Family Texts From the Week...

I thought on this glorious Friday I’d share some of the random text messages I got from my crazy lovely family this week.

These text messages got me through the work week

From my sister: Trav being a typical 2-year-old boy...Haha

 This week Trav called me (at 10:45pm on Wednesday) to tell me "Man Man, Trav go Pee Pee on da potty!" Yay!! So proud of him!

My mom texted me this picture yesterday while I was at work. Caption, "That's a snake" Only Cee Cee (my mom). Haha!

Matt texted me the oddest thing yesterday (he was working from home this week)

"2 poops so far today! The same for Chase."

Chase, is our dog. I think Matt might have had too much alone time with the dog. Ha!

I'm so excited for the weekend. (Well I'm always "so excited" for the weekend).

Matt's graduation party tomorrow, can't wait!

Can't Even Imagine...

Today, after work, the house hunt continues.

We are looking at two homes.

One house is in my sister’s neighborhood in good ol’ Essex, hon.

OMG, have I told you?

My bf, Emily, and her boyfriend are considering buying a house also in my sister’s neighborhood.

The house Emily and Josh are looking at is connected to our good friends Jess and Dan’s home (that would mean we would all live in the same neighborhood).

 Could you imagine?

Sweet mother of god, that would be a fun a$$ neighborhood! I would love that.

But let’s not get too excited here, we still have to look at the home.

Matt and I did already look at this home (which we are looking at today) about 9 months ago when it first went on the market. The price was still high. Now the price has gone down about $25,000.

The house would need work, but that’s why you live in a neighborhood where you know everyone, right? Ha!

My sister said if we moved on her street she would literally “cry!” This coming from my sister means a lot. We call her and Jess the “CHB’s” (Cold Hearted Bitches). They don’t like mushy stuff like; crying, hugging or showing any sort of emotion.

I’m not going to lie; it would be pretty amazing to live on the same street as all our closest friends. 

OMG, I would totally be all, “Essex for life” if we moved there.  

Guess I’d have  a lot of “Only in Essex” blog post , sweeeet!

If we don't move too far, I'd have lots of moments like these with my little Trav.

I wouldn't mind that at all.



Happel Wedding

This weekend Matt and I had our friends Mike and Tiffany’s wedding. Matt was in the wedding so we had the rehearsal dinner Friday night (as I mentioned in my previous post).

Wow, talk about a monsoon. It was pouring Friday. I was glad I left work early Friday because I heard horror stories about it taking people three hours to get home. Omg, I would have died.

The Happel’s (Mike & Tiff) got married at the Maryland yacht club in Pasadena (which is on the water) and the plan was for them to get married outside. Totally didn’t seem like that was going to happen due to the extreme rain.

But there was a rainbow of hope (literally)! The sun and a rainbow ended up coming out Friday night!

 (I can't believe my little digital camera captured these beautiful photos. It ended up being a gorgeous night, Friday!)

The Bride to Be- they were able to practice outside once the rain finally stopped Friday night.

Also, after a few glasses of wine I did an anti-rain dance around Tiffany for it to not rain Saturday. Well, I think it worked! It ended up being gorgeous Saturday! And they got to have the wedding ceremony outside.

Mike's Dad also had his boat there. So the guys got ready on the boat. One guy jumped off the boat and almost missed the pier and ended up in the water. I couldn't stop laughing. It was a real treat.

 My husband, rocked that baby pink!

(The Groom, Mike, and Matt)

  (Tiffany and her Dad)

The perfect day! I was so glad the weather cleared up!

This picture cracks me up- she really got him.It was really up their noses. Exactly why I avoided this for our wedding. But makes for a great picture!

(Matt and I)

 (Yes, the band played a few songs. Ha! And the groom... yup, he's in the band...It was a fun time!)

It was a fun wedding! Idk I think I like showing up to the wedding and partying rather then being in the wedding- Ha!

We have such great people in our lives. We are so lucky!

Sidenote: Still no house. Looking at two more houses this Thursday. Also Matt's graduation party is this Saturday. Just four months later. The month of October is so busy for us.

Thoughts on the little love of my life....

Wow, I feel like I have a thousand thoughts running through my mind. Maybe because it’s Friday and I’m so friggin excited that it’s FRIDAY!!

We have our friends Mike and Tiff’s wedding this weekend. Matt is in the wedding so tonight is the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Which means, I HAVE to leave work early because I need me time to get ready. Or I’m just totally jealous of Matt being off and I’m making any excuse to go hangout with him.

On a completely different subject; my Trav (my nephew) stopped over last night. OMG, I could just eat him. He looked extra chubby last night and it was so hard to not just kiss, hug and squeeze him the whole night.

I feel like its safe to say; he LOVES his “Aunt Man Man.” He laughed at everything I did, danced with me, pulled me around the apartment, insisted I “put cricket in trash,” and told my sister, “No, I sleep with Mandy.” Then proceeded to pull me back into my bedroom to lay on my bed with me. I about melted.

I’m totally one of those Aunts. You know, who talks about their niece or nephew like they’re their own. Ask my sister, I cry over this child. Every time he does something he loves; like rides the train at the fair or gets to meet Buzz Lightyear and Woody, I cry. Is this just the oddest thing ever? Am I alone in this?

I melt over my nephew. I’m so lucky to have such a cute, adorable, fun and loving nephew.

Being so in love with him makes me wonder, how the hell will I be with my own kids. A crying, blubbing mess?

So I leave you with some Trav pictures, enjoy!

 (I mean seriously, Do you see this face?!! OMG! Stinker!)

 (So random but my sister, Trav and I New Year's 2010)

 (OMG, seriously. Have you seen a cuter face?)

(And he's funny! Geez! This is Trav's "ugly face" when he was a baby and he would get mad at you he would snort at you and do this face. Ha! It became known as the "ugly face")

How lucky am I to have such a wonderful nephew and family?!

Who knew house hunting was this hard?

Friday we received our rent notice; stating that we have to renew our lease by September 30^th or be moved out of our apartment by December 31^st. Oy- Vey. This has made for a stressful last couple of days. Matt and I are really feeling the pressure of finding a home for our little future family. Mind you, we’ve been looking for a home for what feels like years. (In reality, we’ve been house hunting since June; when we got back from our honeymoon). But boy, oh boy. This house hunting thing is not as easy as I had imagined. I pictured us finding a house we liked, putting an offer on it and a month later moving in. Easy breezy. But total negative. We have looked at what feels like hundreds of homes. Liked a few (that we put offers on, that were denied) but we still haven’t found “the one.”

Matt and I drove around yesterday after work and did drive-bys to check out homes and neighborhoods of a couple of potential houses we saw online. I didn’t love any of the neighborhoods. Idk everything looks terrible. I think because the economy is bad people don’t have the money to keep their homes updated (and dang, I can tell). Some neighborhoods just looked trashy. It was really frustrating to me. I was all, “Look at the house next to it. Omg! I could not have them as my neighbors. Omg! Driving home and staring at that house next store every day, can’t do it. Why is there trash out front? There’s no parking here. Omg, no!!” Matt was just slightly annoyed with me. It turned into an argument on the way home. Matt was all, “You hate everything. I don’t know where you want to live! Parking, why do you care about parking!” Matt was just a tad frustrated with me. I understand. It’s so much to think about and very stressful. I’ll take that “easy” button now, please.

By the time we got home, Matt and I were fine. We walked Chase and talked it out. We are both just frustrated with the whole situation. It’s hard to think about putting all our money into something. (It’s scary). We just both want to make the right decision and are feeling the pressure of buying a home within the next three months. Needless to say, I think I’m going to be drinking a lot of wine.

Everyone keep their fingers crossed that we’ll find the “right” house and make the "right" decision.

Weekend in Review

Friday, after work, Matt and I went over my in-laws house for crabs. Remember me raving about how yummy their crabs are? They steam and cook the crabs themselves and they are heavenly.

It was a shocker Friday night when Matt’s Dad said, “Let’s drink some beer!” Matt’s parents (especially his Dad) never drink. My parents on the other hand, well that’s a different story- ha! So Matt and I were really excited to go get some beer to drink with our crabs! 
When we got to the liquor store a random Russian man was giving out samples of Russian Vodka. (Ok, why not). Matt took his shot straight, gag. I took mine with the Kool Aid the random Russian man provided. It was good and strong. But we didn’t buy any Russian vodka; instead we decided to buy a 12 pack of Samuel Adams assorted seasonal beer. Which had six different types of beers in it to try; and we also got a six pack of Blue Moon pumpkin beer. 

It made for a fun time to taste all the different beers. It was also fun cooking and eating crabs with a slight beer buzz.

My brother in-law was also there and had fun playing with the crabs. Ha! He had them picking up everything and hanging on stuff. 

 (Chase didn't know what to make of the crabs. He kept putting his face in the bag. We had to kick him out of the kitchen. This crab was dead we put it down to see what he would do. Just sniffed it.)

Matt's Dad gave him the secret recipe on how to season the crabs to make them so good!

The crabs were amazing and we had a lot of fun with my in-laws. I feel lucky to say that I honestly like my in-laws. (Most of my girlfriends can’t say the same).

 (I ended up falling asleep after all the crabs and beer.)

 (Matt found Chasey in his parents dirty clothes pile in the basement).

This weekend Matt had a bachelor party to go too in Atlantic City so he left Saturday around 1:00. He’s in his friend Mike’s wedding. (The wedding is this coming weekend). So Saturday, I had the whole day by myself and I decided to use my time wisely and clean and decorate the apartment for Halloween. Too soon? Screw it, the apartment looks so cute!

 (Remember when I was bitchy and told Matt not to buy that star lantern? Well he went Friday and bought this big lantern and this holder. He put orange lights in it. It looks really cute when it's all light up. I'm happy that he went and got it. I really felt so bad about being a meany).

Saturday night I had bachelorette party to attend. I convinced my BF Emily to come down with me to the bachelorette party at PBR’s. (This new(ish) bar in downtown Baltimore’s Power Plant). They have a mechanical bull. Wow. That was fun to watch. Some girls are real hott mess’. But it was awesome for us because our friend Mike works the bull as a rodeo clown (so random) but he seems to looove his job. So we totally got the bachelorette to get on the bull and the other rodeo clown hopped on with her. It was a good time! I think the bachelorette totally enjoyed herself. I know I did. Matt asked, “How late were you up?” Me, “I don’t know?” Matt, “You texted me a picture of you and Chase at 3:45 in the morning.” Lol Hmmm I guess I did have a good time! 

I wrote, "WE LOVE OUR PAPA AND MISS HIM!! WE HAVE ALL THE HALLOWEEN DECORATIONS OUT!!" 

Hmm just a little odd for a 3:45 am text message. 

Sunday is our Ravens day; where we all go over my sister’s house to watch the game and everyone brings a dish. Sunday’s are so fun because it’s a chance to see all our family and friends. We watched the game outside again this Sunday. How you ask? Dan carried his flat screen over. (Only in Essex, does your neighbor carry over his flat screen TV so you can watch a football game outside.) 

The Ravens def. weren’t doing as good as last weekend so some of us girls decided to take Trav and my sister’s niece, Kirsten to “Essex Day.” Yup, it was as Essex as you think it would be. They had blocked off a part of Eastern Ave and vendors set up. They also had some rides at the end of the fair. It was crazy group there and it was a real treat to people watch. 

 This guy and his dog were true Ravens fans.

( I met the Baltimore Hon! She was so nice. Check out her bee hive! )

 Love her Baltimore Ravens jersey!

Halloween is a coming...

Yesterday when I walked out of work it had legitimately dropped about ten degrees. I actually put the heat on my feet on the way home. I love living in Baltimore because of the change of seasons.

I’m looking forward to fall. I like what fall has to offer. Ravens games every Sunday, colorful leaves, hikes with Chase, cute jackets, fall boots and Halloween. Matt and I have had a Halloween party for the last two years. (Since we’ve moved into our apartment). I just love Halloween.; probably my favorite holiday to celebrate.

With Halloween comes the pressure of thinking of a costume. Matt and I usually just go up the Goodwill to find our costumes. Face it, you only wear it once, maybe twice, and who feels like putting out $60 for a costume from Party City anymore? Not me. Goodwill always has such a random selection. OMG, I love it. I mean some people (who donate) must keep everything they’ve ever worn. Last year I got the best dress ever. I remember trying it on and asking Matt to zipper me up. It fit like a glove. I was all, “OMG I love this!” Matt was all, “Really?” Really, I totally bought it for a whopping $7 and the cashier didn’t even have a bag to put it in for me. I had to carry my dress out of the store in my hands. Classy, I loved every second of it.

Since I’m getting really excited for Halloween, I figured I’d share some Halloween photos from the years past with you.

Halloween 2010

(I thought I looked like I was from that show Dynasty and Matt looked like my nerdy professor husband. Chase, was a hot dog. Chase hated his costume.)

Matt's 2009 costume. Pappa Smurf. Matt made this. He looked a little scary but how creative of him? Nuts.

Can't wait for this years Halloween party!

Matt's 28th Birthday

Saturday was Matt’s official birthday. The big 2-8. He had made prior plans to play at Carson’s Creekside the night of his birthday with his band. Which kind of worked out for me because then I didn’t have the stress of planning a birthday party. It also worked out because all Matt had to do was make a Facebook invite to get everyone to come out to celebrate.

Saturday morning Matt woke up and made himself a big birthday breakfast. Does that make me a bad wife? For some reason, I couldn’t get up. I ended up waking up after the breakfast was finished. (How
convenient, ha!) 

Matt and I decided to spend the day together. We ended up over The Avenue at Pier One. So much cute stuff at that store. Mostly everything was 20% off in there. I didn’t see anything I really needed (I’m waiting on the house because then I’ll be able to really decorate and get an idea of how I want it to look). I felt really bad a Pier One because Matt wanted this star lantern and I told him not to get it. I should have just told him to buy it. He got his feelings hurt and told me I was being rude because I always buy stuff. (So true). But the star lantern wasn’t on sale, why? Everything else in the store was. Honestly, if this is the biggest thing Matt and I argue over (a star lantern) I think we have a pretty decent relationship- Ha! I need to get myself back there this weekend and buy Matt the lantern. Poor guy. I didn’t mean to be bitchy. It was his birthday for god sake, what is my deal.

Anyway, Saturday night we met all our friends at Carson’s for Matt’s show. Wow, I was so excited that so many people came out to celebrate. Even my sister came out! And she drank herself a few glasses of wine,score! She was hilarious. Mind you, she has a two-year-old so she’s not the going out type anymore.It was a real treat to be able to party with her and all the girls. We really did enjoy ourselves. 

I wish I would have taken more pictures.But I got some of us girls! (Face it, that's all that really matters. Birthday boy, who? Jk it's hard to get pictures of Matt because he's playing the whole time. Plus we spent a lot of time out on the floating pier). 

 Bottles of wine, Moscato, are only $10! We drank that all night long. My bill for the entire night, including my dinner, only came to $20! Sweeeet!

 I don't know how this got started but someone dared Calvin to try and tight-rope. Of course, he couldn't do it. And he finally gave up.

Sunday was the Raven’s game so my sister and brother in-law invited all our friends over their house.
Everyone just brought a dish. It was really nice and there was a ton of food. Plus my Mom had gotten
Matt a birthday cake. My friend Chris also brought his TV over and we watched the game outside on the porch. Sounds kind of crazy, but their porch is huge and covered. So it was nice to be able to sit outside and enjoy the great weather and also watch the game. It was a great, great game!

 Last cake of the weekend. My mom put toy cars on it, ha!!

 After the Raven's game the boys totally WT (white trashed) it up! They went outside and played football in the street. Shirts even came off towards the end! Woo woo. It was a sexy sight, haha.

Overall, I think Matt had a good 28th birthday. This Friday we are going over my in-laws to celebrate with crabs. OMG! They steam and season the crabs themselves and they are A-MAZ-ING!! I can't wait!