Happy Anniversary!

Today is my parents' 24th wedding anniversary! I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate them today. My dad proposed after 7 months of dating. Further, he proposed at his Christmas in front of his entire family-- the first time Mom met his whole family.

I hope I can only be as lucky to be in a long and loving relationship like my parents.

Craft Room Envy

This is like... heaven. Oh the things I would make in a room like this.

{via: http://www.craftaholicsanonymous.net}

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year for Thanksgiving I will be headed back home with my fiancé to celebrate with his family, since I just saw my entire extended family a few weeks ago. Thanksgiving is at my best friend's house, which happens to be his cousin. Isn't that fun?

In the spirit of giving thanks, here is what I'm thankful for this year:

Being engaged to my best friend! I have always known I wanted to spend my life with him, and now everyone else knows it, too. I don't think I could have found a better match for me if I tried. I am thankful he makes me laugh uncontrollably everyday, tells me I'm pretty, cuddles me until I fall asleep, takes me on dates, let's me decorate the apartment with my crafts, and tells me he loves me more than anyone ever needs to hear. This week I am especially thankful he has the week off of work and has a BEARD! (He can't have one at work.)

I am thankful to be so close with my mom and talk to her nearly everyday. I am thankful she allows me to be who I am and takes an interest in my life. I am thankful she is a woman who had a career and successfully (though it can be argued my brothers were a success) raised 4 kids.

I am thankful for my dad who tells me I need a cover for the furnace and a carbon monoxide detector, and asks me how my car is running. I am thankful he raised me to be a competitor and to always do my best.

 I am thankful for my 3 siblings. I love being in a big family and having lots of people around at holidays. I look forward to a time when we all have kids and go to "grandma's" (MOM'S!) for the holidays. I am thankful to be the oldest sibling, which pushed me to always set a good example and pursue my dreams.

I am thankful for my very loving grandparents who have set a great example in love for 50 years. I am thankful for phone calls from grandma to check in and see how I'm doing. I'm thankful for zuccini bread, mashed potatoes, peas, and meat loaf. I'm thankful for grandma's catch phrases, such as "Oh for Pete's sake," "You stinker!" and "For $2 tomatoes we'll have to eat the stem and all!" I am so thankful to have 2 very supporting grandparents who came to all my athletic events, invested in my education, sent care packages when I was in college, came to visit every place I ever lived, and made me genuinely happy to be around them.

I am thankful for all the friends I made in college. I'm thankful that we stay in touch and make efforts to see each other. I am thankful for girl talks, karaoke, dancing, sleepovers, fort building, race-running, shopping, movie watching, Italy-traveling, and concert going. Special thanks to my girls Tonia Tessum, Andrea Hrubes, Erin Schmidt, Maddy Strauss, Heather Clark, Rachel Lewis, Stephanie Ewing, Jamie Rathjen, Emily Scholtes, Kristina Strong, and Hannah Peterson

I am thankful to be living in a nicer apartment than I could have imagined, with rent that's cheaper than any of my crappy college apartments

I'm thankful to be living in a new city, with lots of things to do and lots of culture to keep me occupied

I'm thankful for the gift of creativity and the motivation to create new things each week

I'm thankful to be a teacher. I am thankful for every little mind I mold, especially the naughty ones. I am so thankful to be in such a rewarding profession.

I am thankful to have 3 weeks left until I'm an official college graduate!

I am thankful for my health and the health of my family. It's something that I often take for granted, and it's important to realize I'm very fortunate

I am thankful to live in a country where I'm free to believe what I want to believe

I am thankful to be an open-minded, free-thinking individual, accepting of many different walks of life

I am thankful to be celebrating my 23rd birthday in 4 days :)

I am thankful for being cuddled up with my fiancé on the couch, fire burning, about to watch a movie, pop some popcorn, and drink some wine. Life is good.

What are you thankful for?

P.S. I always get a bunch of people on Facebook telling me they like my blog! Some people who I never thought would click my link. I am getting an especially high amount of traffic after posting our engagement. I'm sure there are others out there who frequent my blog and are not telling me :) And that's ok! I'm trying to gauge who my audience is-- if you are a follower, be sure to click the "Join this Site" link at the top left hand corner. That would really make me happy :)

"I Be Up In The Gym, Just Working On My Fitness..."

Welp, it's about that time. I can no longer rely on long nights of lesson planning to interrupt my workouts. All my planning is done during nap time. Soooo it's back to the gym I go!

Yes, I realize the week before Thanksgiving and the start of the holidays is not the best time to start working out again. But, I was motivated so here I am. The 7 mile Living History Farms race was the push I needed to get my butt back in gear!

Mom, Me, Tonia, Kevin, Dad (yes, dad ran the race though he is substantially less muddy than the rest of us)

Working out is not a chore for me. I actually enjoy it, once I get there. I thought I would put together a little list to share what motivates me to work out. I was inspired by this blog post.

• I think about the feeling I get when I LEAVE the gym. I will never leave with regret. However, I will regret not going in the first place.
• I make a playlist of songs that reflect my mood-- when I have a lot of energy, I listen to upbeat music, when I just need to relax, I slow it down.
• Think about working out as a reward-- I get to zone out for an hour and listen to music. It's my "me" time.
• When I have 5 minutes left in my run and I feel like I'm going to die, I just picture the parts of my body that I'm not so happy with and how those parts will look if I keep putting in the work 
• Set a goal for myself to reach a certain weight, change a pant size, work out everyday, etc. Example: I will get my tattoo when I lose 10 lbs, I will allow myself to go wedding dress shopping when I hit a goal weight (yes, that last one is an actual goal) :)
• Pick a good time to start. For me, this is usually on a Monday, or after a certain period of time (end of the school year, moved to a new apartment, etc.)
• Dedicate certain days to certain areas of your body so you are not overwhelmed. Don't kill yourself to work everything everyday. I shoot for working out 4 days a week. This allows some flexibility if I'm just not feeling it some night, I can move my day. Here is my current "plan"
• Day 1: Cardio, Abs
• Day 2: Cardio, Legs, Abs
• Day 3: Cardio, Arms, Abs
• Day 4: Full body toning
• EAT RIGHT! One of the most important things I stressed when I taught fitness classes is you CANNOT lose weight or get a six-pack if you don't change your eating habits. I use myfitnesspal to help me stay on track. I know I have blogged about this site before, but I really love it. It's very personalized and easy to use. Enter your current weight, your goal weight, how much you expect to exercise, and how quickly you want to lose weight. It will give you the amount of calories you should take in each day. I find it helpful planning meals in advance to stay on track. 
• Finally, don't do it alone. Find a buddy to keep you motivated and accountable. I am always looking for a fitness buddy if anyone is interested :) whether it be working out together or checking in on each other on myfitnesspal, I would love a buddy.

Here are some (slightly depressing) pictures to help motivate you!

Good luck!

P.S. I always get a bunch of people on Facebook telling me they like my blog! Some people who I never thought would click my link. I am getting an especially high amount of traffic after posting our engagement. I'm sure there are others out there who frequent my blog and are not telling me :) And that's ok! I'm trying to gauge who my audience is-- if you are a follower, be sure to click the "Join this Site" link at the top left hand corner. That would really make me happy :)

Eek!

Better start saving :)

Wedding Inspiration: Mason Jars

And let the wedding posts commence!

Holy cow! I had 370 views on my blog yesterday! I never thought so many people would care to hear my engagement story, but it makes me happy. However, it kind of makes me rethink my decision to post the picture of me in my towel, wet hair, post-crying, no make up picture! Oh well... I figure it's my personal blog and captured the moment well. I told my pre-k students today that my boyfriend asked me to marry him. Their first reaction was to turn red and smile so big! Then, they turned back into 5 years old and in unison yelled, "YUCKYYYY!!!!!!" Then the rest of the day was spent in marriage proposals. Mostly forced marriage proposals. "I'm going to marry you!" Most were also male to male proposals :)

Anyway.. I thought I'd share some of the preliminary ideas we had to keep my all new readers interested. As my faithful readers know, Kevin and I started collecting mason jars even before we got engaged. While in Amana this weekend, we went to an antique store and got a bunch of mason jars for $1. Our plan is to use them as drinking glasses at our wedding for all our guests to drink out of. When we told the store owner, he replied, "What is it a hillbilly theme?" HAH! Not quite. But close. We haven't set a theme yet, as we have awhile to worry about that! Now, I will be collecting all the ideas I love to find inspiration for an eventual theme. Today: Mason Jars Inspiration.

This is my most re-pinned pin on Pinterest

 I like the simplicity of these flower displays 

 I like the aqua/yellow combination.. this would be a cool idea to get the pop of yellow

 Doesn't this just make you want to drink? Maybe? We wouldn't put the chalkboard paint on them because we figure it's something we can get our money back on by selling them, and I like the original look

 Another way to incorporate them

 I thought this was a cute idea as a save the date

One of the ideas I'm most excited about is having a kids' table. I'm ridiculously excited about it.

{note: all images found via Pinterest}

I feel like that was an obnoxious amount of mason jars. I don't anticipate our wedding to be overwhelmed by it. I'm sure we will probably only come up with enough mason jars for our guests to drink from, but it would certainly be a fun theme to run with!

If you or anyone you know has an excessive amount (or any for that matter!) of mason jars, LET US KNOW!!!!!! We have been paying $1-$2 for each jar, but FREE sounds even better :) Any sizes or colors are welcome. The blue ones are especially welcomed. :)

P.S. I always get a bunch of people on Facebook telling me they like my blog! Some people who I never thought would click my link. I am getting an especially high amount of traffic after posting our engagement. I'm sure there are others out there who frequent my blog and are not telling me :) And that's ok! I'm trying to gauge who my audience is-- if you are a follower, be sure to click the "Join this Site" link at the top left hand corner. That would really make me happy :)

"Operation Vegetable Drop"

WE'RE ENGAGED! Kevin proposed to me yesterday, 11/12/11. Here is the story of how it happened. It requires a little back story, so hang in there.

I got in the shower to get ready to go to celebrate my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary (perfect timing, right?) When I got out, I noticed "Kevin + Allie...Forever" written on the mirror in the steam. Kevin and I each have our own mirrors in our bathroom, and I always write nice things to him on his mirror (because I'm corny like that) and I give him crap because he never writes back to me (because he is absolutely not corny like that). So at first I just thought, "Oh that's nice he decided to be extra thoughtful today!" (Now I understand the "Forever" part)

{all photos were taken after the proposal-- I did not stop mid-proposal to take pictures}

Then, I noticed the bowl of peas and carrots sitting on the vanity with a letter on top that said "Read Me". I always write him random cards and letters (again, corny) but he isn't into that kinda thing. So when I saw the letter, I was extra happy with his thoughtfulness that morning. My next thought was, "What the hell, did he make me lunch?" Very confused about the vegetables in my bathroom and how they got there mid-shower. Then the reference clicked. He has always said to me, "We go together like peas and carrots" like in Forrest Gump (yes, he says it just how Forrest says it) and I laugh and laugh. So it was a very personal and thoughtful gesture. (Still, I didn't think the proposal was coming....)

{all photos were taken after the proposal-- I did not stop mid-proposal to take pictures}

I started reading his nice letter and of course started crying (because I'm sappy like that). The letter included very nice things about me, our relationship, etc. I will spare you the details ;). As I read, I still didn't suspect anything. However, when I got to the very last line, I started to put the pieces together. The last line read, "As I've said many times before...we go together like peas and carrots... Dig to the bottom of the peas and carrots. I think you'll find something that will interest you." I was already crying before I got to this part, and when I realized what was coming I REALLY started crying. As I was digging, I was thinking, "I can't believe this is happening! I can't believe this is happening!" I found a perfect little ring at the bottom of the bowl.

I openend the bathroom door and Kevin was there. He got down on one knee and said, "Will you marry me?" I blubbered "Yes!" and hugged him and tried to contain myself through my laughs and tears. He slipped the ring on my finger and it was official! Fiancés!
____________________________________________________

Notes and FAQ's :)

--Kevin had the ring in his possession for about 2 months before he proposed. Brian had been keeping it safe for him. When I got in the shower, Kevin told Brian, "Operation Vegetable Drop" is a go and got the peas and carrots to put in the bathroom.

--Kevin was able to sneak in without me hearing him because I decided to listen to music on my computer at full blast that day while I was showering. Which is weird, because I don't usually do that. His backup plan was to act like he was coming in to get something if I happened to hear him and look.

--Yes, I got engaged soaking wet, wrapped in a towel (I know you are all wondering!) I hesitate to include this picture, but I feel it's an accurate representation of the situation-- soaking wet and happy crying!

--No, Brian was not a witness to the engagement (because many of you have asked!)

--Kevin called my parents the night before to ask their permission. They said no, but he proposed anyway. JUST KIDDING. They gave him their blessing :) Mom was waiting by her phone all morning.

--Kevin and I went ring-looking once. He went by himself once and picked out one he liked and thought I'd like. He took me once and I picked out almost the exact same one. I wanted the ring to be a surprise, so I told him to get what he wanted. He did a great job. I love my ring.

--I had no idea it was coming. He did a good job of proposing in a "natural" setting so I wouldn't be expecting it!

--No, we have not set a date. We are thinking Summer of 2013.

--And what all you ladies are waiting for... the ring :) It is a cushion cut diamond, cathedral setting, and channel set diamonds along the band (from what Kevin tells me). He did very well!

Thank you ALL for your kind words and support. I feel so incredibly lucky to be engaged to such a loving, kind, and intelligent man who makes me laugh all day long. I was happy to be able to spend the day with my family, celebrating a 50 year marriage.

YAY LOVE! I'm so happy I could burst. And let the wedding planning commence!

Pickle Wraps!

For card club tonight Kevin requested I make pickle wraps. It's something his mama Jolene has mastered the art of. Pickle wraps are definitely an Iowa staple. If you haven't had one, you're missing out. Here is the "recipe" although it's ridiculously simple.

What you need:
1/2 lb dried beef
2 containers of cream cheese (although I only used about 1.5)
2 jars of dill pickles (you can get baby or big, I got big)

 Dry off the pickles with a paper towel and cut the ends off the pickles

 Spread cream cheese on the dried beef. I cut the pieces in half, which I later regretted because I needed the whole thing.

 Roll up the pickle

 Halfway there!

 Cut the pickles into 1/4s or 1/3s, depending on the size

Enjoy!

Off to dye my hair...again. Red fades so quickly which makes me sad. However, I now feel like a real redhead-- in pre-school were were graphing eye color and hair color while talking about similarities and differences, and the kids said, "Ms. Spensley don't forget to add your name to the red hair group!" Thanks kids, you make me real happy :)

P.S. I always get a bunch of people on Facebook telling me they like my blog! Some people who I never thought would click my link. I'm sure there are others out there who frequent my blog and are not telling me :) And that's ok! I'm trying to gauge who my audience is-- if you are a follower, be sure to click the "Join this Site" link at the top left hand corner. That would really make me happy :)

Best Friend Presents

I quite enjoy giving handmade/meaningful gifts. My BFF Tonia just celebrated her birthday, and I was very excited to give her the gift I got. However, it required a little backstory.

One of our favorite bands ever is Eisley, I have posted songs from them often (click the music tab above for a listen!) The lead singer, Sherri Dupree Bemis, is all around amazing. Tonia and I are slightly obsessed with her-- music, make up, fashion, art! Everything. She recently posted on her website she was opening an online shop to sell her illustrations and prints for a great price and SIGNED! Well, I checked it out of course and knew Tonia would freak if she had one of her own. So, I purchased the Octopus Girl. Here is the link to her shop if you're interested!

I bought the print online and received it in the mail. I went to Goodwill to get a cheap frame, Michaels to get some spray paint, and JoAnn Fabric to get fabric for the background. Here is my process:

Here is the before picture! It was really hard to part with this gem.

Spray paint, measure fabric, hot glue, tape picture. Boom.

Aaaand the all important signature. 

Tonia loved it. We are such great BFF's that we actually got each other the SAME birthday present.  

Happy Friday Homies!

P.S. I always get a bunch of people on Facebook telling me they like my blog! Some people who I never thought would click my link. I'm sure there are others out there who frequent my blog and are not telling me :) And that's ok! I'm trying to gauge who my audience is-- if you are a follower be sure to click the "Join this Site" link at the top left hand corner. That would really make me happy :)

Last night I managed to make a dent in my to-do list.

• Do laundry
• Clean our room
• Organize the apartment
• Make supper
• Put laundry away
• Sew 5 buttons back on my favorite dress (Yes, 5! Can you believe it? The dress is from F21 and was about $15 so I guess I got what I paid for. Still my fave.)
• Make my sister's birthday present (She's going to be 15! WTF?! When did that happen?
• Learn the last 2 CD's of the Dear Hunter music
• Watch last week's episode of Glee

I skipped supper and the laundry still needs to be put away, but overall I was able to pull my act together. Thank you for reading and helping to pull me out of my funk! 

Kevin comes home tonight from St. Louis FINALLY. He'll be home around midnight. Tomorrow is my day off, so I'm considering staying up until he gets home. However, I have been up since 5:30 so that may be a dying dream.

This weekend has a lot of fun plans in store! Friday night we have card club with a few of our friends. I know what you're thinking, card club? How old are you? Well, get off my back! It's a lot of fun and we DRINK! :)

Saturday we will be heading to the Amana Colonies to celebrate my grandma and grandpa's 50th wedding anniversary!! My entire extended family will be there and I'm very excited. We are going to Kevin's family's Thanksgiving this year, so this will make up for having to miss my own. haven't seen my brothers in a long time so I am looking forward to it. Last year for my birthday Kevin and I went to the Amana Colonies and looked at all the little shops and antique stores. So, we're obviously excited for that, too. 

Card club and antique stores? Oh my gosh I sound like I'm 57!

Bleh.

I have been slacking in all facets of life these last few weeks.
Possible reasons:

• Waking up at 5:30am everyday
• Leaving work when it's dark out
• Not working out
• The time change
• Lack of funds to make anything new
• Kevin has been in St. Louis for 3 weeks
• Colder weather blues

I'm not sure what my issue is but I sure hope I snap out of it. I hate complaining about it and I hate being in a funk. I come home from school and literally do NOTHING. I hate it. I want to get back into the swing of working out daily but I can't seem to find the motivation. Maybe when my pants stop fitting me I'll get my butt in gear. I just feel like a bum. Maybe when Kevin comes back I'll have some motivation in my life to do something. Or maybe I'll just probably want to cuddle and do nothing. Yeah, that's probably it. I'd be ok with that.

I am writing this on my blog, posting it for everyone to see, so I will decide for myself to get out of my own funk. Goals for tonight:

• Do laundry
• Clean our room
• Organize the apartment
• Make supper
• Put laundry away
• Sew 5 buttons back on my favorite dress (Yes, 5! Can you believe it? The dress is from F21 and was about $15 so I guess I got what I paid for. Still my fave.)
• Make my sister's birthday present (she's going to be 15! WTF?! When did that happen?)
• Learn the last 2 CD's of The Dear Hunter music 
• Watch last week's episode of Glee

I know watching Glee may sound unproductive, but it will get me in bed earlier so I will go to sleep at a decent hour and not waste my valuable sleeping time browsing Pinterest! Ok, here I go! Off to be productive :) Thanks for letting me air my dirty laundry.

New Music Monday

What an exciting post I have for you music enthusiasts today. I had a weekend FULL of music goodness. I traveled north to Minneapolis to visit my BFF Tonia for her 23rd birthday. Her fiance Adam and friend Mitch joined us as well. When I arrived Friday I got to visit Tonia's kindergarten classroom and she showed me around. As a fellow teacher I always love visiting other schools and seeing other classrooms! It's just an added bonus I got to see my bestie in action. Friday night we went to the Shout House in downtown Minneapolis with our friend Ellie and the boys. That was a lot of fun. Here are a few photos from Friday:

 Gang's all here!

And then it got weird...but entertaining.

Now, onto the good stuff! We went to a Manchester Orchestra concert on Saturday. IT. WAS. AMAZING. I can't rave enough about it! Tonia and I worked our way to the front row and enjoyed the concert front row center. We met a few boys from Iowa so that was fun! They were very tall and let us stand in front of them. There was no barrier between the crowd and the stage so we were RIGHT there. Amaze. There wasn't a lot of "moshing" and the crowd was pretty tame, which was great. Perfect concert going conditions. I was rocking my little heart out.

The two opening bands were fantastic and MO did NOT disappoint. The Dear Hunter was the first band and I must say, I found a new favorite band. It normally takes me a few listens to get into a band, but they had me hooked at their first song. They have an awesome sound and are overly entertaining live. Mitch said it best, "It's always best to discover a new band by seeing them live." True that, homie. I bought their "CD" after the show, met the band, and they even signed it for me. I say "CD" because it comes with 36 songs, 3 discs of music and 1 disc of video, as well as a little booklet with all the lyrics and story behind the record. It's called The Color Spectrum and I HIGHLY recommend it if you're into Brand New, Manchester Orchestra, Kevin Devine, Taking Back Sunday, or any other indie rock band. It's fantastic. Each CD has a different "mood" and color associated with it. For example, "Black/Red/Orange" is a darker album with heavy drums and percussion. Yellow/Green/Blue is a little more upbeat with more stringed instruments. Not to mention, the lyrics are pure genius. This band has the trifecta. They were super nice and personable and very eager to meet and talk to a new fan. LOVED THEM. I could go on and on but I'll stop. Here are a few pictures from The Dear Hunter. I was so amazed by them I failed to take many (if any) good ones:

Yep, that's all I got. Picture of the lead singer with a microphone blocking his face and a picture of the drummer with a blurred face. Since, I suck, here are some from my friends at Google Image Search:

 {source}

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I can only assume that last one is a joke. Epic beards all around, folks.

The second band was called White Denim. They were also very good, but I didn't get into them as much as The Dear Hunter. They seemed to "jam out" too much and it was like, "Ok, we get the point, you can play the guitar, now show me something else." The bass player looked like he was about 16 but he was very talented and fun to watch. At one point, a girl essentially fell asleep or passed out or something in front of us. The drummer stared at her for a while, clearly angry/confused. Eventually, he hocked a luge (how do you even spell that??) and spit on her! I was not impressed by that and that definitely turned me away from them. Here are a few pictures from White Denim:

Aaaand onto the main act, Manchester Orchestra. I was overly impressed with their performance I can't even put it into words. It was everything I had hoped in more. They played every song I hoped they would and put so much feeling and intensity into every line. Oh gosh I just can't get over how amazing it was. I will definitely be seeing them again if they come anywhere near the midwest. And some more pictures:

Set list

Yep, he was THAT sweaty. And yes, I was THAT close. And yes, I got sweat in my EYE. :)

After the concert, we hung around for a bit so see if the band would come back out, and they did. We hadn't planned on approaching them or anything, but they were just so accessible it was hard not to! We walked up to Andy Hull (the sweaty man above/lead singer/guitarist), and I shook his hand and I told him how much I enjoyed his show. My amigos did the same, and we asked for a picture and he said, "Of course, of course." He was MUCH friendlier than he looks, haha. He said he was very glad we enjoyed the show and he had a lot of fun playing for us. 

Such an amazing weekend. If you haven't checked out Manchester Orchestra yet, I recommend it. They have a very unique sound and put their heart and soul into their songs.

Personal note: At the concert, I got to thinking that I feel like I have an alter ego sometimes. My teachers at pre-school would NEVER picture me rocking out in the front row at a show like this, screaming the lyrics I love back to the artists that wrote them. I'm glad to be able to embrace both sides. I just wish my indie rock side was more embraced in the education world. I would quite enjoy wearing black skinny jeans and purple Vans to school everyday.