Hip Happity Wednesday!

(Sorry if you think I'm getting a little weird, Jus definitely does)

I've been doing a happy dance because last night when I got home from work we had Internet! That's right, no more hoofing it the two blocks to the local coffee shop to sit there and try not to listen to the high schoolers' conversations as they play poker.

It's amazing how much you miss when you don't have daily access to the Internet, if anything huge has happened in your life that I've missed please leave me a comment so I can catch up!

One thing I've made sure to do is to read all of your entries in my giveaway and see what's making your weeks. All of your love & comments definitely make my week and I hope that our adventures can make your week a little brighter.

So, without further ado the winner of the Ferntree Studios giveaway is...

Ali from His Birdie's Nest

Ali, be sure to email me at nicolekblehman@gmail.com with your mailing address so we can get your prints to you!

Also, if you didn't win, don't worry, I'm working with a fabulous etsy seller on a giveaway for when I reach 250 followers (which should be soon, seeing as I'm at 248 as I write this!)

Happy Wednesday, darlings! We're half way there!

Happity Hap Hap Friday

I'll tell you a little secret about my silly post titles: I usually say them out loud because they make me smile.

We made it through another week, loves, doesn't it feel lovely when Friday rolls around? I always start my weekend with such high intentions but they usually end up with the same comfortably relaxing activities.

I only have one goal for this weekend and the upcoming week.

Be happycakes.

Lately I've been too stressed, too disconnected from the people I love, too tired, too sad, and too scattered. I know that I'll probably get worse before the wedding but for this week (at least) I'm going to be footloose and fancy free.

I'll work on our coffee filter garlands and maybe start our invitations.

I'll listen to the new Jack Johnson album.

I'll work on this here bloggy and try to redesign it.

And I'll work on being a better blog friend.

Speaking of blog friends I've gotten some awesome mail in the last couple of weeks from some of mine.

A couple of weeks ago the lovely Elissa sent me some awesome Aussie items including this tea towel featuring naughty little girls.

This girl might be my favorite.

This week I got a postcard from the lovely Micaela and then a couple of days ago I got a package from Danielle with this coin purse that reminded her of Edie.

Isn't that the sweetest? I tried to get Edie to take a picture with it but that wasn't happening.

So all in all I'm going to try to have a happier week. I've got something planned for us to make more bloggy friends and Jus & I are celebrating our 3rd anniversary so I think it'll be a pretty good one.

What are you planning to do to make this week a good one?

A New Start at the End of the Week

Whew.

Finally Friday. Did you make it through this week ok? I feel like it was a little rough around these parts, but before I start whiny whiny whining I have an announcement to make.

I'm really proud of this guy.

For the past three years Jus has been working for the same company. Some family friends own a business and what started out as a supportive and fun work environment has digressed into childish accusations and general disrespect.

Every morning Jus wakes up at 5 to drive a half hour to a job he hates. His energy is drained and it breaks my heart to know that he has to spend his days working somewhere he hates to make our life more comfortable.

After being accused of stealing food and threatened to work the late shift Jus finally pulled the trigger and put in his two weeks notice.

I couldn't be more proud of him, to see someone you love so much get treated like dirt is gut wrenching. Jus deserves better and I am so glad that he has recognized how amazing he is.

Jus is planning to do some odd jobs for my parents, work at rehabbing buildings for my grandpa, and possibly come and work at the restaurant with me.

I know this isn't the best time to voluntarily give up a job, and no matter what it'll be a decrease in income but we're planning on making some adjustments (like selling a car) and a happy fiance is worth its weight in gold.

I'm so incredibly proud that Jus recognizes that he deserves more and I hope we can stay strong and focus on being happy.

What have you done to make yourself happy lately?

PS Don't forget to enter the giveaway! You have until TONIGHT at Midnight!

PPS For an extra entry leave a comment on the giveaway post with a random fact about yourself!

Happy Sunny Day

Yesterday was the kind of sunny day that made me smile (and sweat) all day.

I planted our window boxes, I plant them by color, last year they were pink, this year they're purple.

Sorry for the crappy photo, I forgot to take one when it was daylight.

Our peonies have started blooming and I just had to bring some inside. I adore peronies and would love to have them as my wedding flowers but can't imagine paying $15 a stem in October when I have three bushes blooming in May!

Yesterday evening Jus asked if I wanted to dance so he put on a little Bruce and Jus, Edie & I did some guitar room dancing.

These things, combined with warm weather make it feel like summer and make me so so so happy.

What's making you happy today?

PS Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

T Double GIF!

This week has been one heckuva week around our house. Jus has been super duper sick and I've been one big, giant ball of nervousness. Sunday is 5 months till the wedding which means I have officially hit the "HOLY FREAKING CRAP I HAVE SO MUCH LEFT TO DO" stage. I'm also busy trying to plan an awesome bachelorette party for my BFF, Beth, and I'm pressuring myself to make it an awesome one.

I hope I wasn't too all over the place this week, my brain is having a lot of trouble focusing on anything other than the wedding and I'm afraid it's just going to get worse before October. One post I'm silly happy I posted was the "When I was 13" post. I loved reminiscing with you, but I realized I sort of promised a picture of my awkward self and since I love you all so very dearly I dug through some pictures.

Me, age 12, in full awkwardness (and in the apron I made in Home Ec)

Banan & me with our Saint Bernard puppy

Banan & me Halloween '98

(and proof that no matter what I have the most frizzrific hair there is.)

So there you have it, proof that I love you, cause let me tell you, 13ish year old Coles aren't too hot and I wouldn't share those pictures with just anyone. This might not be the end of the reminiscing, it's too much fun bringing up silly things and horrible hair.

Have a fabulous weekend lovebugs! Have some 13ish year old fun!

When I Was 13.

Sunday night I stayed up until 4 am watching Titanic, I hadn't seen it since I was 12 and the I sat in our living room and sobbed just as much as I had twelve years ago. Then yesterday we were in the car and Savage Garden's Truly, Madly, Deeply came on the radio.

The memories associated with both of these reminds me of braces, fuzzy hair and all around awkwardness. (I've been searching for a picture of myself from 7th grade but they're all at my parents!)

Since it's fun to reminisce I thought we could all take a trip down memory lane, I'd love to see your responses either here or on your own blog.

When I was 13ish I was:

Listening to:

Evan & Jaron's "Crazy for this Girl," I loooooooved this song so much that it inspired me to write my first (and only) fan (e)mail. My awesome parents took me so see these one hit wonders twice and I can still sing every single word.

Reading:

Mostly books for school, but two I can remember liking were Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier and Say Goodnight Gracie by Julie Reece Deaver

Wearing:

Oh man. Braces (complete with colored rubber bands that changed monthly); Overalls (and shortalls) were big at my school; I wore a lot of striped three quarter length shirts. Truth be told I wasn't what you'd call fashionable.

Watching:

I watched a lot of MTV. I loved TRL and loved all of the special shows they had for spring break.

Titanic was one of my favorite movies, I saw it 3 times in theaters. I loved all girly movies that made me cry but my all time favorite was 10 Things I Hate About You, I can still quote the heck out of that movie.

via

Crushing on:

By that point I had gotten over my Jonathan Taylor Thomas crush but I was all about any celebrity with long, shaggy brown hair (Evan & Jaron, Heath Ledger). In real life I was the queen of crushes, I had so many that I started a "newsletter" about my friends & me and who we were all crushing on.

Well, how's that for a trip down memory lane. I hope you'll play along, it's so fun to revisit a time in my life awkwardness and crushes reigned supreme.

A Smile from Ear to Ear

This is the direction I'm headed in.

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I have today off of work, I'm going in to make some pies but after lunch Jus and I are heading to Indianapolis to see Pearl Jam! Pearl Jam is Jus's fave and he's never gotten to see them so I got him some tickets as a surprise.

Every weekend I start to feel more wedding stress and usually Jus is the best stress buster, but we haven't gotten to spend much time together this week so I can't wait to have the entire weekend to enjoy Jus.

I hope you have a lovely weekend. I have felt so much love & support from your comments this week and I feel so blessed to have such amazing followers! And I can't believe how many new followers I got this week. You guys rock and I hope you know how much I appreciate each and every one of you.

Have a fabulous weekend lovebugs! Are you looking forward to anything special this weekend?

Roundup: Good Things to Hear

I struggled a bit to come up with a topic for this week's roundup. I've been trying to not have roundups be totally based in consuming so I tossed some ideas around with Jus (his suggestions were guitars, socks, & gangs) and came up with this one. Hopefully you like this little roundup as much as I do. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves since I'm not sure I can surmise them better.

Don't forget, you can always request/suggest topics for roundups!

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I love you like a fat kid loves cake from Rar Rar Press $2.50

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Fortune Cookie Fortune on Our Fridge

via

Home Love from Spread the Love $32.00

via

With You Life is in All Caps Card from Pop + Shorty $3.50

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You are All I Need from Roll & Tumble Press $15.00

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Loving you from Dear Colleen $29.00

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I know a beautiful girl that needs this

La Dolce Vita from Banter Banner $10.00

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BFF's Forever from The Stables $10.00

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From Jus

I Love You Even More

Happy Friday!

As super excited as I am for it to finally be the weekend I'm sad to see this week end. I have been loving all of the wisdom, comments and lovely new blog friends I've gotten through my love stories series this week.

If you missed any of the series be sure to check them out:

Camilla & Damir from Champagne Bubbles

Kassi & Dan from BacWoods Fern

Danielle & Chris from Dinosaur Toes

Charity & Nick (my parents)

Melanie & Ryan from You are My Fave

Brittan & Andy from Little Owl Arts

Lauren & Craig from The Little Things We Do

Olivia & Tyler from Everyday Musings.

Stop back by at 10 for Jus's take on the questions and 3 for mine, you didn't think we'd miss out on all the fun, did you?

Have a great weekend, Happy Valentine's Day, go to Goodwill for their 50% off day Saturday, enjoy the Olympics* & give some love for me.

AND be sure to stop back by Monday because I'm loving this series too much to stop the fun now!

I LOVE YOU OODLES!

* I can't believe I haven't told you how much I love the Olympics yet. I really really really LOVE the Olympics, when they are on my family doesn't watch anything else and I've been known to stay up until they start airing live coverage.

Reminders!

I just wanted to remind you all to sign up for the giveaway, you have until Midnight tomorrow to do so.

Also, if you're interested in receiving one more Valentine, email me with your mailing information and I'll send one your way.

Happy Friday

Happy Friday everyone.

I thought I'd leave you with these lovelies from Habit, if you haven't checked habit out yet head over. Molly, Emily and their friends post images that capture some true and perfect sentiments.

from the boys' window..foggy day...perfect for staying home and drinking hot chocolate

snow!  just a little, but it was enough.

i chose red with large white spots.  fatty decided on yellow and white.  the girls smiled, asked politely and got their colors swirled.  i knew they would charm him.

the day was surprisingly productive. most of the time I would guess that wearing pajamas until 2pm would make for quite the opposite.

I hope your weekend treats you well.

See you Monday.

Take a break

Yesterday was a little hectic for me. We're meeting with wedding photographers today so last night we started talking about budgets and in typical Cole fashion I started freaking out.

So I took a break from freaking out and decided to wrap some Christmas presents.

But then my back started to hurt.
So I took a break from wrapping presents to check out Weddingbee.
While I was browsing there I found this post about Sandol Stoddard Warburg's book I Like You and it was so lovely that I wanted to share this darling book with you.

I Like You by Sandol Stoddard Warburg
I like you,
And I know why.


I like you because
When I tell you something special,
You know it’s special,
And you remember it
A long, long time.

You say,
Remember when you told me
Something special?

And both of us remember.

When I think something is important,
You think it’s important too.

We have good ideas.

When I say something funny,
You laugh.
I think I’m funny and
You think I’m funny too.

You know how to be silly.
That’s why I like you.
Boy are you ever silly.
I never met anybody sillier than me til I met you.

I like you because
You know when it’s time to stop being silly.

Maybe day after tomorrow.
Maybe never.

And I like you because
If we go away together,
And if we are in Grand Central Station,
And if I get lost,
Then you are the one that is yelling for me.

And I like you because
When I am feeling sad,
You don’t always cheer me up right away.
Sometimes it is better to be sad.
You can’t stand the others being so googly and gaggly every single minute.
You want to think about things.
It takes time.

I like you because if I am mad at you,
Then you are mad at me too.
It’s awful when the other person isn’t.
They are so nice and hoo-hoo and you could just about punch them in the nose.

If you find two four-leaf clovers,
You give me one.
If I find four,
I give you two.
If we only find three,
We keep on looking.
Sometimes we have good luck,
And sometimes we don’t.

I like you because
I don’t know why, but
Everything that happens
Is nicer with you.

I can’t remember when I didn’t like you.
It must have been lonesome then.

I like you because, because, because…
I forget why I like you,
But I do.
So many reasons.

On the Fourth of July,
I like you because
It’s the Fourth of July.
On the Fifth of July,
I like you too.
If you and I had some drums
And some horns and some horses,
If we had some hats and some
Flags and some fire engines,
We could be a HOLIDAY!
We could be a CELEBRATION!
We could be a WHOLE PARADE!
See what I mean?
Even if it was the nine hundred and ninety-ninth of July,
Even if it was August,
Even if it was way down at the bottom of November,
Even if it was no place particular in January,
I would go on choosing you,
And you would go on choosing me,
Over and over again.

That’s how it would happen every time.
I don’t know why.

I guess I don’t know why I like you, really.
Why do I like you?
I guess I just like you,
Because I like you.

This is how I like Jus, I hope you like someone like this too.

A Bit of an Obsession

Last week I spotted the lovely music of Pomplamoose over on Claremont Road and let me tell you I haven't been listening to much else since.

Here's the deal (stolen from their facebook) Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn started making music together in the summer of '08, and decided to form a band. Pomplamoose thus represents the collaborative efforts of the two aforementioned musicians. It also means grapefruit in French.

Pomplamoose makes awesome videos which you can check out on their youtube channel and Jack & Nataly are way too cute not to love, they're the type of people I wanna be friends with.

So why don't you do yourself a favor and check them out?

Agh, I just realized I've posted two versions of Single Ladies....grrrrr, I promise this isn't my favorite song.

My Love for today: Jus, because without him the outlets in the bathroom would be painted green.

My Happiness for today: The bathroom is about 80% done!

Happy Friday

I don't know about you but I am super glad it's Friday, this week has kicked my butt and I have no clue why. So I'll just leave you with some lovelies so you don't think I'm Miss Crankerpants.

Oh, love, you are a sweet thing...

via Max Wanger

Here comes my love, I suppose he'll get a kiss.

Oooo maybe if I curl up for a nap I'll wake up here

via You Are My Fave (which is definitely my new fave)

Ever since I saw the Franco Albini ottoman on The Brick House I have been hoping to walk into a thrift store and find one of these babies for $10

via The Brick House (one of my old new faves)

Needless to say I am about 95% sure that this won't go with our style, and I am about 97% sure I'll never find one in a thrift store and about 99.99% sure I will never find one for $10.

I think I've changed my mind on how to decorate the bedroom* and now I need a crewel bedspread.

via High Street Market

That's right, NEED!

The other night Jus and I watched Away We Go, which is a lovely movie with lovely music

Go ahead, take a minute or 6 to listen, it'll make you smile.

And last but not least, have an awesome Halloween weekend.

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I hope you get some treats and not tricks, and no, Edie isn't dressing up this year.

Love & Happiness

My Love for today: Jus, I am so lucky to have found someone that loves and supports me so much. Finding someone that is in it for the long haul is tough and finding someone that makes you laugh along the was is just plain lucky. I am so lucky to have this man in my life.

I'm loving Grace Potter right now. Over the summer Jus & I saw her at Rothbury and let me tell you, she kicked some serious ass. Jus loves southern rock and over the course of our relationship I've started to love it too but it is sooooooo refreshing to hear a woman belt out some awesome southern rock.

My Happiness for today: Jus brought me a cherry slurpee last night, those are just about the best.

I finished reading Waiter Rant last night, it is so nice to read another's perspective on your job, this book is also very funny and it was a super quick read.

UPS's tracking says I'm getting something lovely today and I can't wait!

The Phillies are headed to the world series again! Hooray! Hooray!