Date Night Surprise

My weekend is almost over. Another work week is one sleep away. I failed to mention this week was another first. I moved sites so I was with new kids and new staff this past week. It actually was a great week and I really enjoyed myself. This new-to-me site is established with lots of kids and the staff is great. The added bonus is I'm now at my sons' school so I have many lunch dates in my future with two handsome boys!

What I love most is the new site runs smoothly. The staff knows what they are doing and the kids know what they are doing. I can focus my attention on creating a fun program for the kids versus constantly stressing about start up stuff. Which means my first week was stress-free and my weekend was relaxing. Love that!

Saturday morning started with a quick trip to Target. I'm trying to get Zac's bedroom started but apparently they don't make boys bedding without cartoon characters. My soon to be 6th grader has outgrown character bedding...kind of.  No luck on the bedding but I did find this organizing gem. My kitchen drawer went from this...

To this...

My heart is so happy right now. The rest of the day was sort of a blur. My mind kept going back to the drawer.

I do vaguely recall a date night Saturday evening. I blame the second glass of wine I should not have had before dinner! I promise this date was pretty cool. I won't soon forget. What started as a belated anniversary celebration ended up being a reality star extravaganza. We couldn't have planned anything better. We left the house planning to go to the winery for a glass of wine on the terrace. Hubby didn't know the plan and was a bit surprised he wasn't getting a meal at 5:30. Opps, I guess I should have told him! As a consolation, I promised him dinner wherever he wanted after our glass of wine and cheese plate.

15 years. Please excuse my kissy lips. Just keeping it exciting for the hubby. Yes. We're old.

While enjoying our wine on the patio (terrace was blocked off) we notice some big event happening in the courtyard below. We were people watching, reading signs, and realized there is something big about to happen. That is when the announcer told us 'The stars will be arriving'. Then the stars began  arriving. We walked over to the area where the stars were making their grand entrance and spent the next 30 minutes watching many many reality stars descend the staircase. It only seemed right we should take pictures and tease our daughter with her favorite Big Brother stars, Brendan and Rachel. 

My husband has all the clear-ish pictures and my phone won't receive them. You probably get the jest of what we were watching from this terrible Instagram photo. It really was the best people watching I've done by far. It was fun to see these TV people interact together. Everyone seemed to be courteous and well behaved. I even got to see my Biggest Loser people from the season when Darin was deployed. I felt like we were reconnecting from afar. I really wanted to give them all a big hug and thank them for being my little beacon of light during deployment #4. The security guards and 15 vertical feet separating us kind of put the kibosh on that. In my heart it happened though. 

After spending way too much time watching everyone mingle we decided to get food. My poor husband was way past his window for meal time. We hit up a local sports bar (his choice) and ordered some fried cream cheese and jalapeno egg rolls. The best. And then more unhealthy food after that.

It was such a fun night. Another fluke in my book. I seem to have this way with flukes. Yet this date was the epitome of us. Unconventional. Random. It's embarrassing to say this but almost 18 years ago...yes...18...high school relationship... anyways, the two of us were trying to plan our first date together. I remember telling him 'I'm not a movie and dinner kind of girl'. We ended up playing miniature golf in a foot of snow. Yes... there may have been trespassing involved...what are the limitations on criminal charges???  Golfing in the snow pretty much sums up our relationship. Random adventures we happen to stumble upon. Staying away from the norm. Pave our own way. I don't think we are planning to change anytime soon. It's working for us so far! 

Stitchfix #2

Have you heard of this little box thing called StitchFix? It's seems to be everywhere these days. I decided earlier in the year I was going to give StitchFix a try. I love clothes but I find I shop the same styles in different colors. Boring. I decided to get a little help from the stylists at Stichfix.  For a small $20 fee, the company will get you a box of five selected items delivered to your doorstep.  I'm not sure who these styling fashionistas are or where they live, but I am all about letting them update my wardrobe!

With much anticipation, I received my first StitchFix box in February. I was pleasantly surprised by the items picked but disappointed the sizes were just a tad off. I kept one slightly large item and sent the other four items back. It was a fashion fail in my book. But I still had hope in the process, I signed up for another StitchFix in April. With the same anticipation, I received my second fix today. However, there wasn't a lot of pleasant feelings after I opened the box. I couldn't visualize the items actually working for me. But I decided to give the pieces and my stylist the benefit of the doubt and follow the styling instruction provided by my personal stylist Sarah. It seems only fair that I follow the styling card instructions for each item before deciding whether to keep or return. Fair enough, right?

First, the 41Hawthorn Sugar Dot Print Fit & Flare Dress. My first reaction was no. However, once the dress was styled according to the card I was a little more interested. The first style was business casual: dress paired with cardigan or blazer, statement necklace, and flats. Not something I would normally put together but I like it!

 

The second look was for date night. Replace flats with heels. Lose the cardigan. Add more jewelry.

 

Wow Sarah! You're one smart girl! Keeping this dress.

With a little more optimism I moved on to the Kut From The Kloth Analise Solid Pocket Front Button-Down Shirt. At first glance, the shirt annoyed me. It seemed too old for me. But Sarah impressed me once, I had great faith she could do it again.

The styling card showed the camp shirt, rolled denim, flip flops, and chunky gold necklace. Yes, the outfit is ok but honestly I could put this outfit together any day... and then gift it to my mom. Not a win in my book.

Second style: green shirt, skirt, and pink necklace. Not quite what the styling card showed but same concept. Thumbs down.

One more try just to make triple sure this shirt was not a keeper.

Nope! Sending it back.

Number 3. Renee C Emi Marled Knit Short Sleeve Top. At first sight, hated it. But I just kept right on styling. The style card showed colored denim and coordinating scarf.

Pleasantly surprised again! However, this is the only thing I would where this shirt with. I'm looking for a little more versatility in my wardrobe. Sending it back.

Sarah put in a little note which said wear all of this together. I'm not sure if she was serious or trying to fill a 8 sentence paragraph requirement. What do you think? Brown, black, and white. Neutral overload?

Next Sanctuary Rizzo Skinny Ponte Pants. Love them to no end! I could pair them with just about everything in my wardrobe. The styling card said long sleeve white top and pumps.

And an oversize sweater, colored tank, and brown ankle boots for the second look.

Yes and yes.

But my good sense says no. See I already have a very similar pair of pants from Old Navy. 

 

Can you tell the difference? 

Sarah... send me the same pants in any other color and they are mine! In fact, next month send the entire box filled with those ponte pants. I won't mind!

 My very last item is this cute 41Hawthorn Stacey Lightweight Leopard Pint Infinity Scarf. I haven't decided whether to keep or return this one. #firstworldproblems I tell ya!

What do you think? What should stay and what should go?

Have you tried StitchFix? Is it something you would recommend?

Interested in giving StitchFix a try? Here is a referral code:

https://www.stitchfix.com/referral/3404545

15.

Today marks 15 years of marriage for us. I decided to post pictures from our 15th year together versus our 15 years together. Starting with our 14th anniversary...

No words today. I think 15 says enough!

Living in a Construction Zone

While most enjoy a spring break doing fun things, our Semper Fi Family decided to tear the house apart. In every sense of the phrase. Only three days left to enjoy our little school/work break and we decided to paint the entire downstairs. Why not.

Do you know how to determine a novice painter? First the clothes are a dead give away. Who paints in their favorite Old Navy jeans? Leopard print shoes, anyone? 

Then you look at the quality of job the painter is achieving. If it looks like a five year old would do a better job, then she probably has no idea what she's doing. 

Did I mention I am painting the entire downstairs in three days? All by myself unless I whine loud enough. My husband would help but he is busy installing wood flooring.

All by himself. Poor guy. His wife should be so ashamed.

He is just so good at it. He doesn't need anyone's help!

 Not even the help of our little pet prodigy. 

A certain little doggie has lots of secrets.

Which frees up a little extra time for Charlie to work on his modeling career. 

I think his break out moment is just around the corner!

Support Our Troops #WELLBOXED

Almost two years ago I found myself unemployed with time on my hands. I had just discovered the world of blogging and decided to try it out. Writing has always been something I enjoyed. It's my way of expressing myself. I do much better with the written word than spoken ones. 

I never imagined what could happen with a blog. I just thought I would put our military life out there. Maybe a Marine wife from Camp Pendleton would stumble upon it and find some fun places to visit. I'm still waiting on that to happen! What I did find is a lot of personal growth. A space to write through a deployment. A fun experience in the midst of chaos when this blog went all but viral with the whole Pinterest/ Today Show thing. Through a year of blogging I had fun and I opened up. I gained confidence and began to care less about the little stuff. I "met" people I liked despite the small detail I never met them. I entered the crazy world of blog friendships. Friendships based on your interactions through reading about each other's personal lives. I promise I'm a normal person besides this small fact. But chances are if you are reading this you totally get it! 

Last fall I learned the coolest part of blogging. The potential to connect with like-minded people in real life. Not virtually connect through comments and social media shout outs but real life meet ups. Katie from Going Coastal gets all the credit. She was the brains behind our first blate in a small beach town eating crepes and drinking mimosas. Yes, I admit my husband sent an obligatory "Are you still alive?" text that day. I think most of our group has received a similar text throughout our 6 months of blates. Here is October, November, December, January, and March blates (if you missed them). The April blate is this weekend!

I knew from the beginning we had a great group. Katie and Jes keep it together with all the planning. Everyone else makes attending a priority. We've grown since October. Friendships have grown. Heck we even have babies on the way now. {Eek! Babies!} Every time we come together it's enjoyable and conversation flows so easily. I'm not sure if a group like ours would succeed with any other blogging niche. Ok... it would but I just want to pretend military spouses are the best! No need to pretend, right?

San Diego Military Spouse Bloggers always have a great time. Every event is a fun time. Perfect for a gal who loves adventures! Lately, we seem to be branching out. A monthly meeting isn't enough, so we find more ways to get together. Bloggers Giving Back was our most recent in-between get together. A group from San Diego joined a group in Orange County to make care packages for military service members via AnySoldier.com. 

Complete awesomeness. That's all I can really say. Everyone made a box for their assigned military members stationed overseas. Military bloggers and non-military bloggers alike. If you aren't familiar with AnySoldier.com, click over to check out a great way to support troops still serving overseas. 

Yes. Men and women are still over there. Boots on the ground. Sweating their butts off. God bless 'em. Send them some stuff. A letter. Say thanks.

Many thanks to the OC Bloggers who put this together. I love taking the time to Give Back!