HGTV Junkie

Hey, is anyone else addicted to House Hunters, My First place and Property Virgins on HGTV? I have to ask because if I find out I'm not the only one at least I'll feel a little bit better about my addiction. I can watch these shows for hours upon hours on end.

I love watching couples weigh out the pros and cons of one place over another and how much bang you can get [or not get] for your buck in the different housing markets. Location vs square footage. Attached garage vs back yard size. Granite counter tops in the kitchen vs an extra vanity in the master bath. I enjoy seeing the decor and layouts of different condos, town homes, row homes, duplexes, detached homes, and bungalows.

It's interesting to see what that couple with the $150,000 budget in Texas has to choose from. I gasp in dismay at the couple in San Francisco that decides to buy the tiny 980 square foot condo 2 bedroom/one bathroom and no parking space for $415,000. Then in the next episode, I drool over the 2,200 square foot home with the vaulted ceilings, huge back yard and finished basement that the couple in South Carolina managed to get below the asking price of $260,000. Every house in every housing market is unique in it's own way and there is always some advantage or disadvantage that even those with a high budget must weigh out before making a decision. It's fun trying to guess which one they pick!

Mj: We've seen this one.
Me: Maybe you have but I haven't.
Mj: You did see this one. Remember this couple got on our nerves because they were so anal and kept low balling everyone?
Me: Hmmmm...I don't know.
Mj: They are not going to like the busy street in the back yard.......Remember?
Me: Oh, yeah now it's coming back to me a little but I can't remember which one they pick.

[I continue watching]

This happens over and over! I don't think my interest is just because we are currently in the throes of the home buying process ourselves. It crossed my mind that I am finally getting to do what I've been watching on HGTV for months, but I have always loved looking at houses. I love looking at the different exteriors and architecture if I am driving through a neighborhood. I always want to check out the model homes just for fun if I happen to see the sign twirler on the corner pointing them out. I have always had dreams of owning a home that actually looked like a model home down to perfectly coordinated decor, stately furniture, and pristine lack of clutter.

Uh, how did I not know you could watch episodes online? I can only hope they keep cranking these out because I'm afraid I may be running out of new ones to watch! Oh, and of course I entered to win the HGTV dream house in New Mexico. I entered just about every day for two months. The odds of winning are slim to none and I'd have to sell the darn house anyways if I won it but I can't resist a good contest entry.

McDonald's #2 With Sprite

In my old college days McDonald's was a staple in my weekly diet. That, Domino's Pizza, and Cup O Noodles. A couple years into College and some freshman 15 pounds later it was still one of my favorite's although I would normally limit it to weekends. At some point I stopped eating fast food french fries and hamburgers altogether save for the random few and far between times I might end up having it as a fourth meal with some friends after a night of being out. Nowadays the only thing I order from fast food restaurants is their salads. My diet totally changed to the point where I simply could not bring myself to do it. I went through a phase where I sort of gave up food altogether let alone fast food!

But yesterday Mj had a rare craving for it and since for years and years I've been talking about doing it I decided to join the fun. I used to order a Sprite but I got a Diet Coke this time around. I used to super size it but McDonald's has long since done away with that offering only Medium and Large so I went with the Medium. In the old days they didn't put the calorie info on the package and this time around I was too excited to be eating it to even take a look at it. I mean, I can always look it up online later and c'mon, if I ordered a hamburger and french fries how likely is it that I am concerned about calories and fat at this point anyways? Was it everything I dreamed it would be? YES! It was pretty yummy and it kind of felt good to be THAT bad and THAT indulgent for once. McDonald's after all is sort of the poster child for everything that is wrong with the American diet today and there I was eating it with vigor.

What I was surprised to find is that while enjoyable not only did the meal not really fill me up but that I was actually starving just a couple hours later as if I had eaten nothing at all. Mj had the same problem too. I don't remember that part. Granted, it was my only full meal for the day but still! $6.00 and 980 calories later....why am I still hungry? So, there I am having exceeded my calories and fat content for the day and yet I am hungrier then ever. I ate an apple and some string cheese as a snack but still went to bed hungry.

This morning I felt a little disgusted with myself. I mean, did I really have to go and do that? Nope, I didn't but I think it's a good thing I did.

• #1 I know that I am not missing out on all that much. Sure it was delicious but I really enjoy my healthier choice meals too and feel much better about myself after eating them and usually a lot more fulfilled.
• #2 it is another sign that I am doing well food wise. I used to have lists upon lists of foods that I absolutely could not would not eat. I used to go weeks without eating any actual solid meals. To go from that to being able to order a meal from McDonald's is actually a good thing. I can still be pretty regimental about my eating habits but I can vary from the norm too and it doesn't rule me anymore.

So today I have already decided that all I want for dinner is one lovely healthy sandwich with lunch meat and cheese between Sandwich Thins bread. Natures Own makes them too, but for only $2.00 which is a better price then Orowheat. I will probably have some pretzels with it. While it may not have the the curb appeal of my #2 with Diet Coke I have a feeling I am going to be just as glad to be eating it tonight.

Time to cleanse and degrease.

A Saturday Wedding

view of the sun setting from the ceremony location

On Saturday we went to Mike's friend's wedding. It's been so so long since I've been to one so I was really looking forward to going as soon as we got the invitation. I did go back and buy The Limited pants for $39.50 with my coupon AND ended up buying a dress for the wedding. It was so cold that I could not bring myself to put on a halter although I saw plenty of halters, strapless, open toed shoes paired with no jackets and no tights all night. Nope not me! I am always cold to begin with so I found a short sleeved billowy sleeved dress at Kohl's for $24.00 earlier that day and wore black tights and black pumps. I wore a scarf, my black pea coat AND had a sweater underneath that for good measure. It didn't dip much below the 60's but that is COLD for me. This brings my total shopping expenditure for the month to $69.00 which for a nice top, pants, and a dress is not bad at all.

Kimono Dress from Kohl's $24.00

The wedding was beautiful. The ceremony was on a grassy area overlooking the ocean and the reception was just inside. They really lucked out because it had been raining all week and that morning but come ceremony time the sun was shining and although a bit chilly the weather was otherwise perfect. The bride was almost in tears (of happiness) throughout the ceremony and they looked really, really happy together. They had about 75-80 guests which is probably about what we are going to have. The centerpieces were a lovely fresh flower bouquet in a nice large square Vase. The decor was simple, the food was good and we danced the night away. It was a good group of people and everyone had a great time.

It was a good reminder to me again that I should not sweat the small stuff in my wedding planning. Guests that care about us are just going to be happy to be there with us. I will put on a great event for my guests within my budget and not worry about the rest. There simply isn't any need to stress out doing otherwise or trying to do too much. What will be remembered 6 months down the road has less to do with how their colors were incorporated into the decor and more about how much fun everyone had dancing to Michael Jackson's Thriller. Oh, and the girl who couldn't handle the open bar, dirty danced with everyone including the girls, and threw up in the bathroom....we'll remember that too but of course there is little that even the most organized of brides can do about that!!

Just A Little Shopping

I had an absolutely amazing 4 day weekend thanks to my job giving us both President's birthdays off. I had Friday and Monday off and the weather was fantastic. I was productive. I dropped my car off for repairs, met with two property management companies, and picked up some stuff for my centerpieces. I cooked, cleaned, and did laundry. I kind of felt like a super wifey having all of this time to go out and do errands, take care of the household AND feed my man. Because of those extra two days I also managed to get in some much needed relaxation. Time where I was able to just sit in the house doing not much of anything instead of running around from errand to errand and working on this and that all day long. If only 3-4 day weekends were the rule and not the exception.

As a reward for going back to work today I picked up this short sleeved Double Button Placket Shirt in white from The Limited on my lunch break. Their clothes are soooo cute but pricey so I normally don't step foot in that place unless I have a coupon. They usually have pretty great clearance deals too. Yes, I am on a budget being that the monthly amount due on our wedding venue equals my current mortgage and I'm in the middle of buying a new house. BUT, I had a coupon. That makes everything OK. The shirt was on sale for $29.70 and with my additional $15 off coupon I spent a whopping $15 and some change. I could have doubled that savings to $30 with a $100 purchase but that wasn't the plan. I went in for one single sale priced top and that's exactly what I got.

The only problem is that because of this little shopping trip I found out that ALL of their pants are on sale for $39.50 which means I might have to go back for another round of speed shopping!! This sale is huge considering they have such great fitting and quality pants that are usually so expensive that I would rather wear 10 year old pants to work then buy them. They are usually $60+. The good news is that I have another identical coupon that says it's for "a friend" and if I stick to the plan I can walk out of there spending about $28 bringing my total shopping expenditure for the month to $43 bucks!! That I can do.

It's actually quite helpful that there is just one Limited in the entire county that is only conveniently accessible from work while I am on my lunch break. I am on a tight budget but if I can reward myself with little things here and there I don't feel so deprived and I can work on filling out my wardrobe bit by bit. Everything in moderation!!

I Don't Really NEED Valentine's Day

I am not one of those people that believes that Valentine's Day is this made up commercial holiday that is forced upon us just to make money. Ok well, it kind of is, but forced is a strong word. We do and spend what we want ultimately, and if I believed that about Valentines day I would have to believe the same about a lot of other mostly meaningless holidays that we celebrate just for fun. Yeah, it's a money maker but I don't see anything wrong with having another day to show appreciation to your significant other. Yes, we can do it every day but why does it hurt to add one more in particular and call it Valentines day? I have been single on Valentine's Day and it did kind of suck, but it can only get you down if you let it, which I did. So glad those days are over.

The only reason I say I don't really need Valentine's day is because my Valentine makes me feel loved and appreciated every day and I hope he would say the same of me. We enjoy our time together doing something or nothing at all. It's not like Valentines day is our ONE day to do something together or do something nice for each other. We do that day to day anyways.

Just because I don't feel that I need Valentine's day doesn't mean I don't want to enjoy it. We don't expect anything grand or expensive from each other. I'm not going to pout if I don't get diamonds or jewelry, and I think women who do behave that way are ridiculous. There is no pressure here. More then any other holiday Valentine's to me is more about being thoughtful than anything else. In addition to beautiful flowers Mj got me these adorable customized M & M's with our names, little love notes, AND one of my favorite picture of us together on it. Yes. Our big faces on a tiny, tiny M & M. How adorable is that? Every time I look at them I can't help but giggle a little. There are three packs. We will eat two and the last one will never be opened because I want to save them forever. I got him some cuff links he's been needing, and his very own personalized foot and back massage coupon.

Today we went on a picnic at a park where you can watch the airplanes coming in for landing at the nearby airport. The east coast is getting pounded with snow but it's 80 degrees here in February so why not? It's something we do anyways on bright and sunny weekends just to get out and enjoy the scenery. We didn't necessarily need Valentines day to do it, but it was a good excuse. I lay on the blanket staring up at the totally cloudless blue sky feeling the warm sun on my skin. We drank wine and ate sandwiches. I had my beloved Extra Sharp Tillamook cheese and crackers. We talked, laughed, and just enjoyed the day. There were families out spending the day with their kids and couples out walking their dogs. All I could think is that despite how stressed and busy things have been life is good. It's blissful moments like these that make everything worthwhile. Getting up and going to work everyday, and running around like a chicken with your head cut off on weekends trying to get everything done is all for moments like this.

Nope, we don't really need Valentine's Day to say I love you but we do it anyways just because.

Don't Sweat The Small Stuff

Choices I make generally always come down to price and unfortunately my wedding is no exception. I've had to pick and choose what matters most to me focusing on those and letting the others go. For me that is venue and photographer. Our venue is a newly renovated hotel ballroom for the reception. It has a gorgeous garden area outside for the ceremony. I felt that if I could find a venue that was pretty on its own it would save me on additional decorating costs later. Generic maybe, but the price fit. It will be beautiful and also convenient for everyone especially our out of town guests to have everything in one spot. There were some amazing photographers I would have loved to have do our wedding starting at $2500 and up but I just couldn't do it. I like our photographer's portfolio and think I will end up with beautiful pictures. We are not doing engagement photos at all. I'd like to but just not sure if it's a must have considering budget. It might be fun to save that for a year we aren't spending so much on a wedding and I look forward to doing that and still being as in love as we are on our wedding day.  I stuck to a $500 or less budget on my dress and I really love it.

I will consider up lighting because we got such an awesome deal on our DJ in the first place that I might be able to fit it in. I didn't even know what it was until another blogger enlightened me-excuse the pun!   I really want chair covers because I can see just how amazingly well it transforms a room but may not because the chairs they use are actually OK. I was loving the look of tall elaborate centerpieces with fresh flowers but I am piecing together my own to cut costs. I am spending a little bit more on invitations then I thought I would because the cheap samples I got just looked....well cheap. I think I will go ahead and do the personalized table number cards and place cards because I found a decent price and feel it's one cute detail I can afford. I will forgo an additional Hors D'oeuvre at cocktail hour but may host a bit more alcohol.  I am telling myself that doing what I can is going to be A OK. It's not like my wedding is going to suck because there wasn't a fruit display in addition to the cheese or no chair covers.

Buying this house at the same time has added some extra pressure and provided some clarity on what's really important. Instead of Europe we will do Hawaii. We will have a good time wherever we go as long as we are together. Saving up money so that we can buy down our mortgage points for a more affordable monthly payment and getting our washer/dryer and refrigerator pales in comparison to having an extra dessert in addition to our wedding cake. Not that my wedding isn't important. Not that I don't want to provide a wonderful experience for our guests, but the fact that we are throwing this "party" and bringing everyone together in the first place is huge in itself. I will attend to the extras that I can but if not then so be it. The important thing and what I have always wanted is to have a beautiful event, have people that I care about there to celebrate this wonderful occasion, have a good time, and have great pictures to remember it all later.

Would I love to plan a no holds barred anything my heart desires wedding? YES!! But since that is not possible I will not sweat the small stuff. I will simply enjoy that fact that I get to do this at all and take pleasure in every moment. As far as I'm concerned the biggest thing missing from my wedding is likely to be my big sister and that's not something that even costs money. This wedding is not about the stuff it's about our love. And it's about our friends and family coming together to celebrate it.