Reasons I Haven't Been Writing

Excuses, excuses, blah, blah, more excuses, etc. etc.

Remember me?

Figured I would do an end of Summer/beginning of Fall round up that might explain my absense. Or not. But here it is anyways.

Since moving out, I had been seeing my sister's kids less and less. This experiment has determined that the amount of time I see those children is directly proportionate to my level of happiness. Add to the distance the fact that Ashley and Andrew spent most of July away from home and my heart was crying out for some kiddo/aunty QT.

Andrew went to Summer camp the first week in August, and to help out my sister, I kept the girls. We had a girls day as per Ashley's request--make-overs, manicures, dress-up--the whole shabang.

We spent the rest of the evening telling secrets, braiding each others hair, and kissing Justin Beiber on the cover of the Rolling Stone.



The very next week Brynnie and I jetted off for our Summer vacay to visit my cousin in Corvallis, OR and finish out the week in Portland. My cousin Kathie was a FABULOUS host and our days were full of great coffee, great wine, dipping my toes in the Pacific for the first time, farmers marketing and river rafting. It was the perfect kind of vacation... not too many specific plans but going with the daily flow and soaking it up along the way. I fell in love a little bit with Oregon and will definitely be back some day.

Vineyards, vineyards everywhere! Straight from the airport to two wineries on the way to Corvallis.



le sigh

We bought tie-dye from a man in tie-dye spandex pants--who just may be the hairiest/nicest guy I've ever met.



                                             To start off our Oregon experience we attended the Bite of Oregon festival--heaping with craft beer and local wine tastings and incredible food from Portland's top chefs. The trip tends to have a bit of a theme--FOOD. We ate and we ate and we ate.
We ate some amazing sandwiches with equally amazing names:



Exhibit A: The Reggie; fried chicken, bacon & cheddar cheese on a homemade biscuit
smothered in the best sausage gravy I've ever had... <3 Pine State Biscuit



Exhibit B: This monstrousity is known simply as DUDE, and comes from the famed "Bro-Dogs"
food cart; A sausage hotdog, heaped with onions, bacon, cheese, BBQ sauce and cream cheese.
Yes cream cheese. Go somewhere else if you want to judge.

We also had our selves a bite at the famous VooDoo Doughnut:

The magic is in the hole.

We also had a lovely dinner at Portland's best steak house, Portland Prime, where we started the evening with this divine piece of hazelnut encrusted brie with apple chutney.

Cheesy goodness. No one loves cheese more than Bryn and I.

And ended the meal in gluttonous filet mignon indulgence.
I should have just done an entire post on our food journey through the Pacific Northwest.

We literally ate (and often drank) ourselves to the bursting point everyday.

We also shopped and walked, and took a bus trip to Seattle--that we almost didn't catch the return leg for (we sprinted  1.5 miles through downtown Seattle, after chugging our brews, in flip-flops and sun dresses, arms loaded with bags to board the bus seconds before the driver!).

Brynnie and I at the top of the Space Needle after a beautiful day in Seattle.

So much more happened on our trip, and I think we both had the best time. I will never

forget our trip to Oregon and what a gorgeous place it is, with friendly people, kick-ass coffee, and young unique people with aflair and spirit all their own. I love Oregon...and now I have a T-Shirt to prove it.

After returning home from Oregon, I was in serious need of time with my nephew and nieces! So for my Jill and Jon's anniversary, I agreed to keep all three for a sleepover. We went to dinner at a local pizza place, and followed that up with some energy exertion at the park by my house. Earlier in the day I had bought foam stickers, pipe cleaners, and silly string. So when we got to the park, I set them all loose with stickered-faces, pipe cleaner crowns and their own can of silly string (Amber hated the string).



The aftermath... Amber looks like a cartoon.



They had a blast, and Ashley sweetly told me that this was the best day of her life and that she would remember it for always. We were a mess. So then we finger painted! After we were even messier, and Andrew's back was covered with bug bites because I let him go shirtless on the playground (Best Aunt Ever Award..hah) we headed home for the night. We rounded of the sleepover with the Muppets Movie and pancakes for breakfast.

So then I worked another half week and then made the 8 hour drive to the Outer Banks BY MYSELF! for the first time. My family had been there since Saturday and I got there late Tuesday night to join in the rest of the lazy-bum-beach-vacay.

This is me with my parents- Mama and Papa D. This trip for me was all about rest, relaxation and family, and I spent a lot of my time throughout the week with my parents. This night we went out to dinner, walked the dock, and drank fancy dranks.

Since returning from the beach I've been working and.... stuff.

I don't know what happened to September and I can only list about 5 noteable things that happened.

1. Playing BINGO with my mom, aunts and Grandma at a local fire hall.

2. Meeting a piglet named daisy.

3.Starting to sell Tastefully Simple products.

4. Attending a beautiful wedding.

5. Festivus-ing the day away at the Adam's family annual Fall Festivus.

And on to October!

Summer Catch-up Post

Wow. Hi there. It's been a while.

As I mentioned in my last post I just moved out! So needless to say this summer has been an even busier one than usual for me. Things are finally starting to wind down from June/July craziness, and I'm just going to do that lame thing I tend to do bloggers do when they recap entire chunks of their lives because they've been too busy/tired/lazy to write regularly. Here goes, my summer thus far in photos and choppy sentences. GO.

Emily got married! The ceremony was perfect, the day was a dream, colors were vibrant and the party was outrageously fun.



Mr. & Mrs. Harrison



P.S. Emily glowed all day :)



Brilliant colors.



Amber turned two! I can't believe it's been that long since this little fireball entered the world. She has added so much color and happiness to our lives and I can't wait to continue to watch her learn and grow.

Andrew turned 8! He was away for his actually birthday this year, so we celebrated early with a carnival party for him and a bunch of his friends. His eyes will break hearts some day--and by that I mean more than just his aunty's. He continues to make me laugh daily and his energy-without-end never ceases to remind me how exciting life is.



I cried this year. Again. Just like last year.



Ok, so Amber loving cake is not a new development. But I had to share this one from Andrew's party too. We tell her to show us her teeth to get her to smile. Oh, and she calls Andrew Doo-Doo... which makes my heart happy.

Our third annual Luau celebrated Laura's graduation this year! The day was fun, but the weather left much to be desired.

Shout out to Papa D for our awesome Tiki bar that's survived from the first Luau!

My Uncle Scott (super-hero from move in week) turns 40 in the fall, so to throw him off we had a summer surprise party!

My sister and I crafted a man bouquet for him ;)

Block of styrofoam in a glass vase, liquor bottles, cigars and lotto tickets taped to wooden kabob sticks and stuck into the styrofoam!

In other news, Ashley keeps getting prettier....

Seriously. She's 6 going on supermodel.

I got to see Dave Matthews Band this summer at an outdoor venue in Pittsburgh with a bestie Bryn and her family. We had a blast and a perfect day for music, tailgating and sunshine.



Thanks Dodi for the ticket, the ride and such a fun trip!!



We celebrated the final birthday for the year of one of us gals--Kayla.
AKA Kankfest 2012.

We created a scavenger hunt for her that I'll post more about another time, but for now I'll tell you that family reunion crashing, pirates, pony rides, alcohol and surprises were involved.

A birthday surprise perfect for Kayla <3

Then this happened.

My family spent another year supporting and fundraising for the Relay for Life. This year our team raised over $5,000! Click here to donate to my family's fundraising efforts!

Amber gets her cheesing from me apparently.

I attended the 4th Annual Studer Invitational Beer Olympics with the rest of the Gals and my sister Laura who was finally of legal age to participate this year. My two year reigning champs team--Team Potter--were finally dethrowned this year....by none other than my little sister's team. Ugh.

Second place ain't too shabby, but I'll miss team Potter next year...

Slip n Sliding may or may not have been involved.



At least we shared the Smack Talk award at the end of the day...



I FINALLY put up the gallery wall in my apartment, and so far, I'm loving it.

A shelf below yet, and maybe some sort of wrought iron scroll above and it will be perfect.

I fell down the stairs in my apartment yesterday. Like head first down the whole thing.

I'm left today with a sore tailbone and achy back and shoulders, two bruised kneecaps, bruises on my shin, thigh, foot and elbow and a shattered ego.

But the night ended at an amazing concert- The Outlaw Roadshow featuring the Counting Crows. The music was so good and it was the perfect night to be at an outside concert. Our spots on the lawn weren't bad either.

Stage AE in Pittsburgh--love, love, LOVE this venue.

We sparkle in the sun.

So that's my summer so far.

Spending today recovering and trying not to fall asleep.

Here's to hoping the rest of it is just as fun, and
doesn't involve anymore falls.

Big Changes--Big Love

So I am making a HUGE change in my life right now.

As in, moving out of my parents house.

As in to a new town.

As in alone.

Ok, so it's really only 15 minutes from my house, and in an area I've been familiar with for most of my life, but still this is a big deal for me people! I signed the lease on Monday of this week (when my mom and I spent the entire evening scrubbing the place down) and have spent the rest of my week hauling carloads to and from work.

Last night the best family a gal could ask for helped her move-in her few larger belongings. This sounds simple enough, except for the following points: A) I seriously picked the hottest day of the year so far (hello 90s), B) to move to a third floor apartment, C) with a narrow--I'm talking suck in your gut or you won't get through narrow--staircase, D) and not one bit of air-conditioning. (heh sorry guys!)

A loveseat took approximately an hour (and the removal of three banisters with mile long screws) to get up my tiny staircase. And who would have thought? Box springs don't bend! That baby had to come in through my living room window after being hoisted onto the roof next door, and walked up the wobbly staircase serving as my fire escape.

Yuck... now do you understand why they are the best? Because they are. And because they love me enough to help and sweat and work really, really hard with only beer and popsicles as payment.

I've been an emotional-stressed out-nervous wreck this week, and just thinking about all of their help is choking me up right now... You sometimes forget how loved you really are by the people around you, and I could not have been blessed with a better support system and loving family.

Thank yous:

Jill- For never being afraid to get your hands dirty and for all your support <3

Jon- For letting me load my junk into your truck and all the heavy lifting

Daddy- For being my fix-it superman and for moving me in... with a HERNIA.

Uncle Jerry- For letting me use your truck and for finding the humor in the situation

Uncle Scott- This man get's the MVM (most valuable mover) Award. He single handedly carried my box springs over his head up a set of shaky wooden stairs and through my window. He also got on the wrong end of the loveseat dilemna--as in he headed up before it and got stuck doing all the pulling and banister manipulation himself.

Mommy- For feeding my moving crew, for keeping Jill & Jon's kiddos so they could come help, for cleaning the majority of my apartment, for coming on countless shopping trips and hearing me ramble about all of my great (and some not so great) ideas for how I want to decorate, and for hugging me last night when I came home and cried at the sight of my empty bedroom.

I love you all.

Here are a few pics of the empty apartment, pre-move-in! I can't wait to decorate it, fill it up, and make it my own little home :)



Extra counter/dinette space in my kitchen



The entryway into my living room from the kitchen.

Living room with big new windows :)

Bedroom with small old windows...

Diva Dance Birthday Party!

Ever wonder how to through the perfect Diva Dance party for a little girl??
So did I. And after searching high and low, with only a handful of inspiring ideas, we decided to go it on our own. Here's how the party turned out!

I have introduced her in the past, but this is my niece Ashley.

She is fun, sassy, smart and beautiful (as if you couldn't see that for yourself...).

Well, this year our little diva turned 6, and I just knew we had to have a

spectacular party for her and her friends.

So when I mentioned a Dance theme, and Ashley's eyes twinkled--we had found our party inspiration. The fun started with these adorable invites we created.



Ashley got to pick some of her favorite songs that we burnt onto CD's for
her friends. Her party playlist included songs by Alvin & the Chipmunks, The Jackson 5,
Justin Beiber (duh), Selena Gomez and The Black-Eyed Peas. I created the CD labels with the basic Averytemplate in microsoft word, and then emailed them to a local copy shop. Little labels on the back read "Here are some of Ashley's favorite songs
to keep you dancing until party time!" with a
list of the songs on the CD.

In true diva fashion, we had a photo-shoot for her "album cover."



Here are some of the special touches we added to give Ash and her friends the chance to party like a rockstar: My sisters (one being Ashley's mama), made this perfect guitar cake out of tiny, bite-size cupcakes! And even the ice cream cones were diva-licious.

Seriously? Could this be any cuter?? The bite-size cupcakes were wonderful for the girls too and
reduced the chances of 12 half eaten cupcakes...



Sugar cones and a scoop of ice cream, rolled in silver sprinkles? Hello-microphones! Ice Cream fit for a group of rockstars!



I made this Diva bunting by using scrapbook paper in different colors and
textures that matched the party theme (Silver glitter, hot pink, purple, black & zebra)

Each girl got their own VIP tag with their name on it when they arrived at the party!

I decorated the table using the really thick meshed ribbon they sell around Christmas, a spool of hot pink ribbon, and disco ball silver Christmas ornaments (can I get an amen for post-season sales?)



The rest of the house was decorated to fit theme too!



The girls decorated T-shirts and danced the day away...



Please take a second look at our diva's outfit for the day...? AND all of her friends' outfits also. And tell me when 6 year olds started dressing better then I do??

We also sprayed a pink stripe in all of the girls hair, gave them temporary tatoos, and played a few dancing games. Here's the party planning committee:

Even little Amber took part in the dancing fun :)



The day was long, the girls were crazy, and by the end we were all exhausted... but Ashley and all of her friends had such a great time and were adorable in all of their sugar-enduced party excitement :)