wishing and hoping and thinking and praying...

12.10.2010 - A and shan get engaged.

details to come...

birthday girl

{photo}

birthday girl = me.

best day of the year. celebrate with me will you?

hello to you again

it has been like 3 weeks. should we discuss? there really isn't much to say other than i haven't felt very inspired to write. and everytime i think about blogging, i don't know what to say. or i think "i need to take pictures and write that post" and it just doesn't happen. so here we are. 3 weeks later...with no updates. which is unacceptable in my blogging book.

so let's get a little update on shan, shall we?

1. the besties came in town for a weekend. if you are a friend IRL, then you have probably already read about it here, here, here or even here. we're (read: they're) dedicated bloggers like that. to say the weekend was perfect would be an understatement. i feel incredibly blessed to have these women in my life and to have them visit me for a weekend. we got to celebrate birthdays, babies and friendships.

{all of these gorg photos from my friend jenna}

2. i love my city. see above pictures.

3. it is officially fall here in SC. it has been pretty warm up until 2ish weeks ago and then it started to feel like fall. i've been wearing my jeggings and new boots. and i *lurve* it.

4.  speaking of *lurve*, i have fallen into *lurve* with fro yo. there is a little place downtown that is perfect. organic and healthy. i would definitely say it is an acquired taste but my taste buds acquired it pretty quickly.

5. halloween weekend was pretty low key around here. on friday, my company participated in a little event here in town for special needs kids. my friend from work, cc, and i got to dress up and give out candy to little kids. CUTE.

the rest of the weekend was spent hanging out with A and my pup. on sunday (halloween), A and i went to the movies and saw "the town". it was very much a shoot 'em up, bang bang kind of guy flick but i still really liked it.

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and then we went to chipotle. in past years, i have dressed myself as a giant burrito (wrapped myself in loads of aluminum foil) and gotten a free burrito. this year, chipotle changed it up a bit and you had to dress up as a scary processed food and you got a free $2 burrito/bowl/salad. you can bet i participated and i dragged A along as well. with my craftiness and construction paper, i dressed up as a piece of pizza. A was a french fry. and we ate delicious food for all of $5. i know you are jealous.

6. this weekend i finally finished up "eat pray love". it was good. however, as a girl who loves the Lord, you definitely need to take it with a grain of salt. i definitely didn't believe everything that she believes/wrote about. however, it was still a good read. now onto the movie...

7. this weekend, my mama and sister come into town for my bday weekend. i couldn't be more excited (especially since it has been 4 months since i have seen them). too bad pops can't come along but we will all be together for christmas (which is so soon and i still refuse to accept it).

8. my bday is in 3 days. get ready to celebrate the best holiday of the year my friends :)

until next time (which i promise will be soon)....

sunday musings

wow. it has been about 2 weeks since i posted...maybe the longest i have ever gone neglecting my little ol' blog. but i have been busy and am ready to share what's going on in the life of shan.

1. last weekend, i scooted out of town for a little trip with two of my besties. julie and laura are two of the most wonderful girls in my life. we all led on the same younglife team in lexington. it was beyond perfect. exactly what i needed. we had been talking about taking a little trip and it finally happened. we all met up in destin for 5 days of girl vacation. i can't even begin to tell you how much it was needed for me. girl time. all we did was talk and eat and layout and relax and spend time just the 3 of us. and the only pictures we took were the ones "make the most ugly face that comes to mind" kind of pictures...and all on julie's camera. but the last day we were there, i did sneak out on our balcony and take a picture of our view. 

2. and this weekend was a fabulous one too. have i mentioned to you that downtown greenville is absolutely fabulous and they have lots of fun events in the fall? this weekend was "fall for greenville". a little food tasting event where all the local businesses come out and you go to whatever tents you want and score some grub. it wasn't that expensive and was oh so fun. that will definitely have to be a yearly tradition.

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3. i discovered a new blog. one that is teaching me little by little how to save dollars and go from couponing beginner to couponing queen. {this blog} is fabulous. crystal teaches you about how to coupon right and gives you deal after deal. i started off reading "31 days to a better budget" series and am hooked. she teaches you ways to save and (my favorite) teaches you how to play the drug store game. it really is a great resource and i am slowly learning how to save dollars.

4. it is fall outside. although, SC weather is a little confused. its like 50 degrees in the AM and by 1:00 in the afternoon it turns into 80 degree heat. this makes it hard to dress to go anywhere. and this is the first year i have really had trouble transitioning into fall. and it is SUCH a problem. (note the hint of sarcasm in that sentence).

5. since it is fall, i may as well make my apartment smell like it. i decorated for fall this weekend (aka: put two fall-ish decorations out...hence "decorated" shouldn't be used very strongly). glade has a limited edition candle out right now and since i have a "buy one get one free" coupon, i have been on the hunt for this specific scent. cashmere woods. smells amazing. but i can't find it anywhere. so i suggest you go get your hands on one quick. unless you live in the greenville, sc area. then ignore this and scroll on down to number 6. 

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6. UK football needs to get it together. that is all i have to say on that subject. moving on...

i'm going to make a great wife someday

wanna know why?

because i am GREAT in the kitchen.

in high school, i set toast on fire in the toaster oven. so i freaked out and threw water on it. yep that's right. i threw water on the electric toaster oven.

in college, i set toast on fire again (in a toaster oven). i learned my lesson and blew out the flames this time. however, i did this in the morning when i was rushing out the door for work. i'm preeeeeety sure i left a note on the whiteboard that said "roomies...i'll explain the smell later". (remember that rach and shave?)


last week i added to my fabulousness in the kitchen. i was making something on the stove and accidentally turned on the wrong burner. you know....the burner that i had set my most favorite colander on. a few minutes later i smelled burning plastic....

and of course....

notice the perfectly placed burner marks on my colander. my favorite colander that was mint green that matched my little kitchen. may you RIP.

i'm sure A is very excited to have me as a wife someday. i've got some serious skills in the kitchen.

thursday travels

{google images}

portland, oregon

puppy favorites

how adorable is this pup? and now...a list of his favorites.

1. science diet advanced fitness food
definitely not the cheapest. probably more middle of the road. but one that we like and K has been on it since he was at the humane society.

2. natural choice pet treats (blueberry)

3. chew toys
rubber toys are king in this house. only because we have the most powerful chewer of all pups. i. am. not. kidding. rubber toys are less messy and just as good for our pup.

nylabone

nylabone

kong

his favorite (and the one that has lasted the longest) is the first toy we got him (the same night we brought K home). it's from publix. he likes to sleep with it in his mouth just to be sure no one takes it while he is sleeping.

yes..that is how my pup sleeps. inappropriate and oh so freaking hilarious.

4. treat toys
this is what i call them...not the actual name of them. we have had 2 in the past. both are made to be able to put different "treats" in them for your pup. we give K all natural peanut butter as a treat once or twice a week. all we do is swipe a layer on the inside of our toy and puppy is happy as a clam and distracted for about 20 minutes.

premiere busy buddy twist 'n treat

5. stuffed animals (but not anymore)
K loves stuffed animal toys. we used to get them for him. however, we have learned our lesson and now only do the rubber ones. K loved them. but he would eat them. i'm not just talking like ripped them apart. i mean HE ATE THEM. i think he was chewing and he was so excited to have a stuffed toy that he didn't stop to spit out the stuffed animal as he was ripping it. he just ate it to save time. (have i mentioned our pup is downright insane?)

ones we loved before we learned the lesson...

go dog

kong braidz

6. the puppy park
oh. my. gosh.
we DIE. everytime.
100% K's favorite thing in the whole wide world.

7. car rides
when we first got K, i said to andy "i want him to be used to car rides. we should try to take him on adventures so he gets used to it". well...i created a monster. he is obsessed with going on a car ride.

8. a gentle leader
K hates this. we love it. it kind of looks like a muzzle and it is used to help train your dog not to pull when you walk him. how it works: when your dog pulls too much, it pulls his head back (to the side) in order to stop him from yanking (instead of pulling his neck like a normal collar would). therefore, he stops because he can't see where he is going. we are still learning but K has definitely gotten better about not pulling when we walk him.

gentle leader

for the past 5 months that we have had K, we have learned what works for us and him. these are the things we love and definitely recommend!



this is what we have found that works for our pup. i have not been paid by petsmart or any of these brands to say any of the above. these are just my opinions :) all photos courtesy of petsmart.

a gleeful favorite

now i know i told you before how much i love glee. i also included them in my "i'm so excited that all my fall shows are coming back i could scream" tv lineup last week.

A and i finally finished up season one this weekend. we had just a few more episodes to watch (one being the famous gaga episode that i heard so much about). and although most people raved about the poker face number, my absolute favorite was the bad romance performance.

please watch it below. if that doesn't encourage you to be a gleek, i don't know what will.

this upcoming season will be EPIC. an entire britney episode (judge me...i will forever be a britney fan) and a "time warp" performance from the rocky horror picture show? umm...yes please. i am absolutely ecstatic.

thursday travels

photo from {here}

amsterdam

fall tv lineup

september brings with it a lot of fabulous things: one of my favorites being that many of my favorite shows come back on. i can't even begin to tell you how excited i am.

without further ado... my fall tv lineup.

gossip girl

glee

modern family

i actually watched to pilot episode again last weekend. this show literally makes me laugh out loud and brings tears to my eyes. it is by far my favorite comedy show on tv. 

chuck

biggest loser

so you think you can dance.

not sure if SYTYCD is coming back this fall...but a girl can wish right?

and i realize it's not coming back. and it has been over for about 4 months now...but i am still in denial. and it just felt wrong leaving this show out. 

guess this means i will rent the lost dvd's and rewatch them all. yes. *logs onto netflix*

so there you have it friends...my fall tv favorites. i am so excited for everything to start backup. does anyone out there have the same favorites? what are you looking forward to watching this fall?


all photos courtesy of yahoo images. 

i heart spade

if i could pick one place to shop from (money not being an issue) i think i would pick kate spade. to me, it's the perfect combination of chic and preppy with a little trendy thrown in. but it is classic...oh so classic.

this fall, i want to add a pair of colorful tights to my wardrobe. paired with a fall shift dress and pretty heels, i feel like it would be the perfect look for fall of 2010. kate spade has a perfect pair for me and i have my eye on them. but after drooling browsing the website, i came across their "fall looks" section. and i fell into love. or maybe lust. i feel into something and i would like to wear each of these fall outfits this upcoming season.

each look has a quirky but oh so appropriate name to go along with the outfit. 

ordered a baker's dozen as a mid-week treat.

started a sketchbook while people-watching at lunch.

ordered a latte as she considered 12 across.

popped into the strand for a quick pick-me-up.

watched la vie en rose and brushed up on her french.

listened to a new playlist on her morning commute.

signed up for a dance class at the 92nd street Y.

on a lark, brought a kite to the park.

chic right? and i am loving all of the color choices!

see more of the fall looks here. and tell me...if you could choose a store to shop in (without considering money) which would you choose?

and of course, all images are courtesy of kate spade.

thursday travels

{photo}

bermuda.

2010 emmys

first off we must start with glee. in recently declaring our love for glee, we were so happy that they won a few right off the bat. and the glee girls didn't disappoint.

lea michele. this girl can rock a red carpet. and rock it she did. fave of the night.

navy was it for the glee girls and i must say that jayma's dress was absolutely stunning.

my favorite funny show, modern family (who won so many awards i was so happy) also made me proud on the red carpet.

julie bowen (more navy...swoon. new fall color perhaps?)

sofia vergara looked stunning in carolina herrera.

claire danes absolutely killed it. 2nd fave of the night.

heidi klum chose an unexpected mini for such a fancy event. but that necklace just brings it. loved this look.

jennifer carpenter (dexter). unfortunately you can't see the one long sleeve of this dress. unexpected but a show stopper.

those were my best dressed of the night. jimmy fallon did a great job hosting (he always makes me laugh). but i will say this...glee won. modern family won. lost got screwed. and for that, i was extremely slightly sassy.

all photos courtesy of google images.