I’m still here…

Woops.  It’s been a while.  I’ve been really busy!  Seriously, traveling for work and fun.  But hopefully we’ll settle down for a while and just relax.  Not.  That’ll never happen.  Too many things to do and see.  :)

A couple of weeks ago we got to go see NEEDTOBREATHE and Ben Rector AGAIN on the Reckoning Tour!  We got to see them twice on the same tour!  I’m so lucky!  Soooo amazing and worth it.  I’m just going to show pictures so you can see how awesome it was.  We were in the FRONT row.  That’s right, we stood for 3 hours not including waiting in line for 3 hours.

Geez Hillary, way to make me look like a pasty ghost!  JK, she just got back from vacay in the DR!

Me and the hubs

the broseph

Ben Rector getting ready to jam

NEEDTOBREATHE

Bear

Bo

My prize from the night- Bo threw me his pic!

Lastly, a few videos from the night.

The last song they sung was Slumber, my favorite song.  This is not the whole song, just when they go acoustic. You can see when Bo throws me his pic at the end!

Another awesome jam sesh at the end.  Ben Rector joined NTB on stage.

Ooh’s and Aah’s.

Drive All Night.

that’s city livin’

I went over to my bestie’s house because it had been a while since we’d seen each other.  We ran some errands before dinner picking up supplies and looking for birthday cake Oreos.  I’ve heard everyone talk about them but I can’t find them ANYWHERE.  No such Oreo luck.  We headed to Mary and Chez’s for dinner and had homemade fish filets with coconut crusted tilapia – YUM.  After dinner we talked about the dumb abortion Oregon lawsuit, the VT court ruling and Hunger Games.  Thankfully we talked about the Hunger Games for a good while.  Basically we had a mini book club about the most awesome books ever.  I CAN NOT WAIT to see the movie!!!  Also, amazingly, Mary and Chez had 2 packs of birthday cake Oreos!  So I finally got to have some and they are amazing!

After dinner, some other peeps came over for Car bombs- you know because St Patty’s day is coming up and we had awesome weather.  See?  I’m wearing shorts.

Car bomb + mustache = awesome.

So the guy that lives under Mary and Chez was telling them how he barely hears them sometimes.  And then he said (something along these lines, I know I won’t get it right) “Well it would be ok if I did hear you because you know, that’s city livin’!”  So last night when they were getting ready to drop the shot into the Guinness, someone dropped theirs in too soon and was like shoot!  And we all died laughing because he didn’t know what to do.  So a few minutes later, Mary said “I’m just reliving it.”  But Eliz and Chez thought she said, “It’s just city livin’!”  So everytime something happened the rest of the night we would say, “that’s city livin’!”

Hope everyone has a awesome and safe St. Patty’s day!

Erin go braugh!

Win + e = wine

{via}

This past weekend we made a quick road trip up to DC.  Dorsa was hosting a wine and cheese party so we headed up for that awesomeness.  When we got there we started prepping right away.  We had a new wine but it was pretty nasty so we decided to turn it into sangria.  Dorsa and I ran to the store and this is the conversation that followed:

Erin: (We’re walking into Giant) Oh man, do we even know how to make sangria?

Dorsa: Isn’t it just sprite and wine?

Erin: I have no idea but we should probably look it up.

Dorsa: Good idea, I’ll look it up on my phone.

Erin: What did we do before we had cell phones?  We would get to the store and be like shoot, I don’t know how to make sangria.  Then we’d have to go back home and print it out…  What did people do before the internet?  They must have had to look it up in a dictionary or something… That’d be awful.

Dorsa:  A dictionary?  Seriously?  How about a cookbook…

Erin: Oh yeah, that too.

Dorsa’s friend Leija came over and we started prepping all of the food for the party, which was A LOT.  We made bacon wrapped jalapeno goat cheese poppers, chickpea guacamole, tie die sugar cookies, deviled eggs, and brie with pecans and maple syrup.

Feast your eyes.

Drooling yet?

I really didn’t get any other pictures of all of the other food that everyone else brought.  There was so much!  Check Dorsa’s wine post for more mouth watering pics.  After we ate way too much, we headed outside to the firepit.  It was about 35-40 degrees so we were all huddling close to the fire.

Dorsa and Alaina hanging out by the fire.  Can’t wait to see them again in two weekends!  We’re going to see the Hunger Games movie!

Creepers gotta creep.

Brandon and Ella.

On Sunday, Dorsa and I worked on our spring Pinterest challenge.  This is the only picture I’m going to show because I’m so mad at myself.  Haha.  In a nutshell, when I got home I hung the wreath on our fence and forgot to bring it inside.  So yesterday morning when I went outside I noticed it had rained outside and the lima beans that we had glued to the wreath were all swollen and the paint was basically dripping off.  FAIL.  And yes, I am in my PJ’s.  Don’t laugh.  I’m just glad this picture doesn’t show my ankles/feet because my pants are like 5″ too short.  Darn you short pajamas!

Actually, you should see my massive craft fail so you can laugh.  But not at me – with me.

And finally- twin pic!  We’re obviously not twins, if you haven’t figured this out yet, but we do the exact same things and think the same things all. the. time.  It’s scary.  We scare ourselves on a daily basis with how alike we are.

Tag, you’re it!

My (real life and blog) friend Ashley over at The Pollock Potluck tagged in a game of blog tag!  Ashley lives in the cutest little town with her husband, adorable son Luke and two doggies!  We actually met in college because both of our then boyfriends, now husbands were in the same fraternity.  I wish we had known each other better then because we seem so similar in our values and interests!  But better late than never!  Ashley writes about all of the funny and not-so-humorous moments of being a new mom.  Go on over to her blog and check her out!  I’ve never done anything like this before but I can’t wait to answer her questions and tag some of my blog friends!

So I am supposed to answer the 11 questions Ashley came up with and then create 11 more questions and tag several bloggers/friends!  Here we go!

1. If you had to change your name, what would you change it to and why?
Hmm, I don’t know if I would change my name.  I have always loved Erin Elizabeth (is that vain?).  I like a ton of other names but I can’t even write them out because pretending to have another name feels so weird!!

2. What website(s) consumes most of your internet time?
Eek.  I am ashamed to say Facebook and Pinterest.  I’m more ashamed about Facebook.  I check it way too often- it doesn’t help that it’s on my phone.  But I love Pinterest and I think it was one of the most brilliant ideas ever.  I’m still waiting for an Ipad app though, HINT HINT Pinterest!  Feel free to follow me!  Pinterest is especially helpful right now because I’m helping my future sister-in-law and brother plan their wedding!

{Source}

3. Is there one household chore you love to do?  How about detest?
I don’t particularly love doing any chores but I love the feeling after I do them.  I guess I love vacuuming because you can see an instant change, like the lines it makes in the carpet.  :)  Haha I need instant gratification!  I would say I detest cleaning toilets, I mean who doesn’t?

{Source}

4. Coke or Pepsi?  Diet or regular?
Well I would definitely prefer coke over pepsi and totally diet over regular but I am really trying not to drink soda.  I stopped having soda consistently in August of 2010 and have only had about 10 sodas since then (when I’m super craving them).  Before I quit drinking soda I had atleast one Diet Dr. Pepper a day.

{Source}

5. You have an entire day off to yourself- no commitments, no responsibilities.  What do you do?
Wow anything I want???  Can I use imaginary money too?  I would probably go get a massage and then a mani/pedi.  Then I would get a banana pudding milkshake from Chick-fil-a and I’d probably go shopping.  I think that’s it.  It sounds kinda lame but that’s the best I could come up with without doing the impossible like teleporting to a million places.  That would certainly make my time much more efficient.

{Source}

6. Have you ever been to Disney?
Yep, we went for 7 days in 1993.  My parents took 4 kids who were 9, 7 {me}, 5, 3.  Crazy.  {I know there is a good pic of us at Disney- in matching outfits- but I don’t have access to it.  Maybe I’ll add it later… if you’re lucky. Trust me, you’ll want to see it.}

Here are the pics!  See?  They are amazing.

Matching fanny packs and outfits!  Holla.

Tree trunk legs are hot and totally not awkward.

7. If you online shop, tell me where?  If not, what stores do you frequent to drop some dolla dolla bills?
I think I probably spend the most online at Amazon (books, music, general stuff).  Stores that I frequent the most are probably Target, TJ Maxx and Homegoods.

{Source}

8. What are your fears?
I think some of my most frequent fears are losing other family members.  My dad passed away when I was a freshman in college so I frequently think about losing other family members.  I am also very afraid of finding a dead body in a bathroom stall.

But going in a different direction, an inspirational quote from one of my favorite authors.

{I can’t find the source, sorry!}

9. If you were a famous athlete, what would you be famous for?
Probably soccer.  I think I started when I was in about 3rd grade and played every year through the end of my freshman year in college.  I have played on a couple of indoor teams since moving to Richmond and I’m about to start playing again {starting next weekend!}.  I am so excited!  {The pic below is me probably as a sophomore in high school}.

10. Right handed or left?
Right

{Source}

11. 30 years from now, what does your life look like?
I hope to have a lot of kids- few of our own and a few Haitian bebes- probably living in a big farmhouse on a bunch of land.

It’s your turn! {even if I don’t tag you, you should do it.  Come on PEEER PRESSURE!}

Dorsa @ My Running Thoughts

Marcie @ Sassy. Happy.

Ashley @ The Chic Line

Elizabeth @ E, Myself and I

Stephanie @ The Almost Runner

Alyssa @ Life of Blyss

Emily @ Jones Design Company

Now for your questions!

1. What is the #1 destination on your dream vacation list?

2. What is the most recent or best thing you’ve DIY’d?

3. What is your favorite recipe?

4. What is the most inspiring or best book that you’ve EVER read?

5. What are some of your favorite daily blog reads?

6. What is your fave quote?

7. Favorite childhood book

8. Fave nail polish brand/color

9. If you won 1 Million dollas in the lottery, what would you do with it?

10. If you could go back and change any event in your life, would you?  If so, what would you change?

11.  Favorite time of year and why.

Now go ahead and tag your friends!  Answer my 11 questions and tag your own blogging buddies and ask them 11 questions!  Can’t wait to see what you come up with!

You can call me ‘World Traveler Extraordinaire’…

So I had a moment of realization a few nights ago…  We started off February in Haiti, midway through we went to New Jersey and this past weekend we were in Nashville!  We’re crazy!!!  We do travel a lot but it’s fun.

Anyway, back to Nashville… this will probably be in several posts because I have a ton of pictures and things to talk about.

First is how I found out I was going to Nashville.  I didn’t know I was even going until 2 weeks ago.  It was Brandon’s valentines gift to me, well really to us.  You should know that I gave him a book.  BECAUSE he told me we weren’t supposed to spend a lot of money on gifts so I was following the rules!  But it was a good book, he loved it and now I’m reading it so I guess my gift was a gift for us as well.  HA.  This is the book I got him, by the way.  It’s called Crazy Love by Francis Chan.  It is the most inspirational and thought provoking book I’ve ever read, other than the Bible.  I just kind of set the bar high there.  I like it so much that I just bought 4 more copies to give to people, so watch out, you may get one . :)

Nashville- gift- here it goes.  I knew I was in trouble when I saw a stack of about 8-10 envelopes in Brandon’s pocket.  He’s so darn creative when it comes to gift giving.  I mean seriously, I really have to work hard to keep up.  I apologized when I saw the stack and said “You win and you’re opening up my gift first because I know mine won’t be as good.”  He reassured me that that wasn’t true (yeah right) and proceeded to open up my gift.  Surprise!  It was Crazy Love.  You already knew that.  He was like, “Cool! I don’t even know who this author is or anything about this book!”  And I was like, “Me either!  but it looked good and it was the word love in it so it’s Valentinesy.”

So then he pulled out the stack of envelopes (and filmed me while I opened them up) and handed them to me one by one.  But before I could read what each envelope said, he would show the camera first, you know, to add suspense…  Here are all the envelopes together.

Seriously, how creative is that?  And how could I possibly compete with that?  I don’t think I can.  Good thing I’m realizing this so early on into our marriage.  It’ll save me a lot of angst over doing really super awesome gifts.  I mean I’ll still try to be creative and awesome but I know that I just can’t compare with the level of creative awesomeness Brandon has going on in his head.  Boomtown.

Ok, so I opened up envelope 1 which was “We are…”

…flying on an airplane!  I think this is when I guessed Nashville.  We hadn’t even really talked seriously about Nashville.  He knew I always wanted to go and knew it was on my 101 list but this was a total surprise to me.  Well anyway, at this point I didn’t even know if we were for sure going to Nashville so I continued on to “Going to see…”

NEEDTOBREATHE!?!?!  I think I flipped out.  No, I definitely did.  I have ALWAYS wanted to see them and really missed an awesome chance when they were performing with Taylor Swift this past year.  I am SO DUMB.  Back to flipping out…  I was so excited and immediately thought that I should put their music on so I could refine my lyrical knowledge, you know just so I wouldn’t look like a fool at the concert when everyone else around me was singing every word to their songs perfectly.  I couldn’t even imagine what were in all of the other envelopes but I had to find out so I opened “Where you’ll see a lot of these…”

Cowboy/girl hats, steak and honky tonks!  Haha.  If that doesn’t excite you, I don’t know what will.  He then handed me the next envelope which I read “You’ll get to SEE some of these…”  He said, “Read it again.”  So I read, “You’ll get to see some of these?”  And he said “again…” and finally I read “You’ll GET some of these!  OH!!!”  I opened it up and….

Cowgirl boots!  I have ALWAYS wanted some!  Then I opened “And do these…”

Ryman Auditorium!  Country Music Hall of Fame!!  Grand Ole Opry!!!  WOAHH!!!

Next up was “You’ll sit here…”

Our seats at the Ryman and the Grand Ole Opry!  We were soooo close at the Ryman AND GOO (that’s what I’ll call the Grand Ole Opry from now on…).

And finally, “Details.”

I know Brandon spent so long planning this trip!  I mean, come on, 4 pages of things to do and see!  We sure covered a lot of ground in Nashville.  Check back to see details from our trip.

But in the meantime, watch the actual video of me opening up the envelope.  Its quite hilarious.

Opening up the envelopes!

Stay tuned for the trip!