New (temporary) Job

I got a temp job for an ad agency as a freelance graphic designer. It started last Thursday and is going pretty well. The only bad part is it's like 45 minutes from home but it's temporary so I can't complain much. I'm getting paid, meeting people, and staying in the field.

Happy Monday. I hope to keep up with blogging this week.

Thrifting Part 2

Adam and I need a few things for the house and had a three day weekend (love bank holidays when my husband works for a bank ;) to see if we could find anything. I think we just ended up with some books but it was really fun to look in all the different antique/resale shops. Oh wait, I did get something really good hehe I can't believe I forgot. I am so excited!

I got this dresser (which from my earlier post, you can tell we need!) for $50. It's real wood and quality-made. I love it. I can't wait to repaint it!!! I've been researching how I want to do it but I need to wait till it's a little warmer than it is now hehe

This has been normal weather this week. Not so bad with gloves, a scarf, and the right coat. I'm not really outside that much so it's okay so far (Adam and I have one space in the heated garage that we take turns using. I only work two mornings a week so usually by the time I go outside, it's bearable). Except when you have to jump your car with no gloves, that my friend is a different story. That is the worst. (My alternator died)

Saw the biggest Bible I've ever seen!

Saw this awesome gold mirrors. I am really into these right now... Not sure why.

There is this awesome grocery store that has a stellar produce and meat section. Since we got back from Mexico, Adam has really wanted to buy a coconut and break it open. We have been searching every grocery store up here for them and couldn't find them till we walked into this one the other day.

We'll see how this adventure goes hehe

Happy Friday! Hope y'all have a fantastic weekend!

Thrifting

I met this girl, Tasha, through the pastor's wife two Sundays ago at church. She is friends with the Pastor's daughter. They went to undergrad together in California and now Tasha is getting her Ph.D here in Milwaukee. She's a Christian, seems pretty cool, and will be here for at least 6 years. This is a friendship in the happening because I am also a Christian, pretty cool, and will be here indefinitely. So we decided to meet up Wednesday for thrift store shopping and lunch. It was so fun. We hung out in the Third Ward, which I have talked about before here. I love this section of town. It's so fun. I had a couple meetings down there so Tasha and I hung out and then after my meetings I went into a couple shops on my own. So fun!

Here are some interesting things we found. I have no idea why people would want some of these things.

If the cold is getting to you, why not wrap yourself up in your very own JFK blanket. Nothing says warm like a gently used and very creepy JFK blanket.

Need something to fill up all those Hurricane Vases that are oh so in right now? Why not try doll heads.  Diversity is valued and we'll throw in the dog head in for an extra bonus on variety.

Nothing says vintage like a bust of Elvis. Get yours today while the supplies last.

 (Tasha made it into this pic haha)

These I found in a fun little boutique/Art Gallery. So fun.

This reminded me so much of Nacho Libre. There were three different Luchadors performing different moves so the bottle opener wasn't always in the same place. They were also hilarious.

 This card reminded me of that Bat Mitzvah/Religious party we had a couple years ago. Actually everything these days is reminding me of that party. I guess Milwaukee is more Jewish than I realized.

The inside said Happy Bat Mitzvah!

I also stumbled into a paper store. As a graphic designer, I wanted to buy anything and everything! So many beautiful cards, books, paper, and knick knacks. Loved it! 

top left-bottom right: 1. In the simplest of terms, Pantones are like paint chips for a designer. Helps us know we have the exact color no matter what machine we are using. This shelf was full of different items all with Pantones on them (mugs, notebooks, postcards, lunch boxes, etc) Awesome! 2. A funny card that is oh so true. 3. I have really wanted to created a watercolor postcard for so long! This a whole kit on how to do it (my attempts at it have been pitiful) 4. I thought this card was so cute! Thought about buying it and framing it.

Any cool places or things you've seen lately?

You might be a Newlywed if...

You use these when you run out of your 4 place settings.

You use this as your full-length mirror

 heels vs boots

Our respective outfits for our date. (Yep, We're officially married.)

you use this when you don't have a dresser. These are in fact the clean clothes.

Haha These are from our life these days but I can't complain. We're together ;) and don't have to travel every other weekend. Not mad.

Adam

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Adam is quick-witted all.the.time. Sometimes this gets him into trouble but most of the time it's just hilarious. I remember one of the first times we hung out, he convinced me to run the shot clock at the men's basketball game (I think it was men's but could have been women's) while he did the stats. He told me it wasn't a problem that I hadn't run the shot clock before and that he would help me. Well, we are sitting at the table in the middle of the court when the referee walks up to talk to us before the game. She asks if we've done our jobs before.

(gulp) Me: Sure.
Referee: Because it's okay if someone taking stats hasn't done their job before but it can be very problematic if the person doing shot clock hasn't done it before.
Me: (double gulp)
Adam: We're good. We'll take care of it.

Oh boy, did I freak out and give him the scared eyes. He assured me it would be ok. The game comes to half-time with no real problems but we find the referee once again at our table.

Referee: I noticed a couple of times that you were a little late on the shot clock.
Adam: Yeah, I noticed a couple of time that you had some bad calls but you don't hear me saying anything.

haha I still remember how good it felt for him to stick up for me

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Pressing on....
Back to when I say Adam is quick witted all.the.time, I didn't realize it was as soon as he wakes up or even in the middle of the night. Adam is what some people would call a morning person. I don't quite understand how he does it but as soon as his alarm goes off or he wakes up before his alarm, he is ready to go. He is happy to face the day. He comes up with jokes or funny poems about our marriage as soon as his eyes open. Of course I enjoy this, I just wish I was more awake when he was saying all these funny or cute things to me. When I actually roll out of bed later, I can't figure out if it was all a dream or what he exactly said. Anyways, we haven't been sleeping with our comforter on our bed because Adam gets way too hot and doesn't sleep as well. Most nights, it hasn't been a problem because it hasn't been too cold outside to make the temperature drop and we have another thinner blanket on our bed. Well the other night, it was chilly and I found myself awake because of it. I was reaching over to find Adam so that I could steal some of his warmth when I felt my hand get slapped away.
Adam: I got the reactions of a cat. Get off me. (Get off me- is a saying he, his friends, and even parents use. It's like I just did something awesome and you can't make fun of me, or look at that, etc at least that's how I take it-- It doesn't physically mean to get off of him)
Me: What? How did you know I was even reaching for you. Were you already awake?
Adam: Nope. I sensed some movement in my sleep so I just reacted.

Excuse me? Who a) senses movement like a hand reaching and b) has something funny to say after you slap said hand away? We laughed and laughed about that and I still laugh about it when I think about it. He's funny.

New Year's Resolution

I know it's a couple weeks late but one of my New Year's Resolution this year is to read the Bible through in a year. Conveniently IWU gave me One Year Bible last year. I am embarrassed to say that I have never done this and I can't say that I am off to a super great start but I am really going to try and stick with it. I really like reading my Bible every day. I think it helps me grow closer to the Lord and give me new perspective every day. I can definitely tell the difference when I miss a couple days in the Word so I really going to try and keep this resolution going.

Anyone have any New Year's Resolutions?

Sunday School and Lunches

This past week, Adam asked me if I wanted to go to the new sunday school class starting up at church. I was thrilled. I think Sunday School classes are a way to meet people and learn more about God and in our case the history/beliefs of our church. We went this past Sunday and it was good. 

Our pastor handed out this Family Tree of Religious Groups

It was really fun to look at. I learned a lot. I have grown up in the church all my life but I actually didn't know which denominations were more closely related than others. I also had no idea that my home church's denomination was actually it's own. I grew up in an Independent Bible Church and had always been told that we were close to Baptists but didn't line up with everything they believe in so we were independent of them. Also very interesting to see that both Independent Bible Churches and Mennonite churches came from the Anabaptists. This was super interesting to me because I went to a Mennonite middle school and high school but never thought we had that much in common (oh how I was wrong). Also Brethren in Christ was another denomination that I heard a lot about in high school but didn't realize that a) they came from Anabaptists as well and b) that they were sort of like cousins to the Nazerene (Adam's Church), Wesleyan (IWU's affiliation), Free Methodist, and Salvation Army Churches (I didn't even know this was church till college)  which are all under the Wesleyan-Holiness Churches (Asbury's affiliation). It was really cool to see where all the churches I have been exposed to relate to each other.

I met this girl in sunday school that I hope to be friends with. She moved here from San Diego to get her Ph. D in something smart and so is fairly new to the area. I am also new to the area and would love to have a Christian friend.

After church, we were invited over for lunch (or dinner as everyone seems to call it) at a cute older couples house. It was really more of a feast and was really amazing. Tacos, enchiladas, guacamole, and dessert. Yummy! There were several people there (couples and singles alike) and it was really fun to get to know people more than the meet n greet part of the service each week.

Kitchen Project

I forgot to ever blog about this little project that has been a year in the making. When my sister, Leighann, came and helped me move into my Marion house, we went thrift store shopping. I found this shelf for a whopping 59 cents. After it sat in my closet for almost a year, I don't remember what the original project I wanted to use if for was but I'll show you what I did with it.

The shelf was in bad shape but it also was so cheap so I didn't really care. I sanded it and stained it.

I then put little hooks into it for my measuring spoons. 

I don't know about you but there are several things that annoy me about kitchens. One is pots and pans, which my friend Abby came up with a fantastic idea to store those pesky items. The other is measuring cups and spoons. I hate getting them off the ring every time you use them, putting them back on the ring, but also if you don't put them back on the ring then trying to track them down. It is a no win situation in my book. This is my solution.

Really cute and really easy to use. I felt so accomplished coming up with this idea all on my own and actually following through with the idea. Don't get me wrong,  I love Pinterest. I pin religiously and use the site to feed my creativity. But I am creative on my own. There are things I have done and will do that have nothing to do with things I've seen on that site. Why do you ask am I ranting about pinterest? Because I was so proud of this project that I didn't see on pinterest but found in my own head and then every time someone sees it, what is the first thing they say? 

"Don't you just love Pinterest?", "Oh is that from Pinterest?"

Just takes the wind right out of your sails. Oh well, can't win them all. I still love this little guy.

In other news, Adam and I are hooked to this newer show called Suits. It's a dynamic show all about lawyers. I love the character development and the story line. Adam and I found it on demand and watched the first two seasons. The third one starts tonight. I can't wait to watch it because I've been going through some serious withdrawal after we finished the second season.

Anyone looking forward to their shows starting back up or happy that their show started back up last week?

7 things ( but really four)

1.  Foodies

 Adam and I want to try all kinds of different restaurants around here. More hole in the walls vs chains but really we just want to explore our new city.

 First on our list was Ian's. They sell pizza by the slice but their choices are not normal (seems to be a theme in Milwaukee, different menus). Adam got Philly Cheesesteak Pizza and I just got Feta, Tomato, and Spinach but are some of our choices were Cordon Bleu, Mac and Cheese, Lasagna, andBBQ. It was fun. We ate our pizza which was pretty good and then played some cards. We really like the card book we got near Christmas from Pottery Barn. We played Bezique and I surprisingly won. I just happened to get the rare double Bezique (Jack of diamonds, Queen of Spades times two) that gave me 500 points and allowed me to win hehe


2. The Mugs

My sister, Amy, had the idea to have my family get me mugs or items from the city where they are from since Adam and I are now living away from them. These small tokens remind me of my family members when I see them. I think it was a fantastic idea. Most of my family gave me mugs (some got broken on the flights out here ;( ) but some gave ornaments for our Christmas tree. It was so thoughtful.
I got this one in the mail this weekend. I love it.

Since I have moved from Maryland, I really miss how good the crab is. This cup brings back so many good memories from Family vacations. I'm so excited to use it for hot cocoa ;)


3. The Weather
The weather is getting more Wisconsin-ish which I'm not exactly opposed too. I want to see what makes Milwaukee winter so awful. Everywhere I have moved as of late is always warmer than what everyone else says is the normal. I moved to Kentucky. Record high heat and it was hot the whole time I lived there. I moved to Indiana. Mild winter. Hardly any snow at all and then a weird warm streak in March. Now I'm on to Milwaukee where there is so much complaint about the winter and everyone talks about how good the summer is. We'll see. So far the winter is just as mild as last year.

 Freezing rain is on my tires.

4. For King and Country

I am a huge fan of this band. Good design. Great message. I heard them on the local Christian radio station but have since been listening to them and like a number of their songs such as The Proof of Your Love, Light it up, Middle of your Heart, and Fine, Fine Life.  I read briefly about the story behind the Light it up song. The brothers, who make up the band, had a friend who was depressed and would just stay in his house in the dark. He was hopeless. They wrote the song because they wanted to let their friend know he was worth it and that there was hope. I thought it was a really sweet story.

My four things are so long and I can't really think of three more, so I'm just going to call it a day.

Anyone been eating at new places or listening to new music?

Networking and Flat Tires

I have been networking as of late and meeting a lot of new people. At one of my networking lunches, I went to use the bathroom and saw these signs leading to the "emergency exit" door. It was really funny. Well done Potbelly Sandwiches.

 While at another meeting this week, I got this fun view of the city.

 Pictures don't do it justice. I could see for miles in any direction.

 After my meeting, I came out to deal with this. I had noticed it on my way in, so while I was admiring the city I looked for a gas station.

When I got there, I pulled up to the air machine and then got a chance to really admired my tire. I don't have very much experience with tires but I was thinking that air wasn't going to help this puppy. So I ventured over to the nearest gentleman at the gas pumped and had the following conversation.

Me: Excuse me sir. Do you have any experience with tires?
Random Sir: Um, not much.
Me: Can you take a look at my tire. I'm not sure if air is going to help at all but I'm unsure.

At this point, we are walking around my car to see the tire

Him: Ohhhh my word! Wow! How long have you been driving on that? Air is not going to help it at all. Lucky for you, this gas station also has a garage. You just need to talk to them and they will help you. You can't drive on that. You will ruin your rim.
Me: Thanks so much! Will do.

I walked into the garage and they pumped air into my tire so that I could get to Firestone and get new tires. Apparently tires don't like nails. Lucky me. Complete with a new battery, the recent car purchases have made my car ready for the Wisconsin Winter.

Caz Blaze

Last week, we had our first ever and maybe only Casual Blazer Night. It probably won't happen again for a while since everyone starts up classes this week and the schedules get crazy. We wore our blazes to a hip little spot called Allium and played cards with some friends. It was really chill and fun. The menu was super short and had really different things on it (Roasted duck pizza, Gabagool, Prosciutto-wrapped dates, etc). I got this artichoke pizza that had fancy cheese and olive oil on it. It was delicious! Adam had actually been to this place before and played the owner at ping pong in his apartment below the restaurant. It's just that kind of place. 

 Brian and Adam

 Brian, Justin (who used caz blaze very liberally to describe his wardrobe), and Adam

Mine was made of cotton. How much more caz blaze can one get? (other than Justin if we even want to count that, which I don't) 

 This picture is dark but this place is so chill, they don't even have real closing times.

hehe this was me using my flash...

The girls lost to the boys in Canasta but overall it was a really fun night ;)

This week is full of networking events, interviews with staffing agencies, and real interviews. I hope to hang out with the husband and continue to make friends

Adam the Artist

NOTE: I heard a rumor that Adam and I's wedding would be featured on Christy Tyler's blog (our photographer) today. I hope the rumor is true so check it out. I'll be checking it every hour hehe

Anyways.....

Adam's artsy side, which no one knew he had, has come out in the last few weeks. This is what he has been working on. It's pretty legit. It's actually hanging on our wall as I type this.

He saw this idea at his buddy's house. The original painting had maybe 2 famous buildings and then just the rest of the skyline. Adam decided he wanted to put as many famous buildings in there as he could. They are roughly in the right order. I think he did a fantastic job. He now wants to paint more skylines or do some for his friends as gifts. It's fun to see this side of him ;)

Happy Weekend to you guys! Have any fun plans?

Receptions, Hangouts, and Parties

 friends of Adam's family, his parents, and us at the reception

This past weekend, Adam's Dad's church threw us a reception. It was so thoughtful and sweet of them. Diesel Doug or Pops as Adam likes to call him has been the pastor at this church for the past 8 or 9 years. We wanted to invite more people to our wedding but our venue only allowed for 120. The church was very understanding but still wanted to show their love and support for us. It was very, very nice of them.

Adam's sister (Sarah), her boyfriend and grandparents

It was nice to meet a lot of the people at the church and have time to talk to them for than a few minutes before or after a service. I have been meeting a lot of people lately (Pop's church, our church, curling, networking events, new friends, etc) so I hope I can remember their names next time we make it down there but it was really fun. We decided to sit at table with open seats instead of sitting by ourselves. We choose the table with a lot of older people. You would have thought we were celebrities. Haha it was so funny. They luhoooved that we chose to sit with them.

After the reception, we met some of Adam's high school buddies and their girlfriends at a restaurant. It was really fun to see them again. Adam's friends are very welcoming and instantly make you feel a part of their group. And always, always when they see each other they give hugs when they see you and hugs when you leave. For a person, who likes touch, it feels good to get hugged by friends. After the restaurant, we went to Game Works, which is an arcade for adults. This basically just means there is a bar there too. The guys of course, took this as an opportunity to challenge each other at various games for money. Best of seven. Winner won $30. From skee ball to pac man and everything in between they played and Adam won. Hehe it was fun when he won mostly all the game and I wasn't his opponent. Then we all played games with the extra tokens they had. Adam and I played basketball and I was beating him for a while.... Then I got tired. I'll take a rematch later. In the end, I think there were 700 some tickets so they guys split them and all got candy haha #sogrownup
 (I'm so sad I didn't take more pictures of this whole day. It was so fun!)

Monday we took the National Championship as an excuse to have Milwaukee friends over. I threw my first semi-dinner party up here and it was a success. We had steak sandwiches (think green peppers, onions, steak bits, a worcestershire sauce, etc), color coded fruit for the teams playing, and artichoke dip (a recipe from Leighann). I'll have to give that later because that was a true hit and oh so easy.

I was going to make the fruit into the letters of the teams playing but I didn't want the bananas to get brown in case no one ate them and I didn't really have a platter to put the said fruit letters on so... this is what we had and I think it was just as good ;)