we got our first flag on one of my tip ups. I had to stay back and watch the little one so mike and a friend went to the hole without me. For me, catching a Northern Pike sometimes feels like pulling a log through the water, especially if they're swim through the weeds. But that wasn't the case for Mike, it only took him a minute or two until he had his first fish of the day, squirming on the ice. The northern measured  32 inches, and set the bar high for the rest of the tournament.
It was an amazing to start the day. And a great day to be out fishing. Despite the swirling wind and negative temperatures, it was sunny and the fish were biting. To top it all off, Mike won first place, and bragging rights with that first pike.
That's us, all bundled up in the picture. Me with a 28 inch Northern that I caught at nearly the last minute of the competition and mike with his fish. Overall, We might have not celebrated our valentine's day in the traditional way but it was better that way because we spent the day, outdoors, doing somthing we loved, together.

A Metallic Monday Manicure.

Twice a month,  every other Monday, I pack up the little one for a much needed, sanity saving, mommy relaxation day. What I do that day is usually somthing like yoga, try a new recipe, take a walk,  grab a coffee or paint my nails.
Today I started with some yoga and followed that up with a fresh manicure in this beautiful shade of Revlon Copper Penny. It's my new "neutral".
Wait, Copper is a neutral right?
Like alot of great trends, I caught on to metallics a little late. But its not too late for you. I promise. As soon as I tried it I immediately fell in love with its effortless chic.
This color will make any outfit instantly more glamourous. Don't you think so? Plus, I'm convinced they match with everything,  and every skintone. Forget all those classically neutral beige and pinks, this shade, honestly, is so versatile even your grandmother would love it. Please don't tell me otherwise.  I'm too in love with Copper Penny to have anyone burst my metallic manicure bubble.

P.S. Forgive my otherwise minimally manicured hands, I'm a working mother, not a hand model.

New Year's Resolutions

Lately I've been hearing about how pointless new years resolutions are. Just this morning, the news spouted some "fact" like only seventy percent of people  stick to their new year's goals for more than two weeks. But I've never been the kind of person who sets the "quit smoking" "lose 500lbs" type of goals, so hopefully my new year lifestyle changes last  longer than average.

Call me overconfident,  but I made not just one, but three, new years resolutions this year.
1) Do more yoga.
I've been dabbling with yoga for about four years or more. That said, dabbling is nothing compared to a routine practice. There's still allloooot of room for improvement.  Probably because I do my yoga in the middle of the living room with a toddler running around trying to wrestle with me. But, hey,  it starts with baby steps right?

2) Stand up for myself more. As in have a little backbone in all aspects of life like Work, home, or to complete strangers who need a polite, but firm, suggestion that they go to the back of the line instead of cutting in front of myself and twenty other people that have all been patiently waiting their turn. Can you tell holiday shopping is still in recent memory?

3) Blog more.
Like yoga, Blogging has been somthing i've wanted to do for years but has had a much rockier start than I had anticipated.  I give alot of credit to anyone out there who works full time, takes care of their family,  gets eight hours of sleep and still finds time to write.
So here's to a new year full of amazing blog posts! Wish me luck and stay tuned for updates!

State Fair and Henna Tattoo.

Hey guys!  Sorry I haven't written in a while (again). Mike and I actually set a day for our wedding, I've been so excited to start planning!!! But more on that later.
We took a break from planning to go to the Wisconsin state fair. I love all the sights, smells, and flavors of fairs and am fortunate enough to live in a state that has one of the highest rated fairs in the country. I can't sample enough fried food, and always enjoy looking at the animals, especially the horses and rabbits!
This year, one of the first things I did was get a henna tattoo. For those of you who don't know, henna tattoos are beutiful temporary tattoos made from plant paste that last about 2 weeks. Great for people, like me, who love body art but can't commit to permanent ink.
I always lean toward floral henna designs but, just before the artist was about to start, I spotted this little deer in one of her design portfolios. I had her incorporate it because it's similar to our wedding invitations (more details on those to come soon.) What do you think of it?