My Thoughts on Vanderpump Rules Season 4 Finale

My Vanderpump Rules binge watching has come to an end. I tried to spread them out a bit more but I just couldn't do it, and I am now going to have to suffer through the long wait for season 5. Is there a season 5??

 

Except for the reunion, saving that for this weekend.

 

In honour of my new obsession and Friday, I thought I would share my thoughts on the season 4 finale. 

 

 

1) Kristen is a shit show. BUT from what I saw, she didn't actually cause any drama at Scheana's reception until James became a drunken ass and she hit him in the parking lot. In my opinion James caused the drama. And deserved the punch.

 

But Kristen is a crazy psycho shit show. I would be terrified if I were Tom Sandoval.

 



 

2) Ahhh Tom Sandoval... I totally think he slept with that chick in Miami. But he and Ariana seem really happy and she doesn't care if it happened or not. It was cute when he asked her to move in with him but he kind of seems like a serial cheater.



3) Stassi is a freak. I originally started watching right before she found out that Jax and Kristen had slept together and I felt sorry for her... then I watched all the seasons (before and after) and that chick is an entitled beotch. She annoys me.



4) Jax is a douche and doesn't deserve a gif.

5) Katie and Tom Schwartz are my favourites. I think I'm supposed to dislike Schwartz because he was a cheating loser but once he was busted and they went to therapy he seems like he really does want to be better. Except for the whole ring on a string thing... that was a bad move. I don't blame Katie for giving him the 6 month deadline but I hope so damn much that he gets his shit together in time. But he does need to do two things: never wear the 'tie' he wore to Scheana's wedding again, and stop calling Katie 'Bubby' - ugh.



And that's about all I have for you.

I hope your Friday is as sunny as mine, time to start the countdown to the weekend! 

  

Oh and I need Lisa's wine glass.

 



  All gifs via giphy
Cheers to Friday!
  Friday Parties:  

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Oh Hey Friday: Project 365

In addition to the health, fitness and personal growth resolutions I have every year, I added something new to the mix this year - a 365 Day Picture Project (also know as Project 365).  Take a picture every day for one year.  I have a couple reasons for doing this... I like to think I am creative and it would be so cool to make an album next January with the photos that literally document my life in 2014 (although they will mostly be of Milo and food) plus as I said here, I wish I could take better photos and am hoping this will help me learn my camera.  

Now I just need to starting using my DSLR instead of my iPhone...
 

Small steps. I have 356 days to work on it.

 

Here is my first week of Project 365:
 

Sunday: Milo after a face plant in the snow - love his expression!
 

Monday: the most delicious homemade pizza yet, recipe here
 

Tuesday: morning snuggles with Jinx wrapped up in our quilt

 

 

Wednesday: some of the last Christmas lights in the city

 



Thursday: this guy curled up between us, not feeling too well :(

I think my weekend pictures are my favourite but I also think I need to put more effort in.  Have any of you done a Project 365?  Did you have a plan or just take random photos during the day?

Cheers to Friday!

  Friday Parties:  

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Friday Five: My Christmas Wish List

I finally sat down last night and thought about what I actually need want for Christmas... and now that I know what I want the true test will be to see if I am patient enough to wait 3 weeks for presents!

 

Headphones

 

Ear buds hurt my ears so I want some of those over the ear ones that have a cushion and look comfy. And maybe they even keep in the sound a bit better? Or cancel out outside noise? Whatever all I want is for my ears not to hurt.  And these are purple.

I don't actually need THESE headphones (I don't use them that much and can think of better things to spend $200 on) but I just want something comfy for when I do.

 

 

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Electric blanket
 
Snuggled up in bed is one of my favourite places to be and the only thing that could make it better is a cozy heated blanket. And this one has snowflakes, adorable.


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 Birch Box

I used to get the Loose Button subscription but with only 4 boxes a year and not every one being all that awesome, I want to try something different.  I hear awesome things about Birchbox and even though there is a Canadian version now the shipping is expensive. Lucky for me we live close to the US border and I have an awesome stepdad who heads down there a couple times a month allowing us to take advantage of US shipping! 



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Melon baller

 

Not sure what I will do with a melon baller but I want one anyway. And this one has sizes!


 



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Infinity Bracelet

I have literally been asking for this bracelet for 3 years. My husband has something against buying jewelry but no issue gifting electronics, sports gear (our first Christmas together he gave me a fishing rod and tackle box) or clothes... As long as I picked them out. He really does great when I want electronics or some other fitness type thing but when I want jewelry it's a no go. But I have faith I will wear him down one day so I keep asking.




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 Linking up with all these lovely ladies:

   

     

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While Hubby's Away...

I travel a lot more than my husband.  I used to travel a lot more for work and still have a couple overnighters throughout the year plus I go away with friends/family a couple of times.  My husband rarely travels without me but he has done one weekend trip a year for the last 3-4 years.  One.  Why is this important?  Because it’s the only time I get the house to myself for an extended period of time.  I get so excited because as much I love my husband, a couple of days to myself is heaven on earth. 

I do feel slightly guilty because I don’t hide my excitement and he knows I am looking forward to the time alone but who doesn’t?  If he traveled a lot it would be a different story – I miss him tons when I am away – but he doesn’t so I am going to thoroughly enjoy and take advantage of my alone time.

What do I have planned for this weekend?  Not a whole lot actually because I don’t really want to leave the house – I save that for weekends we're both home ;)

1. Wine. This is a given and has a presence every weekend but I have been looking forward to it all week… plus one of my hubby’s clients gave him a bottle of wine and he suggested I drink it tonight this weekend.  Done!

2. Pitch Perfect.  On repeat.  And the songs on three, four or five ‘peat with me singing along. And Bridesmaids… and all the cheesy girly shows I have saved up on the DVR.

P.S. - can’t wait for May!!

3. Naps.  Not that I don’t occasionally nap on the weekends but I feel way less guilty about it if no one knows when and how often.

4. Decorating for Christmas.  We agreed to decorate for the weekend of December 6-7th but we didn’t specify if that was inside, outside or both.  So I’m going with outside and plan to start getting festive inside (how could I not with all the instagramming and blog posts throwing it in my face) right after I spend my lunch break at Target.  I already have a couple things hiding in my car from yesterday’s break #sorrynotsorry.

5. DIY project.  I got this mini bench seat at a garage sale a couple months ago and want to paint it, recover the seat - basically give it a lot of TLC - and find a basket that fits underneath.  I'll probably also visit my stepdad to give it a structural upgrade.  Its home is beside our front door and we currently have a bunch of shoes piled on the bottom shelf… definitely need a basket.  Our living room colours are mainly greens and dark brown so am trying to figure out what colour will work best (a dark gray?) and then I will raid my mom’s fabric collection for a coordinating piece to cover the top with.  Fingers crossed my vision translates to real life!



What else should I get up to this weekend?

 

Linking up  with Karli and Amy, and Leslie from A Blonde Ambition, plus the original 5 on Friday ladies: Darci, Christina, Natasha and Liz.

 

 



 

 

 

 

Friday Love and #Blogtober14

You should see the happy dance in my pants right now (sorry it just worked)... I have been up at 4:50am yesterday and today and while it's totally worth it, I am counting down the hours until I crawl into bed tonight knowing that I can sleep until whenever I want tomorrow.  Which means that I'll be wide awake at 6am. Le sigh.

Today's #Blogtober14 prompt:

 

 

1.  Give me butterfly joy! Every time I get a comment I get so giddy.  If I could survive off comments alone I would in a heartbeat.

2.  Introduce me to people with LCHAD... I have had messages from two people now who have kids with LCHAD and they are doing really well.  It's great to find other people in the world when previously we didn't know anyone else dealing with it. You can read our story here.

 

3.   Get free clothes! When I was contacted by a company and asked to pick an outfit for a review I had to pinch myself. I get free clothes just for giving my opinion? Works for me!

4.   Consume me... I constantly think about blog posts and photos I need to take, this little space means so much to me that I want to out so much effort in. It's hard at this point in my life because I am juggling so many things right now but it's worth it (see numbers 1-2 above).

 

5.   Swap buttons... when I started this blog I never imagined that someone would want to swap buttons and advertise their blog on mine, more butterflies!  Speaking of, if anyone else would like to swap please click here.  I have met some awesome women already, check out my sidebar!

 

 

Happy Friday Friends!  Throw on your happy pants and bust out a dance... or a cocktail... or both! 

I am also linking up  with Karli and Amy, and Leslie from A Blonde Ambition, plus the original 5 on Friday ladies are back and I would love to win the sweet giveaway they have to celebrate their return.  Fingers crossed Darci, Christina, Natasha and Liz!

 

 



 

 

 

 

#Blogtober14: One Thing I Can't Live Without AND a Friday Happy Dance

Ok before I get into my #Blogtober14 post of the day I have to tell you guys about something that happened this morning that was SO EXCITING!!  Seriously, I’m still on cloud 9(999999…)…

I got a notification on twitter and saw this:

 

 

And I was like huh?  (side note: I’m not all that great of a tweeter and if you follow me than you have likely noticed that all my tweets come from Instagram… but that’s kind of cool because you see photos right?)… so I clicked on the link and Amanda had included one of my posts in a list of her favourite posts from the past two weeks!  How cool is that??  Coming from this little blogger right here, pretty dang cool.  Insert an immediate happy dance!!  Thank you for making my day Amanda!

 

So I’m only 3 posts into #Blogtober14 and this one is so. freaking. hard.  Nice work Helene and Taylor, really making us work for it.  One thing I can’t live without?  I thought about asking my husband but I knew immediately what his answer would be so there was no need.  And I immediately had the same answer.  And I was totally kind of ashamed.  So to help reduce my shame I am breaking the rules and listing five.  Oh and I’m not including people, pets, etc. 

 

 

1.  The one thing that I definitely could not live without…  at this point in my life… and I desperately hope this changes but I don’t think it’s going to… is my phone.  Ugh.  How gross is that?  But alas, it’s true, and if I’m not on my phone I am on my iPad.  I need a life.

 

2.  The second thing that instantly came to mind (thankfully) were my wedding and engagement rings.  I have literally turned around and drove home to get them one morning that I forgot to put them on.  I hate leaving the house without them because of what they symbolize for me and my husband (apologies for the cheese).

 

3.   I can legitimately not function without lip balm.  And actually, I am now so addicted that Aquaphor is pretty much the only thing that gives me relief.  I have to limit how often I use it because I don’t think there is anything else that would work.  And I always put it on before I use a coloured gloss.  It’s a legit #firstworldproblem.

 

4.   I need my car. I might hate driving but I have a lot of places I need to be and I’m all for public transit but we don’t have a good public transit system.  I looked into taking the bus to work and it would take 1.5 hours of transit time each way – 3+ hours of travel time five days a week??  He!! no!  Plus I just need to be able to go where I want when I want to, immediate gratification and all that.

 

5.   Last but not least, I am going with my morning protein shake.  This is because I am too lazy to eat breakfast and I just wouldn’t if I didn’t have a shake.  And then I would eat like crap for the rest of the day because I would be starving and shove anything and everything into my face.  Seriously, that’s what I did before I discovered protein shakes. 

I am also linking up  with Karli and Amy, and Leslie from A Blonde Ambition!

 



 

 

Oh Hey Friday | Regroup. Refocus.

I am so relieved that today Friday.  Not just the normal ‘Yay! It’s Friday and I have a whole weekend of fun ahead of me’ but I need a mental break.  My weekdays are so jam-packed and I need to figure out a better way to survive function.   

In addition to working 8.5 hours a day with a  1-1.5 hour commute Monday through Friday, I have taken on a side gig that can really only be done during the week, after my other job.  So now three days a week I get up at the crack of dawn – actually it was still dark this week – so I can leave my day job by 3:30-4:00pm to do some side work.  And then I have to go home and make dinner, clean up, spend time with my hubby, crawl into bed… and then I try to blog.  I love this little space of mine.  I can’t remember the last time I felt so freaking excited as I do when I get a comment on a post or an email about my blog.  It makes me feel so so so good.  And right now I want to put so much energy into my blog but I am so exhausted and I feel like I’m doing the opposite and it’s actually suffering.  I have posts I want to write but have simply been too exhausted this week.

You may ask why I have taken on this side gig when it’s kind of wreaking havoc right now… well it’s an opportunity that was presented to me by a woman I truly admire, the closest thing I have to a mentor.  I jumped at the chance to work with her, to learn from her and I am determined to do what I have to in order to succeed.

I need to regroup. I need to focus.

And as a result, more Friday randomness coming your way…

1 | I want to try meditating
I need to clear my mind. I know what's important to me, I know what I want to do, I know what I need to do, but I feel like I need to shut everything out and empty my head. Relax. Breathe, really breathe. And then I can make a plan, map everything out and make it work for me and my family. 

I hear Oprah and Deepak’s 21 Day Meditation Experience works really well… have any of you tried it?

But let's be honest here - this is probably how it will actually go for me:

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2 | Blog love = SEO
My blog needs some serious SEO TLC. As in I'm basically not doing any. Thankfully I have been working with Kristyn from Chits and Giggles and she has found some great resources for me. I am actually really excited to work on this stuff and hopefully get some more exposure.

3 |Sales Plan
My new gig is all sales. I have never done sales so it's a steep learning curve for me. I need to strategize better, make a plan for say, a month at a time. I feel reactive and to be more in control I need to be proactive. If anyone has any sales tips or advice on cold calling, please send them my way!

4 |Coconut Oil
My skin is so awful right now! I am breaking out like I did in high school! And my rosacea is at an all-time high. So when I saw this posted on Instagram yesterday I took note... I haven’t been living under a rock so I have heard of all the benefits of coconut oil. I figure there is no harm in trying it on my face so wish me luck! I will keep you posted.


5 | SOA Season Premiere
Hubby and I wanted to re-watch the last few episodes of season 6 so we knew what was going on and we finished the last one last night. So tonight we are watching the premiere and I. am. so. excited. We are getting butter chicken from our favorite place, wine obviously, pjs and snuggling on the couch.

Oh and Jax. 



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Linking up with Karli and Amy, and Leslie from A Blonde Ambition!

 

 

Oh Hey Friday: Stalking and Swapping

Happy Friday!  So did anyone else feel really off this week?  Normally I love a short week and love how fast another weekend comes around but this week I was extremely sluggish. I had to drag myself out of bed and no outfits worked (and of course I hadn't planned the night before)... I'm telling ya, it was a rough one.  But Friday has arrived and that means wine is in my very near future!  Oh and it's supposed to be gorgeous outside both days so I should probably take advantage of that.

Seeing as I was a tad loopy this week I am freestyling today so get ready for a bunch of random.  

1 |  New Connections

We got some exciting news last week that resulted in me writing about my hubby's rare condition called LCHAD... if you're new to the party check out this post.  And then a couple days ago I got a message from a mom whose young son (and possibly her daughter) has LCHAD and she started a blog about it.  This is the first non-medical person I have connected with who knows what LCHAD is and I have this blog and the blogging community to thank for that.  Pretty cool.



 2 |  Currently Loving to Hate my iPhone

My phone keeps spazzing out and decides not to send or receive text messages, and kicks me out all my apps and offline  so basically my phone is just a phone.  As in all I could do on it was talk.  Like back in 1996.  My current contract is up in January and I am hoping to switch to the hubby's carrier and get some sort of family plan so if I don't have to drop $200 on another iPhone 4S I will be very happy.  I am turning into such a frequent visitor at the Genius Bar that I'm going to be a permanent guest on the VIP door list.  If only they actually served alcohol...




They do not look this happy when I'm there! (source)

3 |  New Front Door

We got a new front door.  This is exciting because we had the house's original single-pane door from like the 1930s and you could feel a frigid draft wafting in during cold weather. What's not exciting is the fact that the old door and all the garbage is still sitting on the front porch.  Oh and we don't have a doorknob... but we have a deadbolt.  The husband will be finishing it all up this weekend.  And then we just have to replace the roof, paint all the trim, powerwash the siding... #smallsteps.

 




4 |  Neighbourhood Stalking  

Yup, I did.  I totally spied on our neighbours.  But not in an exciting way.  K and I were walking the dogs and we saw that one of the neighbours is painting their house purple!! How awesome is that??  I was so excited, it's the perfect shade of dark purple, but the house is surrounded by hedges.  So I handed my leash to K and snuck up their walk to the front gate so I could get a better look take some photos.  K walked halfway down the block and pretended she didn't know me. I probably would have done the same thing.

I apologize for the horrible picture quality but this is my dream house colour.  My husband says no but we have a few years to discuss.

Stalking apparently runs in our family... Milo stalks our next door neighbour's dog for hours. He stares through a tiny crack in the fence and just watches her play.  Little creep.  I'll try and get a photo this weekend.

5 |  Button Swap

My blog grew up just a little bit this week.  I now have a sidebar section for blog friends and would love to swap buttons with other bloggers.  If this interests you please get in touch with me!  I plan to start tackling SEO this weekend so wish me luck...

What do you all have going on this weekend?

Linking up with Karli and Amy, and Leslie from A Blonde Ambition!