GRATEFUL!

I am extremely grateful that I have a beautiful new house! :) Closing went great last Friday and we even got the keys early, the sellers are wonderful and so fanastic to work with! It is such a blessed time, crazy time, but so fun to be a homeowner! So here is what I am grateful for:





Josh...if it wasn't for him I wouldn't have been able to afford such a wonderful house by myself. I am so happy to share this new experience with him.







Griffin!! He absolutely adores the house, he runs in and outside and around all the rooms. He is still trying to manage the wood floors, but luckily is able to manage them when it comes to bed time..hmm.

My parents and Josh's ( I don't have a picture of them digitally!)...my parents have helped us move, my mom lined every drawer in my kitchen (never something I would do) she has taken days off work to just help empty boxes, bought us all new bathroom ware! My dad has given us blinds, paintings and restoring our dining room table. Josh's mom bought us an awesome housewarming gift of a new flatscreen! Yes, I will finally be able to see the scores! :)

I am grateful for very many things in life and over the past week with things at work and the house I realized I need to really count my blessings! :)

Laundry Room

Never thought I would blog about my laundry room but here goes nothing.

We have a laundry room in the basement where the sellers are leaving their 2 year old washer and dryer (SCORE!). The rest of the room is currently just used as storage but Josh is turning this large open area into his 'man cave' with storage for our yes count 'em 5 pairs of skis and 4 bikes. (I account for 1 of each!) We have a laundry chute which is right outside our bedroom and bathroom which goes right into the laundry room and there is a little inlet on the side so when I saw this little extra space Josh was so kind to give up some of his 'man cave' space for a proper laundry room.

I have been searching and searching trying to figure out what I want for this look nook area. I have searched the internet over and over and I found some great pictures, but none of them depict exactly what I am looking for. So guess what I did? I sketched something up. Anyone that knows me well I am sure is going to laugh at this chicken scratch of a drawing, but hey I have the perfect image in my mind! :)

Here are some pictures of what I like in the laundry rooms:

I really like this little unit- I want a rod which can hold drying clothes, a folding table and a spring board iron. I don't need to have closed cabinets or drawers so I like the lower shelving unit below to hold baskets, detergent,etc

I like this option for around the laundry unit- however less ceiling to floor shelves. I am tall and I really don't want to be placing baskets, etc on bottom shelves.
Last, but certainly not least a spring board ironing board. I can tell you why I don't iron right now- I HATE taking out the ironing board and setting it up for 5 minutes of use. This little baby will solve all my problems! Now spring board ironing boards are actually pretty expensive - around $200 dollars- so we are going to design our own. I figure a business major and engineering major can figure something out?!

Now to the awesome picture you have all been waiting for, my own drawing. Now please don't compliment me too much on the level of detail. I spent a good 5 minutes of work time on this. Look at that beauty- obviously W and D stand for washer and dryer. There are Josh's shirts hanging up on the rod above the folding table. I couple of shelves above the units for extra stuff and below the folding table.

Josh has seen this sketch and is ready for the challenge! This will probably be a winter project, but I will update with how it all comes along :)

Open Shelving

Back in college I lived in a beautiful castle which was built almost 100 years ago. The artitecture was amazing from the spiral staircase to our inside baloncy. There were rooms we called 'vanity row' that had these awesome built ins for each room- which comprised of the closet, a vanity with shelving and cabinets. So when I saw our house had the same features I was incredibly excited because it reminded me of my beloved Sorority.

After the ohh and aww wears off, I got to thinking what am I going to put in these open shelves and cases? I love what the current owners have in there now- dishwear! I have never been a tidy person....but here's to trying. I saw this post from The Newlywed Diaries on open shelving units. While I am not in love with any of the pictures of these open shelves I was inspired by some of these pictures I found.

Our shelving is white, our linen curtains are white (I will have a fun filled post about curtains...), the walls are a wheat color and the crown molding is white. So I thought these plates could be a nice pop of color to the room. Now, I definitely don't like going too crazy with color, but we found some very inexpensive plates to add that punch. We choose:

So once we have everything set up I will take pictures of the final project, but the idea that I have in mind for this open shelving seems like a good plan! :)

Refocusing

I am torn..... I have been trying to decide how to focus my blog. Maybe on the new house/decorating, my training, life, I just don't know at this point. I am going to try to start chronically purchases for the house/ design features Josh and I are doing and go from there! Hope all will enjoy!

First up, the dinning room. In our current apartment, have a 2 top bistro table. Nothing fancy, Josh's dad had it in his basement and offered it to us. Honestly, we use it for special meals, birthdays, but mostly it sits and collects dust. We really sit in the family room and eat dinner there- who doesn't!? Well, our new house has a huge dining room, biggest room in the house. See below:



So we knew we needed an investment piece of furniture. We decided with all new furniture we have to buy we want to spend under $1,000 dollars. Kind of a tough task when we need to buy
1. Dining room set
2. Patio furniture
3. TV [currently use the big box set!]
4. TV stand
5. Coffee table for living room

The first thing I did was go onto Craigslist. I have HEARD horror stories, but I feel I am a pretty good shopper and my dad planned on going with me to places since Josh was in Colorado Springs still. So first one I find, 2 year old pottery barn 7 piece for $250 dollars. Amazing piece, set up the showing, go to the house, they sold it that morning...womp womp!

Lesson learned! If you like it go right away. So I kept plugging away and saw an add for a $300 dollar antique 7 piece. From all the pictures it looked brand new so I called and emailed the woman. She said someone was coming to look at it at 1:00pm the next day so I told her we would be there at noon. {gotta be cut throat!} Show up and wow it is the most amazing dining room set ever. It is from Belgium, and the table top used to be an old Abbey door that has been redone. The woman who was selling it went through a bad divorce and was just wanting it gone, original price spent on the table over $2,500 dollars! WOW! After some VERY heavy lifting, I mean very heavy we got it down to store at my parents house while we wait to move. The chairs are all hand made and there are no screws at all- it is all made from wooden dowels. I don't have the picture
of the table anymore, but will post one soon!

Brings Me To You

I may have missed the memo on Joshua Radin, but believe me I have read it loud and clear. I recently grabbed a CD of his at work and I am ADDICTED. [One of the benefits of working with music we have it all, good and bad]

My absolute favorite song is with one of my favorite female singers- Erin McCarley. Her solo stuff is fantastic I have seen her twice and she never disappoints. Check out this song and I doubt you'll be disappointed!

Goals, Goals, Goals

At the beginning of the year my dear friend Monica told me how her and her husband set daily, weekly, monthly and yearly goals then compare to see if they are on the same page and to move forward as a couple.

Recently, Josh and I have decided to revisit these goals we set and wow how things change in 6 months! While we definitely have hit many of our day to day goals- aka laugh together, give a hug and kiss every night, pray, compliment someone. I have come very close to each of these goals daily- even though I don't see Josh daily so I will say a virtual hug and kiss will have to do.

I set my monthly goals to go to church at the minimum of once a month- which I have done and exceeded some months! Also I said I would work out about 3/4 days a week- which I have done. And I also said I would study 6 hours a week for the gmat and I haven't even looked at the books. Oops- That is why they are goals. This last goal will probably have to be tabled for the future, life has taken a hockey stick turn upward on the career path. So, I plan on waiting this out to see how I feel in 6 months, year, etc.

My yearly goals I said I wanted over $10k in my house savings account directly for the down payment. By taking on Stella & Dot I will be able to achieve this goal, which makes me so excited to think about my own backyard, front porch with a swing, and SPACE! I also said I will climb a 14ner- which I will complete this goal in about 2 weeks. I have been a hiking machine this past weekend I went up to 12,500 feet and Berthoud Pass. Which if you know me at all this is actually the location that Griffin was lost- it was VERY bittersweet to go up there. He was off leash while we hiked the 3 hours but not sure if I still trust him yet! {Picture of Berthoud Pass, imagine without as much snow! }

Overall, my goals are staying true and I am really holding up to them. It is a really good feeling!

It's been awhile!

Yikes.....I have been absentee lately. I have been SO busy! Insanely busy, every night of the week I have something going on with work then the weekends are time for Josh and I.

Quick recap on one of the most important decisions I have made! I decided to become an Independent Rep/Stylist for a company called Stella & Dot. My dear friend Mattye had always posted links on facebook about it so I thought I would check it out and I feel in love with the jewelry! So I decided to sign up and control my fate. I have always been very motivated and I like to have something to attain- I want to know that if I work hard I will be rewarded financially, Stella & Dot can give me that. I can work as much or as little as I want and the more I work the more I am rewarded. I have only done 2 parties so far, but I have already made great money, I have beautiful jewelry and I have 6+ parties scheduled for the coming months. It truly is a blessing. I told myself all my money I make will go to savings for when I get a house!

I will keep everyone updated on how it continues to go! :)

Light Years Away

I think it is pretty obvious how much I enjoy music. I work with music every single day- I am blessed enough work with the music labels. Here is a great singer/songwriter that I really enjoy. Just listen to the song, her voice, it's beautiful- MoZella is the singer the song is "Light Years Away".
The lyrics are so spot on- I love it.

It's almost like you had it planned
It's like you smiled and shook my hand and said
"Hey, I'm about to screw you over, big time"
And what was I supposed to do?
I was stuck in between you and a hard place
We won't talk about the hard place

But I don't blame you anymore
That's too much pain to store
It left me half dead
Inside my head
And boy, looking back I see
I'm not the girl I used to be
When I lost my mind
It saved my life

It's how you wanted it to be
It's like you played a joke on me
And I lost a friend
In the end
And I think that I cried for days
But now that seems light years away
And I'm never going back
To who I was

Cause I don't blame you anymore
That's too much pain to store
It left me half dead
Inside my head
And boy, looking back I see
I'm not the girl I used to be
When I lost my mind
It saved my life

I think that I cried for days
But now that seems light years away
And I'm never going back
To who I was

Cause I don't blame you anymore
That's too much pain to store
It left me half dead
Inside my head
And boy, looking back I see
I'm not the girl I used to be
When I lost my mind
It saved my life

That life seems like light years away
Light years away
And that life seems like light years away
Light years away

People who can write these kind of lyrics deserve to make money and play the music they love so much. So enjoy the song!

Furry Scurry!!

What is the Furry Scurry might you ask, well it is a 5k run in Wash Park for the Dumb Friends League. The best part? Griffin gets to run with us! :)

I have been running/training for the past couple weeks getting ready, it's be a little difficult [I have been focusing on running faster because I will be running with my gazelle boyfriend]. The Dumb Friends League is a animal shelter here in Denver and it helps homeless dogs find homes. How could I say no to such a wonderful cause?

We are running with our friends, Liz & Tim, and their chocolate lab Nestle who is also 2. Then we'll do brunch, get some good schwag for our pups and enjoy a beautiful Saturday. I am so excited!!

Taking time to listen

Sometimes I wonder why certain people are in my life. Do you ever think about that?

I think about it in terms of- did God put them in my life for a brief moment to just impact me for this period or did God put this person in my life to show me what I should strive to be or strive not to be. Because overall, I truly believe everyone in your life should teach you something- good or bad.

Just after hanging out with my closest friends this past week made me really long for true friendship closer to me. I have amazing friends in many many states including Colorado; however, I wonder if some are worth the time. If I continue to call and I never get a call back- is it really worth it? Shouldn't I just focus my time on the people who put the effort in that I do? And when friendships fall apart whose fault is it really?

In high school I had a best friend, we were practically sisters we were so close. We played basketball year round together, in the summer when we weren't at sports camps we would spend the night at each others houses. Then one day something awful happened. This person completely betrayed my trust. I was blindsided and lost all of my friends. It was an awful time in my life, but I don't think I would be as strong as I am now if it wouldn't have happened. Last year, I saw a friendship add for this girl on facebook. At first I wasn't sure what to do, because I vowed never to befriend her again, even after pleads, notes, etc from her over the years. I decided to accept the request and over the past year we have began to talk again. We went to dinner 6 months ago and quickly I was reminded why we were so close before. She is now married, owns her own company, etc- funny how things change so much. Then she did something she never did before- she face to face with me apologized. I had never gotten that from her in the past because I never gave her a chance. All she could get me to listen to before were notes and phone messages. It was really powerful after all the years of my anger of not wanting to listen to her apologies and excuses I could have listened..... Earlier this month we went to Taylor Swift [and amazing concert might I add!!] She reminded me that I took her to her first concert as a birthday present when we were 13! It was a great time.

This story really hits me because I wonder if certain friendships that are ripped apart or falling apart right now will come back together. Will either side realize they were wrong and apologize? And when the time comes, will the people really listen to each other? I suppose only time will tell....

5 years....

Do you ever think back in time and think about how different your life is or how different it could have been?

I think about this because this week is Josh and I's 5 year anniversary. I often wonder, what if...

What if I hadn't joined SK, would we still have met and started dating?
We met at a dinner exchange because our 2 houses were paired together. We became friends, but I use that term loosely. You know when there are those times when you talk to a guy and all you can think is "oh no he can see right through me, he knows I like him"-- that is how I felt around Josh. So I didn't talk to him too much in fear he would know I liked him. Silly, I know, but I was 18 what do you expect!?
I often tell myself that yes, we still would have met maybe not freshman year, but I feel like we still would have met. And I know I still would have had the same butterflies in my stomach when I first met him even if it was a year or 2 later.

What if I hadn't put myself out there and instead stayed back and kept my feelings inside?
After getting over my fear 'aka insecurity' I started talking to him more. We began hanging out and- sure enough -I didn't know but he liked me too. After a few months of friendship we began dating. I think God gave me the strength to truly show him my personality. When you first meet someone I feel you don't necessarily show your true self, but I mustered courage and confidence to be myself. I am grateful that I was able to do that, even though, I am sure Josh knew what kind of person I was even if I was shy at first.

Overall, I truly think God puts us in situations to make the most of things. He put someone so amazing in front of me and allowed me to do the rest. It is the same in the rest of life- God puts situations, experiences and says here make choices and do what you will. Today on Easter- I am so very thankful for my life-my boyfriend, my dog, my family, my friends, my job, etc.

Happy 5 years-- I couldn't imagine my life any other way!

Hair Do or Hair Don't?

I think I am going to do it....I think I am going to chop my hair. It is a really really difficult decision because no more then 2 months ago I was telling my boyfriend and my stylist that I want to grow my hair out as long as it can go. Now, of course, I want to chop it. I am thinking above my shoulders- which if you know me is SHORT.

The last time I had short[ish] hair was when I cut it myself when I was 5. I used those plastic scissors, put it right up to my left pony tail and snip. It was right before Christmas pictures that year, needless to say my mother was mortified. So I had a boy haircut for awhile which did not look good.

I recently have seen pictures of Sophia Bush's haircut and Lauren Conrad's hair...and I love it. It looks so cut and sophisticated. Here are some pictures:

What do you think? My friends here want me to do it, my boyfriend has no option [typical boy]. We will see....

Dear Spring, I miss you! Love, Amanda

Where is spring? We had a wonderful weekend for St. Patrick's Day- I got to wear a dress, sit outside a bar downtown and watch the parade. It really was a tease. We have gotten more snow the past 2 weeks then all winter! Ok, that may be a slight exaggeration, but really it feels like that! I cannot wait for flowers, grass, picnics, hiking, camping, rafting, etc....

These pictures make me smile thinking about the good things in the next few months!

Honey, what's for dinner?

Anyone who knows me [and my boyfriend for that matter] knows that we are not amazing cooks- in fact our idea of cooking is pasta roni, turkey burgers on the grill or my 'famous' homemade pizza aka jiffy pizza crust, sauce, turkey pepperoni and cheese! However, I have become somewhat inspired to cook. Many of my coworkers come to lunch everyday with these amazing ideas and discuss steaming cabbage to use as a tortilla-I of course ask "how do you steam cabbage?" "With a steamer duh?!" :) Additionally, my wonderful friend Monica gave me an amazing idea to plan for meals.

So we are going to TRY-keyword try- to do this. To try to avoid the every night cycle of "what do you want for dinner?", "Oh i donno".

So tonight we TRIED SOMETHING DIFFERENT! We feel like we are living life on the edge...so here is the recipe for Chicken Fajita Tostadas. Very easy, good, and filling- after 1 and a half tostadas I was stuffed. Try it out and let me know what you think. We made our own variation by adding rotel to the chicken, taco seasoning mix and it was terrific!

Enjoy :)

Google Takes the Cake!!

I thought I would post to piggy back on the last Brand Post I wrote about. A new study came out that listed Google as the most valuable and recognizable brand in the world. This is so interesting to me when you think about 10 years ago that Google was just an idea and a name for a very large number. Additionally, it simply shows how important the internet is in everyone's life. Even some people who may not have internet or computers for that matter, this was a worldwide survey.

If you scan through the list most of the brands on this list have been around for 20 plus years or more. One surprising brand on that list to me is Marlbolo, with all of the education on how harmful smoking is on your health, it surprises me that it is still in the top 10.

Brands, Brands, Brands

Once during an interview I was asked what my favorite brand is. Believe me I was definitely taken aback. I went with Nike, explaining that it has taken sports starts and a simple smashed check mark and made it into one of the top selling brands of all times. Over the past few years since the interview I think this will still be my choice, although Apple would have to be high on my list now as well. During my generation I feel as though these two brands have completely set the way for how brands have become. They are status symbols, a part of our everyday life, and even made a fruit into a high end technology system.

What brands shaped your life/generation? Fast Company outlined how some of the top brands came to be. Check them out, I think it is interesting how something like a brand can mold why or how we buy products.

Best Advice for Business

Back in 1991 David Ogilvy wrote down his best business advice for a reporter. I love learning what brillant businessmen find important. So, here is David Ogilvy’s best business advice:

1. Remember that Abraham Lincoln spoke of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. He left out the pursuit of profit.

2. Remember the old Scottish motto: “Be happy while you’re living, for you are a long time dead.”

3. If you have to reduce your company’s payroll, don’t fire your people until you have cut your compensation and the compensation of your big-shots.

4. Define your corporate culture and your principles of management in writing. Don’t delegate this to a committee. Search all the parks in all your cities. You’ll find no statues of committees.

5. Stop cutting the quality of your products in search of bigger margins. The consumer always notices — and punishes you.

6. Never spend money on advertising which does not sell.

7. Bear in mind that the consumer is not a moron. She is your wife. Do not insult her intelligence.

David Ogilvy

Charleston

November 15, 1991

The ME Generation!

What is a Millenial? It is me- we have made Google a verb, we're bloggers, facebookers, use Twitter, and know all about the latest technologies. We were the first generation to truly use AIM [wow remember those days!?]. Now that we are all entering the work force, there are multitudes of books and articles written about certain characteristics we exhibit. According to a newarticle "A Millennial's Guide to Millennial Guides" by Dan Macsai he outlines some of the biggest points to categorize a Millennial. As much as some of these points are valid, I believe there are a few additional reasons Macsai does not discuss.

1. "If you don't tell us you love us, we might break up with you."
Macsai states that since we grew up in a time of Mr. Rogers telling us I love you that we feel like in the work place we must feel love and approval. I do agree with this; however, I don't think this is unique to just Millenials. I don't believe it's going out on a limb by saying that everyone appreciates a few words of encouragement every once in awhile. In addition to encouragement and approval, we also appreciate [at least I do] constructive criticism.

2. "Because, let's be honest, we're pretty fabulous."
The article states that 'Generation Me' is focused on themselves over others and are fully self absorbed. Thus, in the work place when these Millenials get criticized they become 'whiney and uncooperative'. I think about half of this scenario is actually correct. Yes, we are an egotistical generation. We have grown up with AIM profiles about ourselves, Facebook profile all discussing ourselves and to see how many 'friends' we can have, we have Twitter accounts, Myspace, the list goes on and on. I believe the world in general has become more self involved by creating these pages about ourselves for everyone to see. So, of course we are fabulous and if you would like to you can become my friend.

3. "Sorry, can you repeat that? We were updating our Facebook status."
This section is the most right on out of the whole article. Of course we are Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, and all the other social networks in between obsessed. We are somewhat self absorbed so when someone writes on our wall we have to know immediately what is going on. Thus the advent of iPhones and Blackberries which simply feeds into our obsession of social networks. Next topic...

4. "Oh, you did NOT just call us 'obnoxious.' MOMMMM!!!"
Recently there was a book that stated that us Millennials are not reasonably mature for the real world. There is a 'story', I use that loosely, about an employee who brought their father in for their performance review. Really? I know I may be a bit naive, but I could not think of one person I know who would do that. So what if we were a little sheltered or coddled in our childhood days, but this does not mean we will bring our parents in to talk to our bosses. Millennials reading this please do not ruin this for the rest of us.

5. "Well, glad that's settled. Wanna grab a drink?"

Companies need to keep Millennials interested by bringing work and play together. My current job has alcohol every Friday- from beer to margaritas, it definitely keeps us youngin's interested. It is an extra perk to have fun coworkers who will go to happy hour or better yet if you bring the alcohol to the office!

Your social reputation

Saying that you can control your reputation is almost like an oxymoron. However, now that social media like Facebook, Twitter and even Blogger are at every one's fingertips people can post whatever they want about companies. What it comes down to is how a company controls their reputation and any criticism online.

Recently, Southwest Airlines had an fiasco with having a foot wide hole in their plane, but it was able to land safely. After the plane landed, passengers began sending in Tweets, Twitpics, and even YouTube. Essentially, starting to ruin their reputation as a reliable airline carrier. However, Christi Day their marketing manager began to twitter about the incident. She linked to the company's official statement, said that everyone on board would be refunded, and essentially defused what could have been feeding frenzy.

Social Media outlets have allowed companies and even celebrities take on the media and other criticizers. These medium can take the guessing came out of who said what and how things work. Southwest shows how intelligent they are as a company for stepping up to the plate and taking on the criticize. I seem them as a much reputable company now for taking a bad situation and turning it to good.

VOLLEYBALL!

It is official! Everything is set for coaching volleyball again this season and I CANNOT WAIT! Last year, was such a great experience. I always said if I had to be a teacher I would teach 8th grade...well why not coach 8th grade?! I am so lucky as well to have my friend Kim help me coach.

Ah, I cannot wait for tryouts, practice [mostly because I love to play too], and the games!!

Here goes nothing...