The Liebster!

The Liebster award is given to an up and coming blogger who has less than 200 followers.

-RULES-

1. Post 11 random things about yourself.

2. Answer the questions that the nominator sets for you.

3. Create 11 questions for the people you nominate.

4. Nominate blogs that you love (also with less than 200 followers); Link them to your post and let them know they have been nominated.

I was nominated by Kaysie at  Chasers of Kaysers

 

 

 

Kaysie is married to a former co-worker of mine who I have kept in touch with since moving on in my career. I always follow her blog and am so happy for them as they are expecting their first child, a baby girl, Preslie Kay Marie, in April! :)  

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11 Random Things about Elizabeth

 

1.   I am a serious hypochondriac. I'm talking self-diagnosing, WebMD App addicted, I couldn't name all the things I've thought I had over the years...(a few of my paranoia bouts included: diabetes, appendicitis, tonsilitis
2.  I resisted the Twilight books and movies for the longest time. My sister read them very early on and worked hard at trying to get me on the bandwagon. It wasn't until this past year after a sick day and a Twilight marathon on TV that I finally gave in and read the books. And let me say, they are amazing! I am currently reading The Host which is written by the same author and it is so good also! 
3. I can't wait to be a mom. I am one of those people who was just born to be a mother and I can't wait to experience every moment of it. I am not trying to rush into it at all! But in a few years, when we are ready, I know we will both welcome parenthood with open arms.
4. I want to set the record for youngest retiree... but from what I've been told, don't we all?! Don't get me wrong, I love working hard and bringing home money and living a comfortable lifestyle, but wouldn't it be great to just do yoga, go shopping, go to movies and travel the world for the rest of my life? I know, dream on.
5. I am going to be an auntie for the first time this year! Marc's older brother and his wife are having a boy and due on June 22! We are so excited and ready to be the "cool" aunt and uncle :)
6. I love watching Teen Mom and16 and Pregnant... Sadly, this is very true. It's a guilty pleasure of mine. I love the drama, but I also love the babies. Who doesn't love babies??
7.  There are 209 days left until I get to marry my best friend. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him!
8. My other best friend got engaged last week and she is getting married this summer! I am so excited we get to plan our weddings together and share the journey of "wife-hood" and marriage. This is what we dreamed of when we were little girls and I am so happy for her!!
9. My sister sent out the bachelorette party save-the-dates this week and let me just say she is the most creative sister and the BEST maid of honor! The invites are hilarious and all the girls love them. It's going to be a great weekend!
10.  I already purchased 2 bikinis for our honeymoon... Even though we aren't quite sure where we are going for our honeymoon, I couldn't pass them up! Now let's work on this bikini-bod so I look just like the models in those swimsuits :)
11. We need to get so many more things done around the house that I am so overwhelmed with it all! We need to paint the hallway, the window and door trim throughout, paint the front door, organize the office, finish furnishing the house, painting the bathrooms, re-tiling the master bath, painting the kitchen, buying artwork for these bare walls... the list goes on. Ah!!

 

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My 11 Questions from Chasers of Kaysers

 

 

 1. How many siblings do you have?

2: my older brother is 30. He got married this past year in Chicago to his amazing wife (my "third" sibling - the best sister-in-law I could ask for!) and my younger sister is 22. She was my best friend and most loyal playmate throughout childhood and still is the person I can go to with anything. When we are together, we usually end up laughing until it hurts :)

 

2. What is one thing that you have done, that you never thought you would do?

 I never thought I would have a career in Sales. I was extremely shy growing up and was terrified of talking to people (on the phone or in person) so it was a huge shock to everyone in my family when my first job out of college was in Sales and so is my current job. It has really helped me to get over my shy-ness and branch out and try new things outside of my comfort zone.

 

3. Makeup or no makeup?

 MAKEUP! I have been wearing makeup nearly everyday of my life since I turned 13. That was the age my mom allowed my sister and I to wear makeup. On my 13th birthday, she took me to get a makeover at Clinique where I learned all about what types of makeup I could wear and I have not gone back. In the 13 years since I started wearing makeup, I can probably count on one hand the number of days I have left the house without mascara...

 

4. What is your worst habit?

 Interrupting. Marc does not hesitate to remind me of this. I am working on it desperately! I am really trying to become a better listener and not always but in with my own two cents...

 

5. What is your biggest fear?

 The dark. Being alone in the dark. Being attacked in the darkness when I'm alone. Just thinking about it has me all freaked out right now... I do NOT do scary movies. They seriously give me nightmares and I do not enjoy the feeling of being terrified for hours on end when I should be sleeping.

 

6. If you knew the world would end a week from today, what would you try to get done/see/say beforehand?

 Get married. Have a baby. Travel the world. It better be a long week! But those are all the things I want to experience in my life. If it were to end before I could do those, I would just be incomplete.

 

7. What is your favorite snack food?

 Ice cream! I would eat ice cream everyday if it was good for me. My favorite is the white mint chip from Breyers. It is so refreshing and tastes like real mint, not the fake green stuff Dreyers has.

 

8. How often do you wash your hair?

Every. Single. Day. My fine blonde hair gets so greasy after one day and I do not enjoy going to work looking like a slime ball so I usually wash my hair every morning. Maybe 1 or 2 times a month, I will shower the night before and use dry shampoo in the morning before work. But this does not always yield the best hair day... Also, on those Sundays when I don't even change out of my pajamas, I obviously do not wash my hair which doesn't really count because I don't go in public anyways.

 

9. What is your favorite movie of all time?

 This is a hard one. It depends on my mood. Right now,  I will have to say Pride and Prejudice (the new one with Keira Knightley). That movie is just so soothing to me. I love the soundtrack too; whenever I am having a stressful day or am just feeling down, I listen to it and it always relaxes me. It's a great story about love and family and those are the two most important things in my life. If I am looking for a good laugh: Dumb and Dumber all the way!

 

10. Do you believe in ghosts?

 Second biggest fear of all time... Ghosts freak me out. I guess the answer is yes, or else why would I be so afraid of them? I don't really like going to haunted houses or watching ghost movies - What Lies Beneath is to this day the most traumatizing movie I have ever watched. Let's just say I did not get into a bathtub for months!

 

11. Which do you like better: manis or pedis?

 Pedis. I like to paint my own nails and usually the nail polish chips so soon after that a manicure is not really worth the money to me. But a pedicure is very relaxing and they usually last me a few weeks. Lately I have really liked getting Shellac manicures though because they last a few weeks and I love having nice looking, strong nails.  

 

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My 11 Questions for You

  

1. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
2. What is your favorite meal to cook?
3. Do you exercise? If yes, how often and what is your routine?
4. What is your favorite TV show? Movie? Book?
5. What was your favorite birthday party? What did you do? What made it so special?
6. How many kids do you want to have? Why?
7. If you got the opportunity to work and live in another country, would you? What country would you choose?
8. What is your favorite thing to do with your husband, fiance, boyfriend, friend, whoever?
9. Tell me about your family.
10. What is your favorite store to shop at?
11. If you had $50,000,000, what would you do with it & why?
     
     
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My nominee for the Liebster Award

 

Alta Marie at The Bills Family aka I love us 

 

Engagement Photos DOs & DON'Ts

This Friday, we are taking our engagement photos! I realize we've been engaged for a while now, but my sister and her bf bought us this photo shoot for an early wedding gift and we are finally taking them.

I have some fabulous ideas of how to make these photos turn out beautifully, so let's see if they work out! Maybe my DOs & DON'Ts will change after we take our pictures, but I like to set myself some guidelines...

DO:

• Bribe Mother Nature for beautiful weather at the location - Tilden Park in Berkeley
• Use 1 FreeStyle coupon at a local Bumble and Bumble hair salon.



If my hair wants to cooperate and look
like this photo, that'd be fabulous! :)

• Get my make-up done at Bare Escentuals (only requires a purchase of $35 worth of product!) - I am thinking this can double as my wedding-day make up trial if all goes well??




maybe a little less "smoky" eye,
but you get the idea


• Buy a few new outfits - our photographer suggested a fancy outfit and a semi-casual outfit. I am on the hunt this week for a few new pieces for both of us that don't match, but that "go" together.
• Whiten teeth - I'm using the Pinterest whitener: brush with a mixture of baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and toothpaste. (p.s. this tastes nasty!)
• Go to bed early the night before so we don't have puffy, sleepy eyes!

DON'T: for a little comic relief...

Make heart shapes with our hands

 

Pose awkwardly...

Forget to wear a shirt

Kiss like Spider-Man & Mary Jane

Hug a pole

If you want some more laughs, here's the link for 20 awkward engagement pics! http://www.photographyschoolsonline.net/blog/2010/20-awkward-engagement-photos/

Back to the DO's

Use your imagination and picture Marc and I here:

or here:

Beautiful, right?!

Fingers crossed all goes well and we are feeling playful and have a good time with our photographer!

4 More Years

As I watched a video recording of President Obama's Inaugural Address this morning, (we forgot to record it so thank God for internet!!) I could not help but to feel an enormous sense of pride for the country I am so lucky to live in. So many of the words he said rang true for me, but my favorite segment was toward the end where he went through a list of things we, as a country, have to accomplish before our journey is complete. These were his words:

"It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began, for our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote. Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity, until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country. Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for and cherished and always safe from harm.

That is our generation’s task, to make these works, these rights, these values of life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness real for every American."

It is so empowering to hear these words from the President. His delivery is like none other. These liberties are what seem like simple, given rights that each individual should have, but as a nation, we aren't there yet. I hope that in these next 4 years, under the leadership of President Obama, the United States comes closer to the end of the journey. I know that the journey will never end, there will always be another initiative, another goal, but I look forward to seeing the progress towards equality.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/

4 more years!!

In case you didn't get to watch it live either, here is a link to the video, it is in 2 parts. You can also watch Beyonce sing the National Anthem on this site too, she was amazing, of course!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/21/obama-speech-video_n_2491827.html

Looking back at 2012, looking forward to 2013

2012 was a big year for us!! Especially the second half of the year, things got pretty crazy and time flew by.

January: I turned 25

March: Marc turned 26

May: I started a new job! Marc proposed on our Caribbean Cruise!

July: We began our house hunt!

August: We put an offer on our house!

September: We celebrated my brother's marriage to his wonderful wife in Chicago! Our offer for the house was accepted!

October: We waited anxiously for short sale bank approval on the house... We found out we are going to be an Aunt and Uncle - Marc's brother and his wife are expecting a new addition to the family in June 2013!

November: We became homeowners! I picked out my wedding dress!

December: We moved in to our new home, hosted Christmas for the first time and threw a New Year's Eve party!

here's a little taste of how we rang in the New Year:

Yes, that is a statue of Captain Morgan - one of Marc's prized possessions
that has taken up residence in our living room...

2013 is a year we will remember for all time, it's the year Marc and I will be married. Something we both knew would happen between us pretty early on in our relationship, it was just a matter of time before we could actually make it happen. I am so lucky to have Marc as the person who I am going to spend the rest of my life with. He has always been so supportive of me and is continually encouraging me to set goals and reach for them.

2013 is the year *fingers crossed*  that Marc's career dreams are realized. He has worked so hard and so long and it is time for all that to pay off!

2013 is the year I want to do many things to improve myself, to be a better person. To name a few:
- through all the stress of the day-to-day, don't lose sight of what is most important: family & friends
- learn to control my emotions
- be concious of my words and tone of voice
- focus on helping others when they are in need
- spend more time with my girlfriends
- spend more time outdoors and less time watching TV

My sights are set high for 2013 and I am ready to live in the moment this year and focus more on the great things in life and less on the negative things. I am ready to just enjoy life, enjoy my family, enjoy my friends, enjoy the man I love.

Here's to the end of a great year and a fabulous year to come!

Holidays: stressful or fun?

Don't let that title mislead you too much, but my thoughts this year have really been around how the holiday season seems to be less fun than it used to be...

• As a kid, Christmas was one of the most anticipated and excited days of the year. All the magic of Santa and family and gifts really built up the joy of the season.
• There aren't many little kids in my family. Little kids make {almost} everything more fun. Someday there will be more little kids... :)
• In a serious relationship/marriage, it is difficult/impossible to please both people or both families. We both want to make sure we spend time with our own family as well as each other so that leads us to celebrating Christmas a grand total of SIX times.  
• You see: my family alone has 3 Christmas celebrations (my mom's side extended family, my dad's side extended family, my immediate family) + Marc's family similarly has 3 Christmas's = 6 Christmas celebrations that will be had this year. That is A LOT of Christmas. Do not for a second think that we don't want to spend time with our families, it is just a lot of traveling, eating, cooking, prepping, celebrating and "Merry Christmas-ing..."
• Christmas shopping. While I love buying gifts for people and giving them (I am a people pleaser and I like making people happy! Gift giving/receiving makes most people happy!) The less fun side of Christmas shopping for those like myself who waited until 1 week before Christmas to begin are: parking lots, traffic, long lines. Get the picture? Yes I know, this is entirely my own fault for waiting so long... but I have been so preoccupied lately with other of life's happenings.
• I no longer get a "Christmas Break" of several weeks like I did during school. It's just wrong to think about how I have to go to work on December 26th...

So as to not let this post be a complete holiday downer, here are a few reasons why Christmas is MORE fun than it used to be...

• This year, we have 2 Christmas trees :) We have a mini tree and a full size tree in our house. I love the smell of them, decorating them, looking at them, snuggling by them .. insert Marc rolling his eyes ;)
• Now that I am older and make more money, I can buy more useful and cooler gifts for people. Sometimes my frugal self gets in the way, but I try to not let it overwhelm me at this time of year!
• The Jammie Fairy still visits my house every Christmas Eve. I LOVE the Jammie Fairy!
• As my family has grown, so has the love that is shared during the holidays. This may sound cheesy, but I am very much a "the more, the merrier" type of person, and now that I have Marc's whole family and my sister-in-law and my sister's boyfriend to celebrate with also, the fun just grows with each person added!
• Christmas music is the perfect antidote to a long stressful day at work. It is much harder to be unhappy while sitting in traffic for over an hour on the way home from work when I am blasting Christmas music. An entire month of Christmas music is a month of happiness :)
• I get to have my immediate family over to our house this year on Christmas morning. This year, I am planning some special surprises to spice things up a bit. I'll be sure to post all about the 2012 Baldwin Christmas Games....!
• Christmas movie marathons on TV. I love the movie ELF. It's hilarious!

Now, I'm off to continue filling my head with Christmas tunes and lights and cookies!

Happy Holiday season to everyone!

9 months til we say "I DO"

I can't believe it, only 9 months to go! This morning when I noticed it was the 14th, I was thinking it was 10 months to go, but after some counting, I realized it's actually only 9 months! I swear I used to be good at math...

Along the lines of wedding planning, this is what we have accomplished so far, surprisingly, Marc has been very involved in ALL of these choices (except for the dress and shoe choice of course!):

• Chose the venue: Mill Valley Outdoor Art Club
• Set the date: 9/14/13
• Chose the caterer: Affair to Remember
• Decided on our color scheme: navy blue, coral, cream and green (aka the garden!)
• Purchased my dress: from Glamour Closet in SF
• Took my dress to my favorite seamstress: she is currently working her magic to make it shrink down a few sizes :)
• Purchased my shoes: from SoleSociety.com (they will arrive in the mail today, maybe I'll share a picture of those soon!)
• Selected our wedding party: 5 bridesmaids and 5 groomsmen
• "Proposed" to our ring bearer: my cousin's little boy, he'll be almost 3 years old come wedding time
• "Proposed" to our flower girl: Marc's little cousin, she will be 7 years old come wedding time
• Chose the music/band: Marc's uncle will play at our ceremony and DJ at the reception
• Selected our officiant: my uncle will perform our ceremony, he even got ordained online already!
• Purchased our favors: I ordered them online today at theknot.com
• Purchased our invitations: bought them at Michael's on Black Friday, we will print them ourselves
• Selected a photographer for our engagement photos: my sister and her bf gave this to us as an early wedding gift! We will take the photos in January at a beautiful outdoor location.
• Made a wedding website: we will share it when it is complete
• Purchased Marc's wedding ring: got a sweet deal on Black Friday

WOW! When I spell it out like that, it feels like I've done a lot and I don't feel so overwhelmed by everything else that has been going on which has taken me from wedding planning. We still have lots of little things to do, but I'm so glad most of the main stuff is taken care of. Now that I have an entire room in the house to dedicate to wedding planning, let Wine Wedding Wednesdays begin!!

If you check out my "Weddings" Pinterest board, you will get a pretty good idea of what look we are going for! Here is a sneak peak of my favorite color sheme inspiration picture:

274 days to go!

Home Sweet Home

We are officially moved in to our new home. Well, the home isn't new, but it sure is new to us! This weekend was one of the most exhausting, exciting weekends I have ever had. I am so amazed at how much we were able to accomplish in those 3 days (I had Friday off work to allow us to get some extra stuff done at the house before move-in day).

***Be prepared for a very long post.........

Thursday night, we headed over to Lowe's and finalized our paint color choices and bought the paint for our master bedroom, living room, dining room and family room. Then, we stopped by my parents house to borrow their suburban and painting tools in preparation for the painting marathon that would happen the next day.

~ Friday ~

Marc and I woke up early (8am is early for us)! I had a doctor's appointment then I grabbed some coffee and bagels for us on the way home. While I was gone, Marc made about 50 trips to load up my parent's truck with some of our belongings so we could take a load over to the house. By the time I got home, he was ready to go so we just ate our delicious bagels and I changed into my painting clothes and off we went. We arrived at the house at about 11. While Marc unpacked the truck into the garage, I opened all the windows to get some fresh air in the house and started washing the walls in the master bedroom and prepping the room for painting. We took down the blinds, the closet doors, etc. My dad rolled up on his trike (a super cool recumbant trike with a motor assist that he uses to get around town and ride for fun since he doesn't drive) and brought us some putty to fill the holes in the wall. Luckily he called us that morning and said he was headed to Home Depot and asked if we needed anything, he knows us too well! Meanwhile, I made 2 trips to my parents' house for tools and a vacuum. It's less than 2 miles away so it's a short drive. :) We began painting our bedroom a pretty grey-blue color and were hurrying since the carpet cleaners were scheduled to come at 3:00. I was the edger and Marc was the roller, we are a great team and got the room done just in time to clean out the room when the carpet cleaners arrived. My dad even rode his trike down to Wendy's to grab us some lunch which we enjoyed sitting on the floor in the middle of the living room. :)



Painting the master!

 The carpet cleaning really made a big difference, there are a few pet stains in the carpet as the previous owners had 2 small dogs. There are still a few stains that probably won't come out, but we are working on getting the smell out, I can't wait until the house smells like "us." The carpet cleaners were great until they dumped the dirty, gross smelling water out of their vehicle right onto our driveway... that was just rude. Marc said, "That smells nice." and the guy responded with, "You get used to it." Really? I'd rather not get used to the smell of sewer on my driveway, thank you anyways. End of rant.

My dad headed home around 4 to get a few things done then he and my mom came back over and brought dinner (Los Panchos, yum!) and we were back to painting the living room. My parents were a HUGE help! We were able to finish painting the living room, which has vaulted ceilings! and the dining room. We finished up at about 11:30pm so we were all exhausted, but we are so glad we got it done. The living room is a light earthy green color, and the dining room is a medium brown color, it's called Cafe Ole, so that gives you an idea.



Look at those vaulted ceilings in the living room!

We finally got back to our apartment at about midnight where we quickly showered, climbed in bed and fell asleep to rest up quick for the next day.


~ Saturday ~

Marc and I woke up at 7am to finish packing the apartment. We were literally RUNNING all morning to try to finish up and get another load of stuff into the suburban. We met his parents, brother and friend at the house at 10:30. They brought a 20' Uhaul with lots of furniture for us from his Nana's place and from his parents. It is really nice not to have to buy any furniture right off the bat, the house is full and we get to focus on making other small improvements to it instead of buying furniture. Thanks everyone!! Right after we all got there, my sister-in-law arrived to help too. While the boys all began unloading the Uhaul, the girls and I started in on cleaning, or should I say, bleaching the house top to bottom. Shortly after, my sister and her boyfriend arrived, carrying the cutest mini-Christmas tree as our housewarming gift!! We put them straight to work! Within an hour, the Uhaul and suburban were unloaded and the kitchen, bathrooms, linen closet and window sills were all clean and ready to be loaded. Like I said, our families are AMAZING!

Marc and I still had all our big furniture at the apartment that needed to be loaded into the Uhaul and I needed to do a final cleaning of the apartment before our walk-through at 2:00. Again, we were running around like crazy people trying to get it all loaded. I had no idea how much stuff can fit into a 700 sq. ft. apartment.... we filled the Uhaul again! I cleaned much too thoroughly because the property manager just opened one cabinet, the fridge and oven and then glanced at the bathroom and she was done. Did we really need to clean the ceiling fan, microwave filter and scrub on our hands and knees for days?! NO, we did not.

This is when Marc and I said our final goodbye to our first place together. It was a perfect place for us, but after a year and a half, we outgrew it and were ready to take on a new challenge together. We loved our time at Spring Meadow, but we were not exactly sad to say goodbye ;) that place was tiny! 700 sq. ft. is not enough for two strong-willed people, no matter how much love there is! So we closed that chapter and opened a new one on that sunny Saturday afternoon.

While we were gone, I left the rest of the crew at the house to do some more cleaning, line the kitchen shelves, etc. and my mom did a Subway run for everyone. By the time we got home, my mom, Marc's mom and my sister-in-law had completely unpacked our kitchen! Those women can work!!! After lunch, we unloaded the Uhaul from the apartment, Marc's brother and friend put our bed together, my mom raked the leaves, my brother tore out some overgrown plants from our porch area, everyone was busy busy busy all day long. We finally stopped working and ordered Chinese for dinner. Just as it arrived, so did our beautiful refrigerator, washer and dryer!! That fridge is amazing, it's a Samsung with french doors and the freezer on the bottom. Thank God for Black Friday or else we would never have been able to afford that thing!! That experience is a whole post in itself...

My mom and I decorated the mini-Christmas tree and set it up in front of the big window at the front of the house. It immediately makes the place feel like home :) We are going to get a full-sized tree too, but this one is so cute!! Note the mini-rocking chair that Marc's dad snagged from our apartment dumpster, that place was a gold mine for goodies that people didn't want!! It wasn't actually IN the dumpster, people would just leave their unwanted things next to it for the taking. He said it's for "little Elizabeth" someday :) It's a keeper!!




After dinner, Marc's family headed home and mine hung out to watch a movie. We were in bed and asleep by 9:30pm after the longest 2 days of our lives!

~ Sunday ~

After waking up several times to the new house's noises, Marc and I were up for the day around 9. It took us quite a while to find towels and shower stuff... but when we finally did, we discovered the shower had a temperature limit on it.  We toughed it through some luke-warm showers and headed out to Target to pick up a few essentials and some much needed FOOD! Sunday was spent unpacking random boxes of things we would actually use in the next few days. We did lots of laundry which was actually fun to do with our very own washer and dryer. My Grammie came over to see the house and brought us lunch and some homemade blueberry bread. She approved! A big deal if you know my Grammie... Marc and I washed some of the blinds out on the driveway so we could have some privacy at the front of the house at least for the night. Those blinds were so dusty!! And do you know what dust is? Skin. Other people's skin. That just grosses me out so bad we had to take care of it ASAP. My sister came over in the evening to drink some champagne and share some design ideas; she even let me borrow her Domino book, "her life" so I am sworn to protect it with mine!

That basically sums up a crazy busy weekend of moving, fun and excitement. We are SO glad to finally be living in our home and cannot wait for all the memories that are to come. We know we will be living there for a very long time. :)