Wordless Wednesday-- February 27th

Happy Wednesday! xO

Five Question Friday-- February 22nd

TGIF! Happy Friday, people. I'm so happy it's the weekend so I can tackle lots of stuff on my to-do list.  Making a new chalkboard and catching up on sleep will need to get done too!

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend! xO

1. What types of board games do you play, if any?

I don't really play board games, but I like Apples to Apples and Sequence. 

2. How often do you listen to music? What do you like?

Not often. Sometimes I'll listen to Pandora while I work but I get distracted easily. When I work out I listen to music to "pump me up" but I love Christian music if I'm cleaning, etc. 

3. Are you strong?

Physically? No, LOL. When I work out I usually just do cardio and abs. It's all I have time for. Lately I've been doing arms instead of abs, but I'm a major baby. 

Emotionally? I'd like to think I'm pretty strong. 

4. Cake or pie?

Depends! I love Apple/Pumpkin pie, but that's about it since I'm not a chocolate person. 

Cake is probably better. . especially banana cake with cream cheese frosting (Ahem, can you tell I like food?)!

5. What's your favorite candy?

Swedish Fish!

Wordless Wednesday-- February 20th

Happy Wednesday! xO

Five Question Friday-- February 15th

Happy Friday! Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day and you got all the chocolate, roses, and whatever else you wanted. We didn't do too much but had a fun day. 

My dad is coming on Sunday so tomorrow I'd like to vacuum (Ahem. Our vacuum still blows) and do some reading. It's supposed to snow so I guess walking or going to the dog park is out of the question. :) 

1. What k-cups do you drink? How do you drink your coffee? (More on that back here).

Well, I'm no professional seeing as I've been drinking coffee for about a month, ha ha. Back here I talked about some of my favorites (scroll about halfway down).

I want to try the iced tea kcups come summer-- those look tasty! 

2. Where did you get the "joy, joy, joy" printable on your fridge (back here)?

lt was a free printable I downloaded but I cannot find it for the life of me! I'm sorry. If I find it I will definitely post it. 

I definitely recommend Pinterest for free printables. 

3. How well do you receive criticism?

Not well, LOL. I'm a pretty sensitive person.

4. What is your earliest memory? (Like when you were the youngest). 

Hmmm. I have a bizarre-ly good memory..Probably getting in the pool (naked) and refusing to get out. My parents would run around the edge of the pool and I would just swim away. 

5. What is the strangest thing in your fridge right now?

Nothing strange in our fridge. My freezer has 2 round ice packs from my chin surgeries and they look like the ice packs from a boob job! 

Love Day/Birthday Recap

Happy Love Day! 

I hope everyone is having a great Valentine's Day! Whether you have a Valentine or not, do something for yourself today-- love yourself and your Heavenly Father!

My birthday was last weekend but we aren't really birthday people. I mean, don't get me wrong we celebrate, but we don't make a huge deal about it. Cool, I'm 23. I can legally...what? 

As most of you know I am obsessed with all things Bath & Body Works (more about my obsession with the candles here). I grabbed this candle (okay, and a dozen other things) and I love it!

Cards are my favorite part of holidays. I usually keep my absolute favorites in a box in the office closet. 

My MIL emailed that a package was arriving and I should be on the lookout. You should have seen the look on my face when k-cups were exploding out of the box! Okay, not exploding, but you get the idea.

Ahem. We are still loving our Keurig and definitely recommend it! More on our Keurig here. 

Also not pictured are 2 additional boxes of k-cups. We are good on coffee until the new year! :)

My friend took me out for coffee and I snagged this cutie! Love it. 

Every time I walk by the fridge I get this song stuck in my head! 

I changed up our little board for Valentine's Day/Spring. Ahem, note the card from Fenway apologizing for his obnoxious behavior. (More on that back here). 

So whatever you're doing today, do something you love. Tell the ones you love that you love them! 

Wordless Wednesday-- February 13th

Clearly you can see my dad & husband's view on all things organic..

Happy Wednesday! xO

Life According To My Phone-- February 12th

Our neighbors across the way rescued a lab/hound mix and guess who starting walking him?

Yup, you guessed it. :-) At first he was horribly behaved, but he's finally learning how to walk on a leash. 

And not to mention on the first day I went to walk him, he had destroyed their entire house-- chewed a sonicare toothbrush, got into nail polish, and make up. 

After cleaning a stranger's house for 20 minutes, I decided to let the owners know..

LOL! They felt quite bad.

Every day when I get home from my jog I run to the tissue box (because it's so cold!). Cocoa jumps up (practically to my nose) to steal tissues from me. One day, I let her have them. :)

For several months I've heard great things about Nature's Miracle. It's supposed to be awesome (luckily I haven't had to use it yet). You can read more about it here. 

Got a new calendar. Read more about my calendar/planner system here.

Told you I'm obsessed with this stuff..bought another one!

One night when I was out getting groceries I noticed this bag of blueberry muffin mix near the checkout area. I quickly thought that the cashier would scan it thinking it was mine, but got busy getting my credit card out. 

Of course when I got home look what was in the bag! :)

My mom always bought me cozy socks for every holiday-- birthday, Christmas, Valentine's, etc. She would throw them in with my present and I loved it.

When she died my dad did picked up on the "sock gift" and bought me a few for Christmas and the next few holidays. I think he got embarrassed going into Bath & Body Works, Target, or Victoria's Secret because as of late. . . no socks! Oh well. :)

So now I buy myself socks for each holiday and think of my mom. The ones pictured above were my birthday socks!

On this particular day I left for a jog and immediately regretted not wearing enough layers. Luckily we have an underground "mall" near our apartment so I jogged inside. It was so scary at some stretches-- nobody around and very quiet! Did I mention I didn't have any signal so Pandora wasn't working?

My dad has a shrine to me in Florida. Love him!

My aunt's dog (Lucy, Cairn Terrier) is my favorite!

2013 Goals Update

So here we are-- beginning/middle of February. How is everyone doing with their 2013 goals/resolutions? 

You can read more about my 2013 goals here.

Reading

Last year I read 12 books (1/month). And while that's nothing compared to some bookworms I know, it was all I could dedicate myself to.

This year, I'm determined to do the same (one book a month) but my new requirement is this--the books must be thought provoking. One month I read Fifty Shades of Grey and I hated it. Some of my favorites? The Kite Runner, Running with Scissors, and A Stolen Life were ones I would definitely recommend.

So far for 2013 I have: The Last Lecture, The Well-Lived Laugh,  Sergeant Rex, Two Kisses for Maddy, & UnMarketing. As far as the rest of the year? I'm stumped! Please leave some comments with some suggestions.

You can read more about how I'm doing on my reading here. 

My husband is not a reader by any means, but he has promised he would read 6 books with me in 2013. Trust me, if you knew him, this is huge. The only catch is that they have to be books on finance. He said I could squeeze one in on marriage so I might. Totally fine with me. Two we're looking at are Complete Financial Guide for Young Couples and Smart Couples Finish Rich.

Right now my husband & I are reading Managing your Money (All in one) for Dummies. 

My MIL and I are going to read through the Bible in a year. I'm so excited accomplish reading thewhole Bible and accomplish it with such a wonderful woman! This isn't what we're doing but you can check out this plan.

So far I'm up to date on my Bible reading. I got behind with my chin surgery, but I'm 100% caught up. 

Read my daily devotions. This was a no-brainer last year (I have used this book for the past 2 years and recommend it) so I don't think it will be tough. For Christmas I got a fancy schmancy new devotional (From my MIL, she's the bomb) and I will definitely report on how it's going!

I love reading my devotions. They are quick and to the point. This is the devotion I got for Christmas and I love it!

Finance

You can read a more in depth post about our finance goals here and here, so I'll be brief.

:: Continue our frugal journey and always remember the difference between wants and needs. (Ahem. That's not to say we don't spend money, because we do. We need to realize we are blessed as it is).

We are continuing being frugal. Naturally, we do spend money from time to time on unnecessary things, but we are staying within budget and saving lots!

:: In 2013 we definitely plan to be more aware of saving for retirement. Part of N's salary each month will go into an account + the amount that automatically deposits to his Roth IRA, so we should be better off. I would really like to find a good book on saving for retirement at a young age to read with him, any suggestions?

I was able to open a Roth IRA for myself a few weeks ago. On top of both of our IRAs we are now putting (small) deposits into a separate account for retirement. 

:: And of course we will continue to live 100% off my husband's salary while using mine just for the house fund.

One week my salary went into our account. Between my chin surgery and a few other expenses, I decided to put my salary into our account rather than the house fund. Besides that one hiccup, we are 100% living off his salary and saving mine. 

Personal

:: Someone once told me I will look back and miss the day to day life of our early marriage. Everyone captures photos of holidays and big events, but how many photos do you have of regular life? In 2013 I plan to be better about taking photos. Granted, I've only had my camera since June, so I'm still a major beginner.

I've been so good about taking day to day photos lately! We got new phones and they have great cameras, so that could be why. 

:: Another friend told me to journal while my husband was away (read more about him cominghome here). She said I would want to remember every little thing I did to keep me busy, every thought, everything I did. Not only did it keep me busy (I wrote almost a page a day. Okay, I skipped some days), but my husband loved reading it when he got home. He thought it was hilarious. So in 2013 I plan to continue writing in my journal. It brings me so much joy to look back a few weeks and read what we were doing. (Maybe one day I'll post about it).

I've been doing really well writing in my journal. I've only skipped a few days but I always write even the littlest things going on in our life!

:: This might fall under "marriage goals" but we are going to try to unplug a bit more. We areconstantly on our phones/computers/iPads 24/7. Some nights we will go to bed, not talk, and sit on our phones. That cannot be healthy. So we are promising each other to limit the electronics. I know I sound like an old lady here..judge me. I will definitely keep you posted on how this goal turns out!

This is for sure our hardest goal! Surprisingly, we've been doing so well with unplugging. Last night we played pool for an hour or so AND played cards! We literally have to take this goal day by day (sometimes hour by hour). We are improving, though!

Blogging

:: Post five times a week. After reading my site's statistics, you guys like when I post often! (Five Question Friday and Wordless Wednesday are a huge hit). My family/friends love our "daily life" posts and picture update posts so I'd love to post more of those.

I've slacked a little on the blogging but am ready to commit to it better in February!

:: Tweet more-- I love Twitter. Be sure to follow me because I'm quite chatty! :-)

Been Tweeting up a storm! @livegivesave

:: Give monthly (or any) updates on how we're doing with our goals. I'd love to start up the weekly goals again, but I don't want to set myself up for failure. We'll see, though.

Ahem, I'm here posting a goal update! 

*How are you doing with your 2013 goals/resolutions? Be sure to comment below and let me know!*

Five Question Friday-- February 7th

Happy Friday people! This week was certainly an odd week so I'm super glad it's over. :) This weekend the Museum of Natural History is having an "orchid weekend" so I think we may pop over there and see it. You can see some pictures I've taken of orchids here.

1. How do you organize your photos (digital & print ones)?

Since getting my camera I'm trying to be better about printing/editing/sharing photos. I organize my photos using iPhoto by month & year. The photos on my phone go in their own album (because they typically aren't as good quality).

My favorite album in iPhoto (not pictured) is called "Various Emailed Photos". I throw photos in here when my aunt sends me a picture of her dogs, my SIL at Prom, whatever. I don't save all of them, but I save my favorites.

I don't print individual photos and throw them into albums-- it's way too time consuming and I worry that the albums will damage the photos. However, I did print photos of our wedding. My sister got me a super nice engraved photo album that I put our favorite wedding photos in.

Anyway, I love Shutterfly albums.

I will usually make a Shutterfly album for various events (see above). These books are 8x8 and 1 is 8x11. Next time I'll make them all the same size-- 8x8. Eventually I'll have a giant stack of books. :) 

Oh, and I'm sure this is coming-- I keep them under our coffee table so people can look at them when they come over, I can peek through them, etc. 

2. How do you close a phone call?

Ha ha ha. If it's work related, it's just "Have a good day, bye" or something along those lines.

If it's my family/my husband/etc, we say "Gobble gobble". Where did that start? A few Thanksgivings ago, my aunt started saying it and it has spread ever since.

3. What is the one food that is your "cheat food"?

Hmm, I don't really have a cheat food. We do order pizza but lately it is so salty that I will just have breadsticks. LOL! Besides that I love Cinnamon Toast Crunch and it can get me into trouble sometimes.

4. Why don't you drink alcohol? (More here on #3). 

Don't really like it! Can't find anything I like that is worth the calories/weird feeling.

5. What is your most embarrassing story?

Honestly I cannot remember. I've had all the usual ones-- going out with my shirt on backwards, going out with a hole in my pants, etc. My dad has embarrassed me several times by honking the car when I was being picked up from school. Sorry, guess I don't have a very embarrassing life. :-)

January Book & February Peek

How is everyone doing with their 2013 goals? You can read more about my goals here.

One of my favorite goals was reading more. I shouldn't say more because I know I don't read enough, but 1 book a month was all I could do. Maybe later this year I'll change it to two books each month. 

Small nightstands stink for readers! Bible, devotional, The Last Lecture

For the month of February I'm reading The Last Lecture. I stole it from my dad and I think he really enjoyed it. I love books that I know my family/friends have read-- it makes the books so much more special. 

So far I thoroughly enjoy the book. It's a very quick read (I'm glad) so I should have no trouble finishing by Feb. 28th. :) 

Last month I read Two Kisses For Maddy. It was a wonderful book! It's not for everyone, though-- there was some strong language. I teared up at least 10 times.. it definitely tugs on your heart strings! 

You can read more about Two Kisses For Maddy here.

I do not have a "schedule" for my books for the rest of the year. I'm most excited about Managing Your Money For Dummies. Maybe that will be March? We'll see. :)

If you recommend any books, please comment below or email me-- elboese@yahoo.com!

Wordless Wednesday-- January 6th

Happy Wednesday, people! xO

Life According To My Phone-- February 4th

Sorry for the lack of photos in this update! We got new phones and are adjusting to uploading, etc. 

Some days I just want to go to Target by myself and spend money. Judge me. I'm sure someone out there agrees with me. 

One day a few weeks ago I came home with these $10 bright blue "jeggings". No idea why I felt I needed them, but I do wear them around the house. Oh, and they make me look 600 pounds. 

I asked my husband what he thought and he said "You don't wear those out in public, do you?". Guess not.

Almost knocked over our candlestick holders..brat. 

When I talk on the phone for work I usually walk around the house and one day I found Oreo bug like this. Really, man? 

Turns out he thought I didn't put the treats away. Ha, yeah right. 

...Asking my husband to sign birthday cards is practically asking him to donate a kidney. But I like him anyway. :) 

See the giant crack? Get the tutorial here.

A few nights after my MIL was here (More on that back here), my beloved chalkboard sign fell off the wall. I'm so glad it didn't happen when she was here because it was in the guest room. It was super loud. 

Am I bummed? A little. I knew it wouldn't last forever and it's not exactly a beautiful piece of furniture. It was fun to have and maybe one day if I have time I'll make another one. 

My dad was here and we tried a new Mexican place. I wasn't crazy about my meal, but I knew I would love their churros. :) Who wouldn't? 

Oh, and while we were there someone's chip basket caught on fire. It was too funny because it was a couple obviously on a date and my dad said "Now that is one hot date!". 

Not even 30 seconds after they extinguished (stomped out) the basket, someone dropped a margarita right behind me. Luckily it didn't completely soak me. It was quite a night. 

Yum! My first ever Starbucks cake pop!

We went to Hop's right before my dad flew home. 

..And after looking at this post I realized I look like a fatty. Whoops. I promise we don't eat like that on a regular basis. :) 

Yeah, I caved. Read more about my Diet Coke love here. 

Every time I'm at Target I see this chap stick and last weekend I finally caved..it is wonderful! Worth every penny. Hey-- Amazon has it for only $1! Nice. :)

Love that fluffy, scruffy gal.

..And I'm still obsessed with my Northface vest. Perhaps too obsessed! Thinking of getting another one. 

My husband requested this fancy dry erase board.. Right now it has little notes and a grocery list on it. He packs a lunch so I wrote "Don't forget lunch!" on it. It's so nice to not have to use post its all the time.

My husband was helping me vacuum (he actually enjoys vacuuming..weirdo) and all the dirt got stuck in it. It's been bad for a few months and I hate to say it, but I think it's time. 

Ahem. I have been eyeing this vacuum for at least 4 years. I hate to spend the $$ but we buy a new vacuum every year . . how pricey could that be? 

Freezer cooking is so nice. 

Our First Trip to DC

The other day I was thinking about when my husband & I went to DC last year (4 weeks before our wedding) to look at the apartment we committed to sight unseen. Side note: My dad had been up to see it and said he would live there, so we agreed.

It was so much fun. It was the first official trip we had taken 100% on our own-- we planned it, booked it, found hotels. . you get the idea.

We did lots of tourist things-- White House, monument, went out to eat, and did lots of walking.

We headed to DC the day after we spent 7 hours at Aquatica (Orlando water park). My husband got a lovely sunburn and was in lots of pain. Poor guy. His whole front was bright red.

Can't ya tell?

Can you see his red neck? Ha, no pun intended. 

Anyways, we were staying in Rosslyn (Small "city" outside DC-- More on that here). We walked a few blocks to hop on the metro and we were downtown in no time.

One night we went to a cute little healthy restaurant for dinner. It was so nice and I was loving every bit of it! My husband, who is not a health food nut, was not pleased. About halfway through, he started acting weird and itching himself from the sunburn. Practically in tears. Poor guy.

Ahem. Imagine a guy, sitting at a table with a woman, sticking his hands up his shirt practically in tears. 

He kept itching himself and I was getting annoyed. My husband spent all day away for work stuff and I was cramped in the hotel room while he was gone. All I wanted to do was go out when he got home. Now he wants to go back to the hotel? Ugh.

We rushed out of there because he said he had to go. He starting itching to the point of tears.

While walking back to our hotel, in the middle of the street I shouted:

Stop touching yourself!

Yup. My poor husband. God love him. :-)