Weekending & Adulting

So as most of you may have read with my brief, yet exciting update, the hubs and I have found a HOUSE and my oh my is the process a long one. And we're just getting started. I feel like both us can breathe a little easier once the inspection is done on Tuesday. HOWEVER we have high hopes..but really feel free to pray to any higher power you pray to that we get the green light to move forward! We got to sign even more documents yesterday, but we also got to show each of our parents the house as well and they loved it just as much as we do.

After we visited the house, I went out to lunch with my my mom and sister and discussed my master decor plan for the house. Because you bet your ass I'm pinning all the house decorating things right now. My taste is kind of all over the place when it comes to each room, but I'm trying to reign it in a little bit. Here are some of my "pinspirations" if you will for some of the rooms.

Also, for all of you avid "DIYers" out there...my hat is off to all of you. I've been pinning for quite awhile now and let me tell you, I wouldn't be able to do that fancy recycled glass back splash I want in my kitchen to save my life. I'm sure I'd slice one or all of my fingers open in frustration, try a few times to get it right and when I don't I would just grab the closest bottle of wine and head to the TV to Netflix all night long. Can I just hire Property Brothers, point to my Pinterest board and they can make it happen? Please let's make this a reality.

We stopped off and got apple cider donuts from a place that makes them fresh every single day. HEAVEN. If you follow me on Instagram @Starrynght1, you saw that I had one...okay maybe two that day. Zero effs given. I didn't eat clean, I ate a round piece of delicious. Deal.

Saturday, was the big grand opening for my client's boutique where I was hired to also be a model for the fashion show. I was secretly praying that we could keep the clothes we wore, but luckily we got an awesome discount on the whole store.

You can't really see the tribal statement necklace I wore, so another photo is absolutely necessary. You better believe I bought that up.

It was a mother-daughter fashion show to showcase the versatility of the clothes and both of us had a blast! It was absolutely crazy how many people were there. She'll have to stock her whole store up after last night!

Although I ate quite badly this weekend, I didn't let up on my training. I kicked my ass with a weights/kettlebell workout on Saturday morning and ran my 7 miles I was scheduled for on Sunday. Let me tell you...NOTHING is worse than running long distances after a kettlebell workout. After I cleaned up, I did some freelance work over a cup of my fav pumpkin coffee at DD. I'm tellin' ya, I need to stock up on this @#$% before it goes out of season. I won't know what to do with myself once it does. Drink REGULAR coffee? What? No.

Weekending Done Right

 Before I get into my rant, let me just say that while I dread running in the dark, these sunsets are getting pretty darn amazing.

But okay so moving right along....with all of this potential for so many life changes coming about, it's safe to say that I find it impossible difficult to concentrate at work. You guys....Josh and I may have found the perfect home for us and I'm ECSTATIC. We're really hoping that everything turns out alright with the incoming steps i.e. the dreaded inspection. Anyone who's a seasoned HGTV girl like myself knows that you should never get TOO excited until after that's done and they say, "no, you don't have a rat infestation and this house will not collapse in a matter of days due to whatever damage." SO until then...I'll be crossing my fingers and toes and praying to every superior power out there that this house was meant to be ours and there aren't any major issues. Orrrr this...

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The house we fell in love with was actually the last of the MANY houses we looked at this weekend and my was it a sight for sore eyes. The last house was like the Ryan Reynolds out of a lineup of Toby McGuires. Flawed and just a huge disappointment. Don't you just wish that life had a fast forward button for just certain things like when you have to wait until all of the paperwork is in on your offer and the waiting period to see if said offer was accepted??? I mean seriously, I need a temp script for some anxiety meds with how I'm feeling right now!

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Shut up, T. Swift what do you know? Carrying on.

House news aside, Friday was full of amazing since a friend and I trekked up to Milwaukee to see Lorde and LORD OH LORD she did not disappoint!! Before the show started and when we thought we were right across the street from the venue, we managed to find a place called The Newsroom Pub. Of course a couple of journos like us would end up there and the drinks and food hit the spot. Not to mention our bill was a fraction of what it would cost in Chicago. Thanks Milwaukee, I'll be coming back again soon...

I still can't get over the fact that she's 17. And might I add, we almost missed the show entirely. Because um no one let us know that a million buildings in downtown Milwaukee were in fact labeled "BMO Harris" and that the venue was on the Summerfest grounds. FAIL TO THE MAX LIVE NATION! Luckily we weren't too far off and we made it to our seats with our drinks just in time.

She head bangs like a pro and it was amazing. I wish I got a snap of that. It was the best thing to witness.

I must say though, she was mighty clever to avoid unwanted photography at her show by constantly being in a cloud of smoke or having crazy strobe lights going off. I managed to get a few shots in though. If you EVER have the chance to see her live, DO IT. We were jamming out all night long.

Sunday was spent expending ALL of this adrenaline that was surging through my veins by running close to 8 miles. It was a PERFECT day for it too. Fall??? You could have fooled me! It was gorgeous outside and I maintained my pace throughout my whole run! #beastmode.

Unfortunately, my Bears didn't enter beast mode at all and fell to the Packers pretty hard...but we're not going to talk about that...luckily the hubs and I had plenty of good energy to hang onto with finding a house that we loved and did some research on the area. I also signed up for another 5k for a cause that is very dear to my heart. I've had quite a few family members who have been diagnosed with breast cancer so I'm going to run this race pretty hard. And just MAYBE place in the top three in my age group. Always good to think big right??? After this last run, I think it just might be possible!

Also, those boots I was raving about last week delivered and I'm in boot heaven. 

Weekend Getaway

This weekend was a whirlwind let me tell ya. I could definitely use like...another two days off. Like a loser, I spent Friday night at home working myself to the bone because this one right here was going to have a work-free Saturday/Sunday.

I really couldn't get all my shit together fast enough the following day. I was looking forward to quality time with the soon-to-be hubs and it turned out to be the PERFECT weekend before the wedding. Oh wait, but first let's get this golf ball-sized hail and flippin' crazy storm out of the way first...okay good...now we can enjoy the EmJo weekend starting....NOW. (Yes I obviously gave us a celebrity nickname...because if Jennifer Aniston can have one, so can I damnit...and I enjoy being obnoxious.

When we were on our way, we were already joking about the place we visited a few years back. You can read all about that little adventure here. Luckily, this resort had zero history of murders or being a gangster hideout back in the day....we're lookin' good so far!

Once we checked in, we stopped by our room and dropped off our cooler full of wine, unhealthy snacks and other bags we drove on over to the downtown Lake Geneva area where they had a bunch of cute little boutiques and restaurants. I usually spare Josh the pain and agony when it comes to shopping since I know he HATES it...but sometimes there is just no avoiding it. He was a trooper and he didn't even complain once! No stares, deep sighs, etc. I was thrilled. We also found this little guy hanging out in front of one of the stores. If that isn't one of the smartest marketing techniques, I don't know what is. We definitely went inside...

 

As we were walking along, we came across this amazing place that made their own bread and sauces. AND they were having a complimentary wine tasting. Move out of the way folks! Coming through!

 

Josh and I picked out some amazing things. I got this bread with pesto and basil..yeah it pretty much tasted like pizza. It satisfied my inner carbavore nicely.

 

 The wine tasting was in the back. We tasted three different red wines (not a fan) and a few whites (more my style). Josh and I snagged a bottle that was absolutely delicious and on the sweeter side. I highly suggest it for the upcoming spring and summer days! We will be opening this baby up when we get our marriage license!

After we walked around some more, it was time to find a place to eat dinner. We decided on Sopra, an unexpectedly pricey place...(oops didn't Yelp it first), but the food was to DIE for. Lobster wontons? Don't mind if I do. The appetizer came with three of them...they obviously wanted us to start a fight over who would get the last one...we ended up splitting it. Foodgasm.

 

Josh got the pork and I got Gnocchi with roasted chicken. I obviously didn't even want to fathom what the cal count on this dish was. It was really good, but very cheesy.

 

Since we couldn't really move much after dinner, we sat and talked for awhile. Josh then took out his wallet to pay and what in the hell did I see? The state of his wallet. This guy cracks me up. He hates letting things go so much, he's had the same wallet since childhood. His reasoning is "hey look, at least now it has an extra pocket!" -_- Just look at that sad thing...

 

After dinner we went to a local chocolate shop down the street. We got an assortment of chocolate champagne truffles, strawberry bonbons and mocha truffles. NOMS.

As you can see, I totally indulged. Zero fucks given because everything was SO delicious. We checked out on Sunday morning and got home just in time for our appointment with our realtor. We looked into four houses and we did have a couple of favorites! It'll definitely be a process though to find the perfect one for us. During our visits though, we really came across a "WTF?" property... I have no idea how a person could design a place and say to themselves, "yes, a bedroom with NO doors and odd layout will definitely attract buyers." NEXT.

Once we parted ways, I of course didn't unpack anything from this weekend because that's the worst....and got ready for my makeup trial for the wedding. I SO wish I could post before and after photos, but I definitely want to knock Josh's socks off and surprise him. I even got a "holy shit!" out of his mom and she never says stuff like that! Maybe she's just hanging around me too much. Haha. if you're in the Chicagoland area or are willing to fly out an amazing makeup person for any special event or your wedding, I highly suggest Jean Ramos. She is beyond talented if she can make my face look THAT amazing. Watch out ScarJo...if I rival you at any time...it will be my wedding day! Oh and my current wedding planning status: 

Next stop is getting the marriage license this afternoon! 

A Fling with Spring

This weekend couldn't have been better. The sun was shining and it was even warm enough to leave the clunky, winter coat behind. I even got to sleep in past 6a.m....am I dreaming? My family got together to celebrate my Dad's birthday on Friday and he let me know what song he wanted us to dance to for the Father/Daughter dance...YEP I cried like a little baby when I heard it. I'm sure the wedding day will be no different.

Saturday I took Josh's youngest sister out shopping and to get our nails done since she's not old enough to participate in the planned bachelorette festivities two weeks from now. I can't believe she turned 13 on Sunday. I remember when she was just a little one when Josh and I first started dating! Man...I feel so old.

I loved spoiling her all day because that's what older sis-in-laws should do right?! During our shopping venture, we saw a sign outside for free hugs. So hey why not? We went and got hugs by a whole bunch o' hippies. I do love the store though. They have the best jewelry from local artists, although you almost choke on all of the incense they have burning....ahem...

After we shopped til we dropped, we headed back for some dinner with Josh's mom and his cousins. We freaked out in happiness with how close the wedding is and went over some more wedding plans. By this time, we were also wondering how drunk and ridiculous everyone was getting at the bachelor party.

The following day was spent with one of my BFFs and her pup, Charlie. He has a huge issue with noisy children and strange people approaching him...two things we have in common.

Moments after this photo was taken, our loan application was also submitted to start looking at houses!!!! Because HEY I don't have enough excitement and craziness in my life! I'm telling ya, within the next few months, my life will experience so much change it's ridiculous! But a good kind of ridiculous. Josh and I found some great contenders for our first home together and we can't fricken wait to visit them!

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Next weekend is my weekend getaway with Josh and I can't fricken WAIT. He planned a weekend for us at a resort off of Lake Geneva a while back anticipating the insane amount of stress I'd be in around this time with all of the wedding planning and finding a place. He's the best. But until then...

 

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I seriously can't wait to put my years of HGTV-viewing to good use though with this house hunting business. Bring it on. I'm ready!