Turning 27

On Monday, September 8th, I turned 27.

It was pretty low key, as far as birthdays go. My parents sent me Georgetown Cupcakes, flowers, and some clothes. Ryan, the smart man he is, got me gift cards to go shopping. My friend Donna got me some Coca Cola things for my Coca Cola Bathroom (a soap dispenser, a soap dish, and a cool metal tin that now holds my daily make up and hair things) and my phone blew up with well wishes from friends and family and Facebook.

So, thank you (:

I was off from work since I worked the weekend and I decided to go get my hair done. I last got partial highlights in March so after six months it was kind of driving me nuts.

 I went over to the mall and got them done... I love how they turned out but I was there nearly three hours. Bit much! But at my price I won't complain.

After I brought home some food and Ryan and I sat on the couch and watched television for a bit before we went off to spend my birthday giftcards. At Kohls I got a gorgeous red pea coat (with a hood!) since I have wanted a red coat for years. At Old Navy I got two long sleeved shirts, two tank tops, and a nice blue work shirt. At Shoe Carnival I got a gorgeous pair of grey boots that I cannot wait to wear.... so Ryan definitely did well for me for my birthday!

Then wen we went home to drop off my bags something unexpected happened....

A tornado warning! My phone started letting off a siren sound and we flicked on the television to see the red radar hovering directly over us. My husband quickly ushered the dog and I into our guest bathroom where we quickly realized we should at least look outside before we cower in the bathroom. Outside it was gray, not raining, but definitely did not look like tornado conditions. No green clouds, no rotation.... nothing! Fifteen minutes went by and the alert expired. I always thought a warning meant a funnel cloud had been spotted but the television never said one had been. Just have to keep things interesting I suppose!

Donna met Ryan and I at Ale House where I watched my Giants get their butts handed to them for their first game for the second year in a row. Sigh. At least I got a free dessert since it was my birthday!

All in all, a good, low key day. Let's hope 27 is a good year!

Weekend Wanderings

First off I need to brag... I slept a full 10.5 uninterrupted hours on Friday night. It was absolutely glorious! Finally I got to go to sleep and wake up because my body was ready, no alarm, no phone call... just me. Bliss.

Sorry, I warned you about the brag!

Saturday I met up with my friend Jess from college for a needed catch up day. We wandered around King Street, grabbed lunch and got up to speed on each others' lives. After she left I went to the mall to go to Bubbles and fix my hair. I got a bonus at work last month for something I did and most of the $1,000 I was awarded went to plane tickets. But I took a small chunk just for me!

See, after dying my hair red (which I loved and still miss!) I used Color Oops to get it back to blonde. It got most of the red out, but I was stuck in a sort of strawberry blondeish middle color. Not red, not blonde. So I went and got highlights! I hope it pushed me more back to how I used to be.



Before picture. I sent all these to the hubby so he could see and compare as well.



During. Luckily Kyndra was with me for company and to take pictures of me looking like an extra terrestrial baked potato.



And after. Not bad!

I must say the mall having its Christmas Tree up made me cringe! TOO soon!!!

Kyndra and I had some cuisine de food court before heading back to her place where her husband and his friend were engrossed in Modern Warfare. Can I just say I am so glad Ryan is not into those games? Don't get me wrong, I love video games. We have a Wii, and Mario of any degree rocks my socks off, but these run around control your vision and shooting and exploding games make me a little nauseous! I think the viewpoint gives me some motion sickness. I like going in a straight 2D line when I play video games! Old School much?

Sunday I had another mini college reunion with my friend (and bridesmaid) Cat. We went around Eastern Market, did some major major catching up, drank apple cider, at amazing El Salvadorian food at Cafe Tortilla, and hid in the used bookstore. Bliss.



My to die for empanadas from Cafe Tortilla, featured on Diners Drive Ins and Dives!



And my favorite used book store! (:

Of course work today is billing. Sigh. And there is a mix up with our rent at home the leasing office has been emailing me all day about. And I kind of want to just hide under my desk.

But I leave for California in two days! I CANNOT wait! I am excited to see Ryan and to meet all the guys he has been in school with and to go to a ball once more!



Bragging once again, here is Ryan's class graduation picture from his first school... where he graduated with honors and the second highest GPA in the school. And earned another NAM (Navy Achievement Medal) for his leadership. I may be bursting with pride. Just a smidge.



And of course I made a wish. Or four. Did you?

Pintrest: Good and Evil

Like most of the world, I am addicted to Pintrest. I will spend hours pinning things and tucking away ideas for our future home, family, crafts, clothes and recipes. Also, like most people, I am guilty of excessive pinning but not excessive doing. So I decided to start actually doing more of the things I am pinning! I had only done one recipe before, and it was delicious, so I decided to do it again. I saw the Cheddar and Cracker Baked Chicken everywhere so I gave it a go.



DELICIOUS!

I loved the garlicy cheddar taste with the crackers for just the amount of crunch. I even put half in the freezer, unbaked, to make for later. It has been really hard for me to motivate myself to cook for one, so this recipe having the freezer option was very appealing to me. I highly recommend this one.

Now the second thing I tried to do was some no-heat curls. I have been reading this girl's blog for ages and her style is amazing. So I decided to try it! I need to figure out how I am going to do my hair for the Ball next week anyway, so I figured this would be a good chance to practice.



Step One: Twist hair until it twists itself into buns on your head. Secure in place, leave overnight.



Step Two: After an uncomfortable night of sleep, wake up and remove pins. Enjoy springy girls. Use your fingers to gently separate.



Step Three: PANIC!!!!!!!!!


Maybe my hair is too fine. Maybe it was too damp/dry. Who knows. All I know is that when I went to gently separate my twists I looked like a lion who had stuck its paw in an electric socket. No pretty curls for me. Straight up white girl afro. I look like my mom did in her senior picture, but it was the seventies so she had an excuse! I was at this point late for work so I had to shove my head under the faucet in the shower and squeeze globs of conditioner in my hair. Quick rinse, then blow dry and I was ready to go.



Slightly frazzled, but not demented.



Oy.

My mom, husband, coworkers and the girls at BUNCO had a good laugh with me over it though! Looking back, I think it was hysterical. But now I definitely need another idea to curl my long, thin, fine hair for the Ball!!!

Change?

So I decided I wanted to do a small change. I have dyed my hair once before (back in 2008 when Ryan and I were first dating) and everyone but me pretty much hated it. Ok, it was a little RED if you know what I mean, but I liked it. This time I went a little more subdued I think... but it is a big change for me! And thank you Carrie for helping me do it... and by helping me I mean basically actually doing it! Personally I love it, maybe you all will too?

BEFORE




DURING







AFTER








These last two pictures are a little more of what my hair really looks like. Without the flash it looks almost purpley but with it you can see it is a nice reddish brown. It is a temporary dye, a good 30 washes or so, and if it gets too icky in the transition back I will splurge the $8 needed for OOPS Dye Away and be back to blonde!

My mother of course hates it.

Surprisingly, Ryan loves it! I sent him two pictures swearing it was temporary and I could change it back before the ball if need be. He then simply said, "More pics please." So I sent more and he loved it! Since his first school ends October 11th and he has a few weeks before his next school starts he is COMING HOME! For 2 weeks! I am so excited. I told him he would see my hair in person then but it would probably be a little lighter.

"So.... will you do it again so I can really see it?"

Not even false flattery, the hubby digs the reddish brown! Maybe he had a thing for brunettes/redheads all along... :P

People at work are funny, doing double takes and making comments ranging from they "love it" to "it's interesting". Most reviews so far are positive though!

I thought it would be a nice Fall change... what do you think???