My "Quilted" Pink-er Upper!

So the other day I was writing out the envelopes for Thank You cards when I noticed that my FAVORITE address book suffered a mishap. Now it may seem odd for someone to have a favorite address book but this one I've had since the beginning of college. It had a front and back cover of a serene beach scene with a girl holding on to her hat in the breeze. I loved everything about it. Unfortunately someone spilled something on it and didn't dry it (probably didn't even realize it) but in any case it developed some mold in the back. So, with a heavy heart, into the trash it went. I had to have a new one, especially with pages torn out and addresses no longer secured in a book I went to B&N and found this one:

(It's even got a spot for important dates to remember!!!)

While I was at B&N I played with the Nook! I'm really liking them, although, it means I would have to shop and compare prices before buying! I don't want to completely phase out actually touching a book.

I DID IT!!

There it is!

The most EXPENSIVE piece of paper EVER!

I DID IT!

I'm not gonna lie, I got tearied eye!

I looked in the back seat and saw my sleeping baby and realized he will be real proud of me.

Not just because I'm his mommy, but I'm the mommy who overcame ALOT to get it.

I'm happy I did it, I'm no longer bitter about how expensive it was!

Next move?

I was told I should do the accelerated program for nursing.

I looked it up!

It's a great possibility!

I CAN do it.

But first I'm gonna take things 1 day at a time.

My next focus is packing us up for Tennessee.

University of Memphis!?

A real possibility!

It's Been 1 Week Since

"you looked at me" (Bare Naked Ladies).  No really it has been 1 week since I blogged about anything!! I really wanted to come on and blog but we've been enjoying some delicious spring weather here in NJ!! Last year Logan was an infant during the spring/summer so I've been soaking up all of his expressions and the new sights with him.  So I'll back track (as far as I can remember, LOL)

3/15/2010: HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

We did nothing! Absolutely nothing, sadly. NO corn beef with cabbage. NO parade for us (it was happening on our TV though), NO going to the bar and drinking all day but we DID wear Green!!! I did happen to snap a pic of me and Logan on St. Patty's Day.

3/18/2010: We ran around and enjoyed the sun (no pics tho)!

3/19/2010: Logan had a playdate with a friend of mine and her son. We took them to the park and he LOVED it, even though he was a little unsure! Unfortunately I forgot my camera, but my girl friend took pics with her phone and sent them to me!!! Here are a couple.

Logan playing with Michael.

My cutey patutey!!

Trying to figure out the tunnel!

Saturday: HAPPY SPRING!!! We went down to Logan's grandparents house to get away from home for a little while.  Saturday we took Logan to an historic town called Smithville. It was cute but crowded so I didn't let him out of his stroller.  Here he is with Grandma Mary

On Sunday Logan went to the Cape May Zoo with his grandparents while his Daddy and I took a detour back to Smithville, where we bought a cute little tealight lantern for our new home in Cordova (we hope, haven't heard anything yet).  

Anyways Logan was soo amazed by the reptiles..yuck..I think Grandma Mary snapped some shots of that. We enjoyed a taco dinner that night, as well as, Logan, gave him a bath and came home.  Whew. Long but fun weekend!!! I also learned how to make flowers that looked burnt for a scrapbooking page I'm working on. Will post about that later =)

Happy Birthday Logan!!

My baby boy is an official 1 year old toddler now. I cried this morning because I don't want him to grow up but I know it's inevitable. I felt like his first year went by so fast I wish I could go back to everyday and do it all over again.  He has brought so much love and happiness into my life, as well as, his family. It's unbelievable that one year has come and gone.  This was Logan one year ago on this day:

Yesterday we had his birthday party with friends and family. It was so much fun but my poor baby had NOT slept at ALLLL!!! Let's talk about CRANKY!! He was so tired that when the party was done, the car was packed and Logan was safely in his car seat, the second we moved the car he was OUT!!! He was DUNZO!!

We did a firetruck/man themed birthday, which was appropriate for where we held it. I wanted to wait until he was older but with us moving away I didn't know if I'd get the opportunity to have his family there to celebrate with him. Our friend, Kelly, took her Saturday and helped us by making his fire truck cake which came out AMAZING!!! I didn't want to cut into it!  We also had cupcakes and Funfetti cookie lollipops, as favors, that were personalized with each child's name (no pics on those =(  The cookie lollipops were stuck on to a styrofoam circle and put in a Shamrock pail (completely unrelated to the theme but close to Logan's birthday and St. Patrick's Day was his original due date). I helped Logan's Aunt Tierney make the cupcakes and lollipops.

Here's Logan enjoying his birthday cake and really not getting messy lol!

I love the cupcake his Grandma made for his birthday party. Initially it was for him but she decided to use it for everyone's party and just replace the sign! Gotta love his Grandma. Here's what the cupcake looked like:

It was a good day, unfortunately, I didn't get to take pictures with my little man yesterday, because so much was going on but I will get one in today! I love you Logan! You are Mommy and Daddy's pride and joy! We're so happy and honored to be your parents! Thank you for the lessons you've given to us, the challenges you've brought on, the unconditional love, the laughter, the tears, and the milestones, because they've made us better and stronger parents. We thank God for entrusting us with you! You are the best gift I could've ever been given. Happy Birthday Boo-Boo ♥

365 Days

My little man's first birthday is coming up on Monday. All I can think is "Where did the time go?" and reminisce about his first year. Gosh, I wish I could go back to the days when he was first born and everything was new and not so crazy. It was just me and him and I loved every second of it!

So I saw this scrap page model in a book where I order alot of my kits and paper and needed to make it. Thanks to Chris' step mom she made all the pieces I needed and gave me my "kit", so that I didn't need to spend over $100 on stamps! Here's the almost finished result (I need to write on it somewhere):

The clocks are stamped at the time that Logan was born! There's a smaller picture from the day he was born and a bigger one to commemorate his one year. I tied the ribbon around the month he was born as well! This isn't the exact layout that I saw in the book but it's darn close!

Birthday Pictures, Parades, and Cooking Oh My!

I miss relaxing weekends sooo much, yet I wouldn't change my crazy, memory-making weekends for anything.  On Saturday, Chris and I took Logan to get his first BIRTHDAY pictures! I wanted them to be so perfect, I bought him a new outfit and even debated getting him a haircut. Alas, the haircut did not happen and I'm happy I didn't! I wanted to buy ALLL of them, except the Easter bunny pictures, because he looked absolutely terrified! Haha. So here are my 3 favorite pictures that were taken.

Ok, ok I fibbed, four of my favorites!

Today we went to the St. Patrick's Day Parade! It was such a gorgeous day, with 63 degree weather and beautiful sunny skies.  It made me feel so good! I wanted to take a walk, even though I was exhausted! Ha! Logan was dressed in his little Irish sweater and cap and one of my favorite pics of the day was this one.

Thanks to the beautiful weather as motivation I made TWO meals!! I'm not going to lie I'm completely exhausted as I sit and write this. Chris made coffee, at my request, and I'm in love with International Coffee's Hershey Chocolate and Caramel flavor! I may go for a second cup.  Anyways, I made Baked Potato Soup, which I got from a fellow blogger's site, Delicious Dishes!  It was amazing! Although easy, this recipe again challenged me to exit my comfort zone because I had never made bacon before! Yes, you read that correctly! I also made Beef Stew, in the crock pot, using a recipe taken from a website online (I can't find the print out so when I do I'll add a link for the recipe).  It's so easy and I just love my crock pot so much that I'm always making it!  And it's sooo good too =)   ♥

Little Pink Raincoat

I needed to read something light! All of the books I've recently bought have been really deep or thought provoking, and Alice in Wonderland was a bit confusing and took me longer than expected to start (plus I lost it on the plane because I left it there) so I bought Men May Come and Men Mayb Go But I've Still Got My Little Pink Raincoat (whew!).  I started it on the plane home and I was laughing hysterically (and I'm only on page 18).  I'm dying to get back to it but haven't had time to!!

So in honor of this book, here are some cute pink, and not so pink, raincoats!

(from Etsy)

(from Gap)


(From Target, I'm loving the plaid)

(My favorite, it's a Rain Jacket-in-a-Packet, from Old Navy!!)

New {{{Love}}}

I had lunch today with my friend, Kelly, and she bought me the March issue of Brides mag as a Congrats present! I'm in love and I haven't opened it yet. It smells like the bookstore (I LOVE that smell) but it's a magazine to add to the rest but also one that I've also waited my entire life, since I was a little girl, to buy! I've reached that milestone in my life. Whoa! And yes being engaged does feel weird. Nothing has changed except our relationship titles but it's weird to be a fiancee and to have a ring that must be worn everyday. W-E-I-R-D. 

(photo courtesy of Brides.com)

I'm thinking of making a day where I post other maybe proposal/wedding stories, but I'm not sure yet. A lot of other bloggers do Thankful Thursdays and such. I'm thinking maybe Wedding Wednesdays...We'll see! I'm bringing my magazine to work and HOPEFULLY we're not so busy that I can flip through it. I even think I'll break out my Post-It tabs and highlighter! LOL. I told myself I wasn't going to do this especially since I don't know when or if we'll be able to have a wedding. I'm throwing caution to the wind and opening up at some point today!  I'll keep you posted!!!

IT'S OFFICIAL I'M ENGAGED!!!!

AHHH! I'm sooo excited! There were tears involved and complete pure happiness! I'm in love, with Chris, of course but also my new ring!!! There's no big story but it's still a night I'm going to remember!  Apparently Chris wanted to propose while we were in Memphis but the snow closed the store early on Thursday and was closed all day on Friday. So last night when I got home Chris made me Chicken nuggets and couscous for dinner! We played with Logan put him to bed and then went to bed ourselves. 

This is how it went, bear with me, lol
Chris: "I bought you something and it's in the house somewhere"
Me: "Is it in your briefcase?"
Chris: "Maybe"
----I checked----Found nothing.
Me: "It's not in there"
Chris: "Keep looking.
----My next move is looking in his closet----I look & don't find, but I'm short so I grab a container of clothes and step on it to look on the top and FOUND A BAG!!!
Me: "I found it!!"
Chris: "Don't take it down"
Me: "Please, please (with my hands clasped)...That's so wrong"
----I take it down and bring it to our bed----
Chris: "You can't have it yet"
----My dear, now, fiance, makes me watch an episode of Modern Marvels on SALT and the whole while he's snoring!!----
Me: "Soooo I watched while you slept can I open it"
Chris: "Do you really want to?"
Me: "YES!!!"
Chris: "Do you want to be a Park?"
----At this point I'm crying and hugging him----
Chris: "I guess you don't. Ok I'll take this back"
Me: "No nO NO!"
Chris: "Are you sure you want to be a Park?"
Me: "Yes! Are you sure you want to marry me?"
Chris: "Well if I wasn't do you think I'd go through all this trouble?"
Me: "Duh, no! lol"
Me: "Yes!!!!"
----Chris opens it and does a little version of what Richard Gere does to Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman with the box and than slips this gorgeous ring on my finger----

And yes he went to Jared's!!! LOL.

Since it happened at midnight we didn't take any couple engaged pictures but I told him we had to do it tonight and he agreed so I'll update later ♥ xo

I Think We Found a Home

My state of panic was actually unwarranted as the snow stopped early afternoon and Chris and I made our flight out to Memphis.  We got into Memphis pretty late. We were staying at the Days Inn at Graceland, with the guitar shaped pool that looked like it was being renovated, and I was M-I-S-E-R-A-B-L-E! I believe I cried myself to sleep and begged Chris to let me go home. However, with some sleep, I tried to keep a positive outlook for the Chris' sake.  So we started "house" hunting, without any food in our stomachs, which is usually bad for me as I start well but it doesn't take long for me to get b*tchy!

Anyways the first apt. complex we went to I fell in love! It was bright and open and all the room we needed for now!  Here's what the outside of that place looked like. Bright colors and I love it!!!!

The second place we saw was ok! I wasn't in love with it but I wasn't closed off to the idea either.  After that we met up with a realtor from a property management group that rented out houses.  Lemme tell you, the girl sucked, for lack of a better word.  She didn't sell me on any of the houses, especially in her jogging suit, and really couldn't answer any of our questions.  When we asked her if the houses had been painted and were ready for move in she said yes, butttt upon walking through the house there were scuff marks all over the walls and it wasn't so.  Two of the three houses smelled like cat pee and I felt like they were out of the way from where we wanted to be. Not to mention for the price we were going to pay it didn't feel clean and safe for my standards.  So needless to say the first apt. is where we are going to try first and if that fails then the second one! 

By the time we were done looking at houses, which, I think my adversion was partly due to my hunger, we decided to drive around and get a feel for the area.  Not before we had lunch though. On the way to one of the houses we saw this place called Logan's Roadhouse and we both said we had to go in honor of our son!  LOL. There were peanuts at all tables and you were allowed to throw the peanut shells onto the floor. Well I couldn't do it! I could not bring myself to throw the shells on the floor and neither could Chris. I had the best baby back ribs EVER!! I made Chris share dessert with me to get the little take home pail that said Logan's Roadhouse for Logan.

We made our way over to Beale St. but since I was still in a foul mood and trying to cover it up I went with the flow.  I went back to the motel for a nap and later we went to dinner with Chris' new boss and his wife at Harry's Detour.  It was good food but I was still full from our lunch earlier and couldn't eat the whole thing. 

After dinner we went to see the TV station Chris would be working for! I'd never been inside of a TV station before and it was pretty neat to see how the news was made!  I got to see Chris' office and it needs some cleaning up and pictures but I'm sure Chris will get the job done with a little help from moi! LOL.  When we got dropped off Chris and I decided to head back towards the area of where we wanted to live and check out the stores without there being so much traffic. I found Barnes and Noble so we're good =)

On Sunday I was starting to feel okay about the whole moving thing and maybe it was because I knew we were leaving Memphis that night.  We visited more stores and bought Logan a TN license plate with his name on it from WalMart.  Then I went into my new favorite store, Eclectica Scrapbooks & Stamps! OMG I found the mother load! I'm so excited I can't wait to get down there and set up my area so I can buy stuff from down there! Hopefully if I sign up for some classes I can make a friend or two.  Here's what inside looks like

(photo courtesy of Eclectica Scrapbooks & Stamps)

After that we checked out some furniture stores, a Kroeger, and then went back towards the city to snap some pictures of the city.