Color Me Happy (Again)

As I said this morning I've been wanting to do something for all of my bloggy friends. I was thinking about putting together a package exchange but then I realized that I didn't have to come up with a new idea because last year I hosted one that went wonderfully & that people loved. I know a lot of my readers weren't with me when I hosted this swap last year so hopefully it's fun & exciting to old & new readers alike!

Without further ado I introduce (again) the Color Me Happy package exchange.

About the Exchange:

The Color Me Happy exchange is all about favorite colors. (Remember, I'm the girl who named her cat Purple because that was my favorite color).

We all have a favorite color and chances are you have lots of things in your favorite color, but here's your chance to get some more! Your exchange partner will be told your favorite color and then pick 3 items in that color to send to you.

Swap Partners:

For this swap you will be paired up with one person that you will send to & receive from (the better to build a relationship, my dears).

Overseas:

If you live outside of the US you will be paired with someone from a different country. If you live within the US please make a note as to whether or not you are willing to ship outside of the US.

Requirements:

1. Don't be a flake

2. I'm not putting a monetary requirement on this exchange as I don't want anyone to not join because of financial restrictions but keep in mind that quality gifts are appreciated and make sure you would be happy to receive the gifts you send.

Dates:

Please send me an email by June 7 saying you want to participate. I will email swap partners by June 10. Please send your package by July 2.

How to Sign Up:

Complete this form and send me an email at

nicolekblehman@gmail.com

Name:

Website (blog/shop/twitter):

Email Address:

Street Address:

If you live in the US are you willing to ship overseas?

What's your favorite color?

What are your clothing sizes?

Is there anything you collect or are dying to add to your home?

Grab the Button:

Spread the love, grab the button, tell your followers & friends and lets get lots of people to sign up!

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Email me with your information or any questions/concerns! I'm so excited to be hosting another swap and hope you'll spread the word!

Blog Swap--Cailen the Lifestyle Maven

hi there!  my name is cailen, and i write over at lifestyle maven, which chronicles my quest to be effortlessly fabulous : )  i share my experiences, as well as techniques, recipes and shorts cuts for achieving fabulousity.  so, why am I here today?  cole and i decided to swap blogs for the day to give some new readers a look at “a day in the life” of a blogger.  so, without further ado, here is a day in my life…
disclaimer: this was not a typical day for me, but a very fun one!  craig, the husband-to-be’s, birthday was last week and our 1 year of engagement anniversary was sunday…so we had reason(s) to celebrate : )
a lovely april saturday
7:21am – up and at ‘em
8:48am – breakfast of yummy overnight oats (recipe {here})

9:33am – hit the road.  on our way to meet with our wedding cake baker and sample cakes!
10:54am – arrive at classic cake.  enjoy some coffees and settled in to taste some desserts.

me browsing drooling over their cake portfolio

11:02am – let the tasting begin!  i loved that the majority of their cake offerings are pound cakes – much more rich and dense than typical sponge cake.  pound cakes sampled: vanilla, marble, lemon & vanilla chocolate chip.  icings sampled: vanilla, chocolate, mocha & raspberry buttercream and also chocolate fudge.  combos selected: bottom tier – chocolate chip pound cake with fudge icing; middle tier – lemon pound cake with vanilla buttercream; top tier (anniversary cake) – marble pound cake with either chocolate buttercream or fudge…

11:57am – craig (my fiancé) needed sustenance...in the form of a turkey sandwich.  then we hopped back in the car to head over to meet with the florist.

ben franklin bridge.  hello philly!

12:32pm – arrive (very) early for our 1:30pm appointment, so we wandered around the northern liberties section of philly.  very cool up-and-coming neighborhood – organic grocers, cute eco-boutiques, community piazza with (huge) outdoor tv screen…

see the big outdoor tv?

1:21pm – time to talk flowers with beautiful blooms.

2:15pm – leave for center city philadelphia.

2:39pm – park car and wander.  (walking around the city on a gorgeous day is one of our all-time favorite things to do.)  popped by valanni, a potential rehearsal dinner spot, and then walked to the rittenhouse square area for some afternoon spirits at village whiskey.
3:51pm – enter spa and check-in for massage appointments.  60 minutes of some much-needed down time.  ahhh…
5:42pm – drive to washington square to meet mom, dad and hannah (my sis) for cocktails at chops.

6:56pm – walk over to the cooperage for dinner to celebrate craig’s bday with my family.  the food: pesto & tomato paninis dipped in beer & cheese fondue & fried calamari for appetizers.  dinners included fish & chips, 2 burgers, homestyle mac n’ cheese and a crabcake sandwich.  good homespun comfort food.  dessert?  omg.  fried oreos with vanilla bean ice cream (i’m a dessert fanatic, and these did not disappoint) and complimentary chocolate mousse (because they were out of the molten cake…)  oh yeah, and in case that wasn’t decadent enough, i ordered a s’mores coffee which was amazing.

9:28pm – roll out of the restaurant and set our sights for home.  fun (but long) day : )
11:04pm – good night all!
well, thank you for letting me stop by and share a bit about me.  i hope you’ll come visit me sometime over at lifestyle maven…and that’s where you’ll find cole today!

~Note from Cole~

A special thanks to Cailen for initiating this swap! I hope you'll all head over to her blo to see what my typical day looks like and stay tuned for my weekly roundup at 3!

You had questions, I've got answers

I had so much fun reading all of your questions from last week. Even though I spend a lot of time blabbing about Jus & my life I know that there are important things I've forgotten to fill you in on.

So without further ado...

What is your favorite thing about where you live?
I have a couple of favorite things. Living in our hometown we get to see family a lot which is wonderful. Our town is very friendly and somewhat progressive. In the last couple of years our downtown has undergone a revitalization and there are lots of cool shops & restaurants that Jus & I frequent.


What was the best part of your wedding day?
The whole week of our wedding was wonderful, I was totally overwhelmed by the love our family & friends showed by coming thousands of miles to spend our day with us.
On our wedding day, in particular I loved our first look, it was so nice to be able to see Jus alone and he was so incredibly sweet and said things to me that I'll always keep to myself. We both loved the parade from the ceremony to the reception, it felt like we were floating down the street!


What's your favorite meal of the day?
Dinner, when Jus & I started dating that was the only time we had alone together and I've continued to enjoy my time with him.


When do you think you and Jus will have kids...if you're planning on having kids-so I guess the question is, do you plan on having kiddies? And if so, when?
We are planning to have kids, if we're so blessed. But we're planning for on waiting a while. We've been saying about 5 years for about 3 years now so I'm not entirely sure when we'll be ready but we're definitely going to make sure the Behemoth is finished first.


Did you decide on a name for your Event/Wedding planning business?
Not yet. I've been trying to think of a name but have been stumped, I'm open to suggestions if you have an idea.


What is your favourite room thus far in the Behemoth?
We spend most of our time in our bedroom right now and I really like it, but my favorites are probably the living room & the powder room.


Is Jus's name short for Justin?
Yes, and Cole is short for Nicole. Everyone that is close to us calls us Jus & Cole and that's what we refer to each other as, as well.


What is your favourite thing about having parents own a restaurant? 
I've been meaning to do a post about my parent's restaurant so I might have to delve in a little further later on. I love working for my parents, I'm very close to my mom & dad and love being able to see them  every day. I also love that I do much of the baking because I get to play around with new recipes.


Least favourite?
The toughest part is that I've grown up in the restaurant and so a ton of our regular customers know my whole life story. There are also times I feel lame cause I'm living in my hometown working at my parents restaurant when I thought I'd be living a different life.


If you could live anywhere ELSE in the world where would it be and why?
On an island. I would love to have a bar on the beach or a wooded island in the north. Or maybe Milwaukee, Jus & I really like Milwaukee.


What would you do if you won the lottery?
I'll assume I'm winning multi millions here.
First I would pay off all of our debt & our parent's debts. I would make sure Banan & Jus's brother could attend as many years of school as possible. I would make sure to save enough to be set in our later years and donate some to good charities.
I would also take Jus on an amazing vacation and buy one thing that was a total splurge (like a pair of shoes that cost $1000)


Dog, cat, or other?
We have 2 dogs (Layla & Edie) & a cat (Jack). I love the dogs the most (don't tell Jack). Growing up we had horses, potbellied pigs, a llama, goats, chickens, & emu.


0 babies or 5 babies?
0 babies, unless we adopted. I feel pretty strongly about not overpopulating the world any more than it already is so 2 is my ideal number but if we could afford to adopt more & have the time and love to share I could probably swing 5.


Do you sleep on your stomach, back or side?
Usually my side, sometimes my back.


What do you like about yourself?
Physically I like my eyes & smile. I also like that I am basically good and happy and tend to see the best in everyone.


What is the most rewarding thing about having your event business?
I love the response I get from the brides. I loved planning our wedding and hearing from brides that are totally overwhelmed makes me a little sad for them so I like to be able to help them enjoy their planning process.


What is your favorite thing to do when you're alone?
I love to go thrifting & shopping, blog hop, or read.


What is your favorite band/artist?
Grace Potter & the Nocturnals is my all time fave. Grace is pretty amazing.


What is the most embarrassing thing you've ever done?
Eek, I'm not entirely sure, I'm sort of a foot in mouth kind of gal so I do embarrassing things all the time.

If you ever have questions for me be sure to drop me an email & I'll get back to you!

Got a question?

Lately I've seen a couple of bloggers offer their readers the opportunity to ask them any question they want.  I'll admit that part of the reason I'm doing this is because I wasn't quite sure what to blog about this afternoon but the other part was because I'm interested to know that you'd like to know.

I know I spill my guts on here every day but I do have some mysteries up my sleeve...

Source: cailenascher.blogspot.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Ok, ok, maybe the second to give a toast.

So ask away, with or without your name, and I promise to answer, so long as your question isn't mean.

PS We're halfway through the week!

#OperationLayla

Good morning darlings!


I wanted to fill you in on a project that's been going around the blogosphere.


Operation Layla is a project founded to help Layla, the beautiful woman behind Wish Fulfillment Everyday.


(Now bear with me, I stole this part from the Operation Layla website)

One month after her 30th birthday, Layla was diagnosed with early stage cervical cancer (1A Adenocarcinoma). She was extraordinarily lucky that it was caught early, and had a simple surgery to remove the cancerous cells.

Layla on her wedding day

Three years later, Layla was in horrible pain that affected nearly every aspect of her life. Temporarily uninsured due to a job change, she paid out of pocket last October to go to the doctor and make sure the cancer had not returned. Thankfully, it had not. However, her doctor believes that she has pelvic adhesions and Endometriosis due to the previous surgery, but it can’t be diagnosed until an additional surgery (laparoscopy) is performed. The doctor also found out Layla has cervical stenosis, which basically means her cervix has completely shut down due to the scar tissue from the previous surgery. These issues make her miserable most of the time, making simple things like going to the bathroom and menstruation horribly painful, and sexual intercourse impossible. He stated that if she wanted to have children one day, even sperm could not pass through her cervix, and she would have to have intrauterine insemination.

The doctor wanted to schedule surgery as soon as the insurance at her new job went into effect. Her company fired her the day her insurance became valid, ten days before Christmas, plainly stating that it was because of her health issues.

Fortunately, she got on her husband’s insurance, which went into effect February 1st. As soon as she could, Layla scheduled surgery for March 22nd. Then her insurance company dropped a bomb: because she went to the doctor (even as a self-pay patient) within a three month period prior to her enrollment date, they were considering her health issues to be a pre-existing condition, and would not insure any doctor visits, medication, or surgery for 388 days.

When you are in near constant pain and can’t work, 388 days is a long time to wait. The sooner Layla can have this surgery, the sooner she can return to work (hopefully with a nicer company!) and start living her life again. Her doctor has been nice enough to work out a deal with her if she can pay as a cash patient: he decreased the amount of her surgery to $4,000, and the cost of the anesthesia to $500, with additional fees for biopsies of removed tissue to be determined.

The problem is, Layla is unemployed due to this, has used her savings to pay for living expenses and medical bills, and has been denied loans for the surgery because of her unemployment status. She does not have close family, so she can’t ask them for help. Surgery is scheduled for March 22nd, and Layla and her husband are still trying to secure a loan through several banks.

As someone that suffers from Endometrosis I can attest to how painful & sucky it is. As someone that has had trouble getting health insurance I know how sucky & frustrating it can be. When I read about Layla & watched her VOTMC rant I knew I had to do something to help.

At Christmas this year my grandparents gave everyone in our family $100 to donate to a charity/cause we thought was worthy. I held on to my money, not sure where to donate it but when I read Layla's story I knew there was no question.

Operation Layla has raised enough to cover the cost of Layla's surgery but she will have lots of tests & follow up appointments but once Layla's costs have been covered the left over money will be donated to help aid Japan.

If you're looking to donate head over to the Operation Layla site or if you're feeling hungry check out the bake sale!

The Operation Layla bake sale runs all day today, bids start at $15 and can be increased in increments of $1, you're extra lucky you'll end up with some of my homemade whoopie pies!

And be sure to stop back by this afternoon when I feature Layla & her husband, Josh, as my Real People in Love!

How to go Thrifting

Happy Saturday, loves!

I just wanted to let you know that I'm guest posting for Caroline over at Good Times Never Seem Sew Good.

I did a "how to" on thrifting that features a dress transformation that I can't wait to wear!

Head on over & check it out!

When I Grow Up

Hello lovebugs, I hope you're having an enjoyable Thursday night. (And that you're getting your vlogs ready for Vlog Friday!)

I thought I'd let you know that the beautiful Camilla from Champagne Bubbles featured me in her wonderful "When I Grow Up" series. Pop on over and see what I'm wishing for when I grow up!

Vlog Friday: When Did You First Feel Like a Grown Up?

Happy Friday and welcome to the second Vlog Friday!

This week's theme is When Did You First Feel Like a Grown Up?



I'd love for you to play along! If you do grab the button and leave a comment below so I can be sure to add your link!



Next Week's Topic:
What were you like in 8th grade?


As always be sure to check out my lovely co-creator, Kate at MarshMellow Goodness and have a happy happy weekend, lovebugs!


We Vlog Fridays, do you?
Marshmellow Goodness
Forget me (not)

The Little Things

Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours!

I've said it before and I'll say it again, you lovelies make my world so much brighter.

As we've gotten past the wedding and past the holidays one thing that has kept me going (besides the Behemoth) is getting back to regular blogging. It is so wonderful to be able to catch up on everything and to hear from you again.

Another thing I've gotten to do is catch up with my pen pal from My Teacups in Peony's penpal project. As I sat writing a card to my penpal last week I realized that I would like nothing more than to be penpals with hundreds of people. (Well maybe not hundreds, but certainly dozens!)

So here's the plan. If you want to add a little Love & Happiness to your mailbox send me an email with your address and I'll send you a note within the next week. If you'd like to add a little more Love & Happiness to your mailbox add a note to your email saying that you'd like an extra penpal (or two or three) and I'll pair you up with someone else. And don't forget to grab the button!

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My thoughts are that this will be pretty informal, low-key, and long lasting and that your heart will be happy and your mailbox full.

Vlog Fridays!

Hello again, lovebugs.

After this week's Dialect Vlog I started talking to the lovely Kate from MarshMellow Goodness and together we decided to start doing a weekly "Friday Vlog."

Every week we'll announce a topic and the following week we'll post our response.

This week's topic is "The Strangest Thing That Happened to You This Week."

So what's the strangest thing that happened to you this week?

Next Week's Topic:

What's the moment you knew you were a grown up?

If you want to start vlogging but aren't ready to try for every month stop by the Vlog of the Month Club, we'll be playing along with them as well!

If you play along be sure to leave a comment so I can link up to you! I'm super excited about Vlog Fridays and hope you are too!

We Vlog Friday, do you?

MarshMellow Goodness

Folly Life

4 Silly Questions

The adorable Annie from Wattlebird kindly featured me in her 4 silly questions series.

Be sure to hop on over to see whether I'd rather have a unicorn or the ability to fly.

Another Something New

I've been wanting to do a vlog for a while but wasn't quite sure what to do. When I saw this dialect vlog going around I took a step and decided that it would be a fun project.

The rules are pretty simple, you read through a list of words and then answer a series of questions and everyone gets to hear how your pronounce different words & sounds.

Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting Image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

-What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?

-What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?

-What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?

-What do you call gym shoes?

-What do you say to address a group of people?

-What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?

-What do you call your grandparents

-What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?

-What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?

-What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

I'd love for you to play along! I think it's so interesting to hear how everyone talks, Jus & I have different dialects even though we grew up in the same area!

If you play along please let me know and I'll add a link to your dialect vlog here!

Katie at She Likes Ruffles, He Likes Truffles

Kelly at KJPugs

Stephanie at Forget Me (not)

Ch Ch Ch Changes

I know, kind of random, but when was the last time you heard this song?

You might have noticed that I changed up the design of Adventures in Love & Happiness a little. I was craving something new and used my nonexistent coding skills to format the blog a little differently, a little cleaner.

I also made a new blog button from one of my favorite wedding pictures and would be overjoyed if you shared it.

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I've also been playing around on Pinterest and have been finding it to be incredibly addicting. If you aren't a Pinterest member sign up for an account and become as addicted to pinning down your favorites as I am!
And, don't forget, you have until Christmas to sign up for the Whole New You Package Exchange so send me an email if you'd like to participate!

A Whole New You

I've been wanting to host another package swap for a while and the other day while I was painting I came up with the perfect idea! (I'm starting to think I come up with my best ideas whilst painting!) I've had a lot of people show interest in me hosting another Color Me Happy Swap but I thought it would be fun to create a new idea, I promise to do another Color Me Happy Swap in the new year!

And thus, without further ado...

The Whole New You Package Exchange

Every year around New Years people start thinking about how to change themselves for the better, go on a diet, quit smoking, stop drinking, you know the routine. Well, I think you're lovely just the way you are and this exchange is about loving who you are and sharing what makes you you.

About the Exchange:

From now until the beginning of the year think about things that make you you. The mascara that makes your eyes pop, the music you dance around your bedroom to, the candy you snack on, the people you love, etc. You will then send 3 of these things & 1 note explaining why these things help you be you to your exchange partner.

Swap Partners:

For this swap you will be paired with one person who you will send to & recieve from. That way you really get to know the person you're sharing your intermost secrets with.

Overseas:

If you live outside of the US you will be paired with someone from a different country. If you live within the US please make a note as to wether or not you're willing to send a package outside of the US.

Requirements:

1. Don't be a flake, sadly with online package exchanges this happens too often.

2. I'm not putting a monetary requirement on this exchange as I don't want anyone to not join because of financial reasons but please keep in mind that quality gifts are appreciated and make sure that you would be happy to recieve the gifts that you send.

Dates:

Please email me by Christmas (December 25) if you'd like to participate. I will email swap partners by the end of the year (December 31) and I'll give you a little while to get rid of your New Year's hangover and ask that the packages be sent by January 31.

How to Sign Up:
Complete this form and send me an email at

nicolekboyd@gmail.com

Name:

Website (blog/shop/twitter):

Email Address:

Street Address:

If you live in the US are you willing to ship overseas?

What are 3 things that make you, you?

Grab the Button:
Grab the button, spread the love, and tell all of your followers & friends so we get lots of people to sign up!

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Email me with any questions, concerns or comments! I'm so excited to organize another swap!

Getting to Know You

Sorry I missed yesterday, darlings, We've been super busy with wedding stuff and I haven't been sleeping very well lately, and excuses, excuses, excuses.

I'm falling asleep as I write this, so I'll try to make it short and sweet, and finish the week with another getting to know you.

My favorite color is...

Purple! I named my first cat Purple.

Food is...

Popcorn, seafood (especially crabs!), macaroni & cheese!

Month is...

August (cause it's my birthday!-haha), I also love October & December

Movie is...

Almost Famous and my favorite Christmas movie is White Christmas

Book is...

Oh goodness, if I just have to pick one I pick Nicole Krauss's The History of Love

Holiday is...

Definitely Christmas. I know it's pretty commercialized but I love all of the magic and the happiness that comes with thinking of others more than yourself

TV Show is...

I watch more TV in the Winter than in the Summer but I like Project Runway, Criminal Minds & Grey's Anatomy

Season is...

Probably Fall, but I also like Summer...and Winter. I guess I like all seasons except for Spring, for some reason Spring really gets me down.

and Person is...

Jus! (haha, I know you know this but I thought it would be fun to learn who your favorite person is!)

Your turn! I can't wait to read your responses!

To Know You

Yesterday this little bloggy hit 200 followers and I can't tell you how excited that makes me! (What makes me even more excited is that I know there are more readers that registered as followers!)

While I can go on and on about how much I heart & appreciate you and host giveaways to thank you, one of the most rewarding things is getting to know you a little more. I had lots of fun reading through your answers here and here and can't wait to read your answers to today's!

Lately I've been listening to:

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals; Florence & The Machine; Bon Iver; Sigur Ros; Jack Johnson; Brett Dennen.

Honestly, I haven't found anything fabulous lately and would really like to, so if you have some suggestions I'd love to hear them!

Reading:

I stayed up way too late last night finishing The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest, I haven't decided what my next read is.

Wearing:

Dresses, I have to wear a uniform at work so when I get done I live my life in dresses.

Watching:

Not a ton of TV, we've been pretty busy lately, but I love Intervention & Criminal Minds (in addition to some trashy shows like Teen Mom and Sixteen and Pregnant)

Eating:

BLUEBERRIES! Jus & I love frozen blueberries and we go through them like crazy. And ice cream, I always try to get Jus to make a meal out of ice cream and we eat ice cream 4 or 5 times a week.

Working on:

Wedding stuff, wedding stuff, wedding stuff, and a little on our back hall.

Ok, your turn!

PS Don't forget to sign up for the giveaway!

Time for a Giveaway!

I hope you realize how much I adore you all. Seeing all of my followers and reading all of your comments makes my days so much better. I love hearing everything you have to say and the community that I have through the blogging world.

With all that you give to me every day it's about time for me to give back to you! Luckily, the wonderful Katie from Willow & Quinn has offered an item for a giveaway!

A year ago Katie left her job in social work to focus on Willow & Quinn and has made a successful business since then. Willow & Quinn is full of gorgeous jewellery and hair pins that are made from vintage pieces.

White Paisley Earrings

Pink Flower Combs

Cameo Necklace

And now, for the part you can win! Katie made these beautiful hair pins out of vintage Japanese glass that dates from the 1940s. They are attached to 2 1/2" silver pins and would look great to go out or stay home in.

There are lots of ways to enter so pick as many as you'd like and leave me a comment letting me know!

Be a follower of Adventures in Love & Happiness (1 entry)

Visit Willow & Quinn and leave a comment with your favorite piece (1 entry)

Tweet or Blog about this giveaway (1 entry)

Leave a comment with a book suggestion (1 entry)

You have until August 1 to enter and I will announce the winner August 2.

Good luck and Happy Monday!

Alphabet Walk Blog Hop

When I heard about the Alphabet Walk Blog Hop that One Sydney Road is hosting I knew I had to participate. Unfortunately, I was a little late in signing up and the letter options were Q, U & Z and since I don't see many Queens or Zoos in my daily life I thought I'd try to spot the "U"s in my day to day life.

Unread books.

I just got these books from Amazon and can't wait to dig in!

Uncut pies.

Six of the pies I made yesterday, chocolate pecan, chocolate towne, & key lime.

Unopened mail.

I LOVE getting snail mail! Especially when it's from sweet bloggers like Chantele!

Up.

The view looking up from our front door.

Umbrella.

Along with Utterly cool cheetah.

And last but not least the Ubiquitous Edie Sedgwick, who always hides under something when you tell it's time for her to go in her box.

So there are some of the "U"s around our home. Be sure to hop on over to One Sydney Road and check out everyone else's alphabet walk.

Have a happy happy weekend, darlings! We've got some wedding planning and some tricks up our sleeves, I'll be sure to fill you in on Monday!

Monday Monday

Good Morning, darlings!

I hope you had as happy of a weekend as we did, I worked hard Saturday but Saturday night & Sunday were filled with good friends, good food, lots of fun and even more laughter.

Last night I was feeling incredibly uninspired, lately I feel like I've been a little scattered and not entirely sure what to write about. I hope you'll stick the rest of the summer out, late nights and lots of fun leads to less homebodiness and thus less posts.

A few weeks ago I saw a post that Micaela had done about getting to know her readers and absolutely loved it. You all play such a happy role in my day to day life and I'd love to get to know you better.

So here goes...

My name is Nicole (come on, you had to have figured that out, no?) but everyone who is close to me (and all little kids) call me Cole (Jus thinks it suits me better anyways).

I'll be 25 the last week of August.

I work at my parent's diner as a baker & waitress and can't wait to start our own business.

I live in Northern Indiana, in the town I grew up in, with Jus, Edie, Layla, & Jack, in a three bedroom house that we bought 2 years ago.

Popcorn is my favorite snack food, perhaps except in the summer when ice cream is hard to beat.

And just for fun a picture of Edie, who's going crazy because Jus took Layla to work with him today.

Won't you play along? I'd love to hear from all of you my darlings!

Making Friends

Making friends is something that has become harder to do the older we get.

As children we're thrust into classes with other children our age, we spend at least 8 hours together, learning and playing which leads to play dates and best friends. Some of these friends you'll stay with through middle school and high school and others you don't but new friends from school and other activities will fill in the space.

You graduate high school and go off to college, where you become friends with a whole new group of people. These are people that chose to go to the same school, perhaps because of similar personalities but definitely because you want to be in the same place. You live with your college friends, making trips for late night dinners, drinking too much, and sleeping on each other's sofas.

After graduation you go your separate ways, sometimes moving to the same area, sometimes going to the same graduate school, mostly keeping in touch sporadically.

So here I am, in my middle 20s living in the town I grew up in. All of my high school friends have moved away, I've fallen out of touch with almost all of my college friends and work with a mix of college students and family.

All in all, I'm not in a great situation to make new friends. Jus has some good guy friends that have girlfriends that I can spend time with but don't necessarily connect with. Many times in the past couple of years I've found myself getting very discouraged due to the lack of women my age with similar interests in my area.

Ten months ago I started this little blog and since then I've begun to feel a part of a community. The bloggers I've come into contact with have been caring, had similar interests and are inspiring. In the time since I've started this blog I've felt happy and more comfortable with myself, I don't feel so alone and love getting to know other bloggers.

Unfortunately I don't live close to many bloggers so when it comes time to grab a girlfriend and head to see a chick flick I'm out of luck unless my little sis or BFF Beth are in town.

Last week we had a party and a couple who are friends of friends came. This couple is also engaged, interested in music, and has just moved back here (his hometown) from Nashville and purchased their first home. I've known him since I was 4, always being friendly but never really being friends. His fiance and I had the kind of silly conversation you have after drinking in which you decide to become friends. We've since hung out once at their house and they're coming over for dinner Monday.

Strangely, I feel like I'm getting ready for a date. I want to be myself but I also want to make a great impression. I know that friendships are like relationships in that you can't push anything, but I miss the days of being 6 when you can wrap your arms around someone and declare them to be your best friend after knowing them for an hour.

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I feel like as you grow older you become more reliant on your partner and family to entertain you and loose the friendship building skills that flourished when we were kids.

Have you struggled with making new friends as a grown up?

PS Have a happy weekend, lovebugs! We're headed to Chicago to celebrate Jus's brother's birthday with some deep dish pizza.

PPS Don't forget to sign up for the package exchange if you haven't yet!