Thursday, January 31, 2013

Lots of Link Love

Lots of Link Love
Like Tara, I think it's important to emphasize the importance of community in the blog world and not only focusing on ourselves and our own blogs, but to spread lots of blog love to those who deserve it.  Every other Thursday, I will highlight the posts over the last two weeks that touched me, made me laugh, pulled at my heartstrings, and inspired me.
 
  • Emily gave a great tip to those of you running a Facebook page for your blog or business.
 
What link are you lovin' this week?

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

January is OVA!

I can hardly believe we are already one month deep in 2013...time is flying!

In January...
 
We started off the year dancing and drinking our asses off at The Derby, our local dueling piano bar, with some wonderful friends.
 
 
We headed to the boonies San Bernardino to welcome our good friend Twin Navy home during his short leave.
 
Twin Navy himself, with his cutie wife looking on.
 
Handsome Husband went back to school to kick ass in the Spring semester the way he did this past Fall.
 
To celebrate the new semester, we headed to the diviest bar in Orange for a little Law School Karaoke Contest.  I'm just going to come right out and say it: my rendition of Call Me Maybe would have won if I was eligible (students only shmudents only).  Though, HH's track did a cute little number themselves:
 
 
Tutor Girl and I kicked it into gear and started walking again like we used to so much pre full-time job, house hunting, crazy life stress.  And I realized how out of shape I was when the pregnant chick was doing better than me and my legs were sore for days.  A few weeks later I even incorporated C25K back into my routine, maybe I'll make a runner out of myself afterall.
 
Handsome Husband had his last day of work as an official employee (the dude is working from home now, lucky right?), and a week later had a lunch to say goodbye to his coworkers friends that he's worked with for the past two years.
 
My best girls and I headed to Solvang, CA for our annual Girls' Weekend!  We drank lots of wine, and even went on a fantastic wine tour.  Check out the favors I made for the ladies HERE, and even see the Instagrams HERE.  And keep an eye out for the full recap coming later this week!
 
We had a double date dinner at Cute Apartments' new place (a cute condo this time!) with boyfriend, Number Cruncher. 
 
A whole lot of us headed up to San Pedro to see Mother-in-Law Red's new home.  Lots of drinks and fun were had with family and her closest friends.
 
And we ended the month with a long overdue meeting of the Taco Tuesday Club where we had a margarita or three and ate some Mexican food with some of our favorite people.




Monday, January 28, 2013

New York, New York

I've alluded to our upcoming vacation a few times over the past few weeks, but now it's time to truly announce it!

In just a few short weeks, my very Handsome Husband and I are going on a week-long East Coast Getaway!

We will be hitting up Wilmington, Delaware where I've got some of my very favorite family members (what up, Aunt Delaware!); Phildelphia, PA to get some authentic cheesesteaks and see some history; and last but certainly not least, New York City, New York!

{Via}

Our NYC trip will be a short one (in total, less than 72 hours), but we are hoping to soak up the city as much as possible!  HH has never been (anywhere on the East Coast, actually), so we've got to hit all the big tourist-y spots.

But, I also want to see some things that might not necessarily be on the "must do in NYC" lists that are seriously abundant in the world of Google.  And that's where all you party people come in!

Trusty Stress Case Readers,
 
What is your must-do in the NYC, Philly, or Delaware area?
Please share!
 
Okay,
GO!
 
Muchos Gracias from
Stress Casey & HH
 


Friday, January 25, 2013

Insta Fridays

Look out for a full photo recap of Girls Weekend sometime next week, but for now the Instagrams you haven't seen if you're a dummy not following me on Instagram (@stresscasey).
 
A treat from Cute Apartment to start the weekend off right.
(If you don't know what movie this is from, we can't be friends.)
 
Wine loving ladies. 
Note the absense of poor Best Friend Fashionista...more to come on that next week.
 
One of the cooler Instagram shots I've taken.
 
LA girls doing LA things between wineries.
 
At the last winery on our tour, getting our photo shoot on.
 
Road trip socks on the way home.

life rearranged

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Adventures in Pinterest: Girls Weekend Favors

It's been way too long since I've shown off a little craftiness here on the old blog.  The sad part?  It's not because I haven't been crafty (I've got the glittered garage floor to prove it), but because I've been lazy in that I don't take photos of a damn thing before I hang it, wrap it, give it away, etc

Luckily, I wanted to remember these favors I made for my lovely ladies for our Girls' Weekend in Solvang.

I was inspired by the one and only Kristen from All in My Twenties.  She made some super darling wine glasses for a river trip she took last summer, and I had to put my own little spin on them and create them for my gal pals. 

My Pinspiration:

 
My Creation:
 



I took Kristen's advice and headed to Target for these $3 plastic wine glasses - love that they are extra large, and plastic (being that we managed to break two wine glasses on our wine tour...it's a good thing we had plastic at the hotel).

As you can see, I made a few minor changes for my version.  I love the look of wine in a glass (that's not the most alcoholic-like thing I've said this week, if you can believe it), so I kept the paint down at the bottom only. 

To create that look, I used painters tape to tape a crisp line at the top of the stem of the wine glass, and then covered the top part of the glass with newspaper (well, coupons to be fair, as we don't get a newspaper as Casa de Stress Case).  I used a silver spraypaint that I already had in my arsenal (because I spray painted a bottle of Grey Goose silver recently.  I'm a baller.).

After painting my little beauts, I applied two rows of rhinestones - I used two different sizes for some dimension.  Then I simply added on "Solvang '13" with a Sharpie paint pen.

Easy Peasy!
 

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

The One Where I Lose My Driver's License

This post is going to make you very jealous, because sometimes my husband surprises even me with his sweetness.

As I mentioned on Friday, last weekend me and four lovely ladies headed up to Solvang, CA for a weekend of wining, dining (though not really, more on that later), and laughing.  Saturday was our big day of activity and we had a wine tour planned!  You know, one of those over 21 only activities.

Cute Apartment and I headed out mid-day on Friday for the trip, while the other girls met us up there Friday night.  We got a bit of a late start, but by 3pm we were deep into our three hour drive.  We decided to make a pit stop in Santa Barbara to hit up a happy hour and maybe waltzed around State Street (a must do if you're ever in the area).

{Via}
 
We picked ourselves the most adorable little happy hour venue, with an outdoor patio fit with miniture fire pits on the tables and one bit one that we grabbed some chairs in front of.  Cute Apartment ran to the ladies' room while I persued the drink menu and decided on a classic margarita (it was a Mexican restaurant afterall).
 
When our waiter approached us, he was accompanied by his trainer, and we found out he was a newbie.  Being that CA and I waitressed together, I think we were both excited to see the new kid do his thing.  His spiel was adorable in the sense that he sounded sort of ridiculous, and so nervous.  After ordering our margs, he started to walk away but before he could his trainer whispered a little something something in his ear about asking for our IDs. 
 
Being that I'm way past my 21st birthday (though I'll be celebrating the 4th anniversary of it this year, a lovely tradition), I was happy to oblige and reached into my small crossbody bag where I've kept my license for months lately.  It wasn't in the front pocket, so I assumed I must have shoved it in the main opening at some point after a quick booze purchase.  Nope
 
Imagine my shock and dismay when I realized it was no where in my purse.  Cute Apartment and I hightailed it out of there in a hurry to double check the rest of my bags in her car, hoping maybe it was at the bottom of another bag.  Nope.
 
No, this girl here had managed to make it Santa Barbara on her way to a wine filled weekend sans driver's license or any form of identification for that matter.  Fudge.
 
Our later leaving LA ladies (try saying that 5 times fast) ended up being quite the gift from a wine-loving God because as I sat in CA's passenger seat trying to figure out how I'd be able to go on the damn wine tour, I realized my passport was at home.  And so was my husband.
 
After a quick call (and maybe some..favors promised), he agreed to drive my passport from South Orange County all the way to Los Angeles...in rush hour.  And then back.
 
And that is how I managed to go on the wine tour, sans driver's license.
 
Moral of the story?  Make sure you've got a passport, even if you never leave the country.  And get married to a man who loves you a lot.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Scenes From Our First Months

In continuing to tell Our Love Story, check out some scenes from our first few months together.  No need to comment on how skinny I look - isn't it sad I thought I was fat then?! 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Next time?  HH start talking about living together, and it happens much sooner than we think.

Want to catch up on the story of how my Handsome Husband became my Handsome Husband? Find out how we met, what it was like going to high school with HH, how he reappeared in my life after moving to San Diego for college, and how he went from a memory to a best friend in weeks. Read about how I found out he wasn't thinking of me as just a friend, what he did for me while in Europe, and our first kiss. You can also read about how he was a total jackass played hard to get right when I was ready to give him a shot. Then we decided to make things "official" on 08.08.08, and I said something stupid shortly after.

Friday, January 18, 2013

Girls' Weekend 2013: Off to Solvang!

For the third year in a row, we are off on a Girls' Weekend in January!  First in 2011 was my bachelorette party in Palm Springs, then last year we cowgirled it up in Arizona, and this year - Solvang, here we come!

By the time you're reading this, I should be passenger-side in Cute Apartment's cute Honda Civic, chatting away our three hour commute up to the Santa Ynez valley for some ole fashion drinking, bitching, gossiping and girls time.

Check out these photos from 2011 and 2012's trip - expect a recap of 2013's coming soon!

 

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Lots of Link Love


Lots of Link Love
Like Tara, I think it's important to emphasize the importance of community in the blog world and not only focusing on ourselves and our own blogs, but to spread lots of blog love to those who deserve it.  Every other Thursday, I will highlight the posts over the last two weeks that touched me, made me laugh, pulled at my heartstrings, and inspired me.
 
 
  • Lia has an amazing giveaway going on - a HANA flat iron AND blow dryer!
 
 

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Dinner With Three

You know the game

If you could have dinner with three people, dead or alive, who would they be?
 
If they could be any three people, that's easy: my two sisters and my maternal grandfather, my Gardening Momma's daddy, my Grandpa S who passed away when I was very young, before my sisters were even born I would hate to leave Gardening Momma out of it, but I would love to be the one to introduce Grandpa S to my sissies.  I know he would be so proud of them, and I would want to see that look on his face.
 
But, if we are playing with celebrities and infamous people?  Well, that changes things.
 
Here are my three:
 
 
1. Marilyn Monroe
 
I've had a fascination with her since junior high - I just find the woman intruiging.  Also, I want to know what really happened the night she died.  I'm a total conspiracist. 
 
2. Bill Clinton
 
I have a creepy crush on Bill, just call me Monica.  And I'd like to meet the guy who managed a surplus, being that no one seems to be able to do it again.
 
3. Florence Nightingale
 
I think Flo could give me a good kick in the ass for when I'm feeling a little down, and re-inspire me on why I became a nurse and how much this profession really means.  I love my job, but everyone could use a pep talk every once in a while, and who better than the one and only Ms. Nightingale?
 
So now it's your turn,
If you could have dinner with three people, dead or alive, who would they be?


Monday, January 14, 2013

The One Where I Say Something Stupid

I've struggled with how to update Our Love Story for while now, because what do you really say about the first few months in a relatonship?

They were exciting, exhilariting, all-encompassing.  I managed to become a really bad friend (something I had always, and again pride myself on) because I was falling so in love with my best friend at the time.  This is something I'll always wish I would have handled better - the juggling act of new young love and the rest of your life, but alas I cannot go back and things turned out pretty well for me in the long run.

Redheaded Kid and I fell fast and hard, and we soon started talking about our future together.  But not until after one night very early on in our courtship that I'll always remember when I talked out of my ass said something stupid, that thankfully didn't come true.

We were driving (this moment is so clear in my head, I know for a fact we were driving to his mom's old house off of El Toro Rd), and my new boyfriend, Smart-Ass Redheaded Kid, said something about the future.

Redhead: (something along the lines of) "Hey, maybe we'll get married one day (nervous laugh)!"
Me: "HAHA okay Redhead, you know we're not getting married."
Redhead: "What makes you say that?"
Me: "Dude (we still call each other dude to this day), you've only had one other girlfriend, you can't just marry the second girl you date!  You need to live some more.  But this is fun for now though, right?!"
 
I'm unsure why I thought that was an appropriate thing to say at the time, or ever, but oh glad I am that I was wrong. 
 
Come back next week for scenes of our first few months together.

Want to catch up on the story of how my Handsome Husband became my Handsome Husband? Find out how we met, what it was like going to high school with HH, how he reappeared in my life after moving to San Diego for college, and how he went from a memory to a best friend in weeks. Read about how I found out he wasn't thinking of me as just a friend, what he did for me while in Europe, and our first kiss. You can also read about how he was a total jackass played hard to get right when I was ready to give him a shot.  Then we decided to make things "official" on 08.08.08.

Friday, January 11, 2013

The Nail Files

It has been way too long since I've linked up with the fabulous Vicki and Tara for The Nail Files.  Happy to be back with these two nail-inistas!

This week I finally tried a color I've had in my arsenal forever.  It was a gift from Gardening Mom and I was so excited to get designer nail polish, I don't know how I haven't tried it out before this week!  And because I am so not a name brand snob, I wanted this to be the same as the $2 drug store polishes...but y'all?  It's not.  Chanel makes an amaze polish - it goes on so smooth, dries incredibly fast, and has held up great so far, of course with a little help from Seche Vite.



Thursday, January 10, 2013

A Ridiculously Late Holiday Tour

Because I took great time in taking these photos (the difference between those taken before I got my fancy new camera for Christmas and those taken after is insane), I had to post them even though I think it's officially inappropriate to be recapping Christmas still.

Enjoy!




















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