Weekend Recap- Interview, Art Prize

Our weekend was the perfect amount of relaxation and fun. Don't you just love when that happens?

Friday night was pretty low key. We took Duke to the dog park (where he made friends!!!), I pampered myself with a bubble bath and painting my nails, and then we watched The Double which was pretty good.

I had my interview bright and early Saturday morning and I feel like it went well! I should hear back within 2 weeks so I'm crossing my fingers (and toes!) for good news :) We spent the rest of the day and night downtown- checking out some of the art that's here for Art Prize, which is a pretty awesome art competition here! We only got to see a small sampling of the art so I'm sure we'll head back downtown a couple more times before it's over. Grand Rapids is definitely a cool place to live :)

We just hung out at the house on Sunday and I cooked up a little football feast- chili, pigs in a blanket, and homemade queso to enjoy during the games. We actually watched the Tigers baseball game the majority of the day, but that's okay.

Like I said, perfect combination of fun and relaxation!

Friday Five

I can't believe how fast the weeks are flying by and that it's already the end of September! Ahh! Where does the time go?

{One} We finally got to check out our neighborhood's dog park this week and we, especially Duke, love it! We've gone everyday since Monday. We don't have a fenced in yard and this is only 3 minutes away so it's perfect. It gives me a reason to get out of the house and Duke gets his very needed exercise.

{Two} Warm weather is back and I'm loving it! I feel gypped by the summer we've had in Michigan so I'm going to hold onto this warm weather for as long as possible. I'm one of those weirdos that doesn't really like fall...

 

{Three} I hate doing dishes... HATE it. These two things {& my cleaning gloves} have saved me though. The Target brand dish packs are so easy {have you ever accidently poured too much detergent in the little square?!} and they're cheap/always on sale! The Oxo brush was my husbands request, but I've grown to love it too. We typically use it with the sponge head, but I love that they're interchangeable. I also love that it has a stand ;)

{Four} I love being back in the swing of blogging and I feel like I have a pretty good groove going on :) Now I just need to keep working at it and get this baby to grow!


{Five} My big interview for grad school is tomorrow morning. I'm nervous, excited, but mostly just anxious. I'm ready to get it over with so that I don't have to worry about it anymore and I'm ready to get the decision letter {hopefully in 2ish weeks} so that I'm no longer in this limbo. I'd appreciate any well wishes and I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

I hope you all have a great weekend :)

That One Time I Jumped Out of a Plane

Skydiving has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. Thomas and I have causally brought it up from time to time, but never acted on it. Then my brother said that he really wanted to go this summer so we figure what the hell? We found a weekend that worked for the three of us and booked a jump!

We had absolutely no idea what to expect and what little we did expect was completely off. A few days before our jump we received an email from the company with a safety video and waiver forms. We signed our lives away and thought that we'd have a mini instructional class once we got to the location before our jump. When the day arrived we drove 45 minutes away, forked over the credit cards, and waited {and waited and waited}. In the email we were warned that jumps get delayed frequently due to weather and such, but we didn't realize that we'd be sitting around in lawn chairs for hours on end waiting. Like I said, we thought we'd have some sort of class before jumping out of an airplane! Nope, so we definitely weren't prepared. If I had a do over I would've brought a book, football/games, and food!  Our "scheduled" jump was at 11:00am and we didn't get called up until close to 3:00pm. That made me a little cranky.

We were all representing The Chive that day ;)

When it was finally our turn to jump we got suited up and paired with our tandem partners. I have to say mine was pretty good looking so I didn't mind being all up in his business and strapped to his chest ;) And then it was time to hop on the plane. At this point I was just anxious and hungry.

The ride up to 12,000ft took about about 10 minutes. There were roughly 15 people jumping and I was the only girl AND the last one to jump. Eeep. When it came time to jump I was ready to go! And the free fall didn't feel like anything I expected. It didn't feel like you were on a roller coaster, you didn't get that stomach to your mouth feeling, it just felt like you were flying. It is kind of hard to explain. But it was really freaking cold. I don't know why I wore shorts... We free fell for roughly a minute and then just coasted down for another 10 minutes. Once we were coasting my ears began to really bother me, but I should've expected that because I have trouble on airplanes sometimes.

 I was too busy looking down so my partner had to pull my head back LOL

It was a lot of fun and I think everyone {who isn't deathly afraid of heights} should do it once!! My brother and Thomas were in overdrive afterwards and immediately wanted to go again LOL I'd do it again if it was at a cool location (near water, the Grand Canyon, ect) since it isn't cheap. I'm so glad we paid the extra money {$90/each!!} for a photographer/all of the pictures though and I think they were worth every penny.

Have you ever been or do you have any interest in skydiving?

 

Favorite Fall Purchases

I'm going to let you in on a little secret- I love to shop. There are times when I wish that I didn't, but it's just who I am. Growing up I spent every Sunday shopping with my Grandma and those are some of my favorite memories of my childhood.

Anywho, over the last two months I've bought a few things for the new season as well as for my next step. Whether that step is grad school or a "big girl" job I needed some new pieces seeing as my nanny attire of yoga pants and hoodies won't work. I should mention that I have absolutely no fashion sense whatsoever and that I wore lounge clothes all throughout my undergrad. Which means my closet resembles that of a teenagers. So one step shopping trip at a time I'm adding pieces that are more age and "real world" appropriate.

* Now that Fall is here I need to trade in my flip flops for boots/closed toe shoes. I picked up these riding boots and booties from Kohls when I had a bunch of Kohls cash and I love both of them! I wore the riding boots the entire time we were in Chicago and they held up pretty well. Another great find at Kohls that I forgot to put in the collage are these Candies dress pants. Seeing as I haven't bought dress pants since high school {no I'm not kidding} these feel like a million bucks!

* A couple weekends ago American Eagle had a huge sale on their jeans + 25% off so I snatch up two pairs {Skinny in Clean Rinse and Jegging in Tinted Indigo} for only $35- you can't beat that! I've always wore AE jeans and they've never failed me, plus their super stretch material is so much more comfortable than regular jeans.

* While browsing the womens/juniors section at Target these Cable Knit Cardigans caught my eye. They're bulkier/warmer than any cardigans I own and they were BOGO so I picked up Navy and Dog Bone. Another thing that caught my eye while browsing was this dress in Navy. It's a thicker material and perfect for fall! I think it looks great with the booties as well.

* When my grandparents were in town we walked around the mall to kill time while Thomas was at an appointment and I couldn't resist the Mint Blue fleece at The North Face. I think they're professional enough to wear to work and they're extremely cozy, not to mention warm! And as a tip it's extremely important to wash these by themselves, in cold water, and air dry otherwise they get pilly/loose their softness.

* During the same trip my Grandma and I stopped at Bath & Body Works to take advantage of their 2 for $22 + 20% off sale. We each got two fall scented candles and I had to have the Black Cherry Merlot hand lotion as well {it seriously smells SO GOOD!}

What have you purchased recently for the new season or what are your favorite Fall items?

Weekend Recap | Trip to Torch Lake

We spent this past weekend with our friends at their families cottage on Torch Lake. We went once last summer and couldn't wait to go back. They even let us bring Duke this time :) The lake is so beautiful and is often referred to as "Michigan's Caribbean" and I definitely agree! Here's a peak at what we did-

{ONE} While I was packing Duke was pretty stressed out thinking that we were leaving again, he's had crazy separation issues since our vacation to Gaitlinburg and the move, but little did he know he got to come with us this time. He was pretty happy on the ride up.

{TWO} A little snapshot of the lake. The weather was a lot different from the last time we visited, which was causing pretty big waves.

{THREE} And a lot of wind. Duke wasn't too sure about the water at this point. He was more interested in sniffing the bird poop... #typical

{FOUR} Duke did enjoy walking on the deck though Saturday morning when the water was completely calm.

{FIVE & SEVEN} We spent a lot of time playing games, including my favorite board game- Clue!

{SIX} Watched the Michigan State football game at Dockside, a fun restaurant right on the water. We even got a glass that says "Even Torch Lake turns Spartan Green."

{EIGHT} Saturday afternoon we made a quick trip to a local orchard store and bought some donuts, cider, and of course puppy treats! Now I'm really anxious to visit one near home.

{NINE} From the looks Duke we had a great time and were pooped come the drive home Sunday evening. His funny sleeping positions always make me laugh :)


It was a great weekend with friends from home that we don't see nearly enough anymore. Now we're looking forward to a relaxing weekend at home after two weekends away.

Weekend Trip to Chicago

For Christmas last year my grandparents gifted T and I a GoCity 1-day pass for Chicago. We've been trying to find a good time to take a weekend trip for a few months now and finally I said we needed to just go or the pass was going to expire. Now that we live on the West side of Michigan, Chicago is only a 3 hour drive. So Saturday morning we dropped Duke off at Camp Bow Wow and headed Southwest :)

We arrived in Chicago around 10:30am, parked the car (parking is SO expensive in the city! Ah!), and headed to Millennium Park where we picked up rented bicycles to ride around the city.

                

These are my Confessions...

I confess... I had every intention of being completely caught up by now and posting new content, but that just hasn't happened yet and there's only one reason why...

I've been completely sucked into Scandal on Netflix and want to finish all three seasons before season 4 premieres next week. That's right I've jumped on the Olivia Pope bandwagon. And I'm completely obsessed with her wardrobe. I need to hire a stylist ASAP, because the Lord knows how helpless I am when it comes to fashion. Why didn't anyone tell me I needed to watch this show?! I even have Thomas somewhat interested!

I also confess... that this is the first Netflix show I've completely binged on. Does that make this absence a little better? I have a feeling Gilmore Girls is next.

I confess... I've come to the realization that yoga pants and Mossimo $5 vnecks aren't going to cut it anymore. I'm no longer a nanny and unfortunately that isn't the appropriate attire anymore. So no more Lululemon purchases, picking up a new vneck every time I go to Target, or buying that baggy sweatshirt just because it looks so comfy. Someone remind me of this when I make my Christmas list.

I confess... Thomas and I took a quick weekend trip to Chicago this past weekend and had a blast! I'll share a full recap soon.. maybe even tomorrow... ;)

I confess... I have a huge interview coming up on the 27th and I'm scared out of my mind. When I'm not watching Scandal I'm prepping myself for this interview. I'm hoping that the next ten days pass quickly so that I can stop stressing about it. I'd appreciate any well wishes sent my way :)

I confess... I've been craving French Onion Soup ever since the weather started to get cooler so I decided to make some for dinner last night and it tasted like crap :( I am definitely not a chef by any means.

I confess... I'm over this whole unemployment/SAHW gig. I feel like I'm incompetent and I feel like a complete bum. I'm the type of person that thrives on a busy schedule (or any schedule for that matter) and not having anything that I "need" to do everyday drives me insane. I also hate cooking, constantly picking up after others, and feeling unproductive. Since this is the situation for now I need to make some changes for my own sanity.

I confess... I still feel a little rusty when it comes to blogging. It's a little overwhelming coming back after disappearing and then starting over again. I'm sure I'll find a groove again shortly though! Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Travel | Ludington and Sleeping Bear Dunes, MI

Right after we moved to Grand Rapids Thomas' army buddy, Ford, came to visit us in Michigan. He had visited before for our wedding, but due to all of those festivities we never got a chance to show him Michigan's beauty. So that was our goal for this trip!

He flew into Detroit, got to spend a day with our families, and then we headed west. We spent a few days in Grand Rapids, drinking and hanging out downtown with friends. We took a miserable tubing trip, where I honestly thought Ford was going to get hypothermia. Our next stop was Sleeping Bear Dunes, which was voted the most beautiful place in America a few years ago! We stopped in Ludington, MI to stretch our legs and put our feet in Lake Michigan.

Travel | Cheboygan & Mullet Lake, MI

We celebrated my 24th birthday with a weekend trip up north with Thomas' cousins, Matt and Erica. Erica's family owns a resort on the Indian River and they invited us up for the weekend. We had an awesome time exploring where Erica grew up (Cheboygan), spending a day boating out on Mullet Lake, enjoying the views of Lake Superior from her grandparent's house, and stopping in Mackinaw City for lunch before heading back home. Northern Michigan is beautiful and we haven't even been up to the UP yet!

Summer Recap #2

I'm back today recapping the rest of our fun summer adventures. Lets just jump right in-

Gaitlinburg, TN // Thomas and I took a road trip to Tennessee to celebrate our second wedding anniversary! I'll post an in depth recap all about this trip soon.

Summer Recap #1

I figured before I can start writing about what is currently going on in my life I should post some of the fun things that happened while I was away. There are a few that I'll recap more thoroughly in the near future, but for now you'll just get a little sneak peak ;)

 The hangout area... as you can see a lot of alcoholic beverages were consumed!

 Our brand new SIX person tent... Yes I convinced my husband we needed that :)

Memorial Day Camping // We spent the weekend in Lansing camping with Thomas' cousins and their friends and we had a great time! I'm a little embarrassed to admit that this was my first time camping... can you believe it?! We discovered the greatness of Battle Shots, got our butts kicked at flip cup, and banged ourselves up playing volleyball. The weather was perfect and I can't wait to go again next year!

Guess Who's Back, Back Again?

ME that's who!

But who am I? You might recognize me from my previous blog, True Love and Football or you might not even recognize me at all {which is probably more likely} but that's okay!

I didn't really mean to disappear five months ago... it just kind of happened. I lost all of my blogging mojo, I didn't know what to post about, and the name wasn't really suiting me anymore. Now don't get me wrong- I'm still all about true love and football. I just felt that the name didn't mesh with my posts, which mostly consisted of my day to day life not love or football.

So when I decided I was ready to start blogging again I knew that I wanted a fresh start {I did transfer a handful of posts from my previous blog though}. And that's where Life in the Mitten comes in- this blog will mainly focus on my day to day life in Michigan, the state that just so happens to be shaped like a mitten :)

I hope that you can forgive me and follow along here. I have a lot of tweaking and catching up in the next few days!