FRIIIDAY!

Phewwwwww, Friday!

So, here's a throwback that has resurfaced from years back. Remember this girl?

nancy. meagan. cori. courtney
express edwardsville - 2012

^^ [Original photo from  THIS May 8, 2012 entry] This was from Meagan's going away party, during my time back at the Edwardsville Express office. It's been about 3 years since I worked with Courtney, but she just recently paired up [such a small world!] with one of Rob's good friends.

Happy Birthday, Courtney! 

lol.. happy birthday, girl! 

At work, we were [still] celebrating Elisa's birthday; she chose The Eagle for her lunch out, and with it being our standard Friday office lunch, it worked out perfectly.

the eagle | otr - cincinnati, oh 

^^ YOU GUYS. If you've not been to this place yet, you need to go. :) This is the first time I've been there for lunch, but it's just as good if not slightly better than dinner. Haha. YUM!

We endulged ourselves with chicken, spoonbread, mac&cheese, grits, fries and succotash before wrapping up and heading out. Well, almost heading out. Despite the bitter sting in the air, we braved the walk down a few blocks to 1215 for some mid-afternoon pick-me-ups:

elisa & i spotted a fun selfie wall...
1215 wine & coffee bar | otr - cincinnati, oh

peppermint mocha = per.....fect! 

Peppermint mochas on Fridays are an incredibly encouraging touch. What's even better though, is when you receive a little something you've been anxiously awaiting for a few weeks. 

That was today, too! It was a random day perusing Etsy when I ran across The Copper Fox, specifically a Latitude & Longitude bracelet stamped with a line I will forever love: The House That Built Me. Anyone who knows me knows the gratitude and love I have for the house my parents built, in which I did grow up: physically and emotionally. That place built me, just as much as my parents built it. So when I saw this item listing, it wasn't a tough decision to fill and empty the little shopping cart icon. 

IT ARRIVED TODAY: 

i am... in love. 

And I... I can't. It's beyond perfect. This girl Sarah who creates these pieces and runs the little Etsy shop will never know how much I truly treasure this little cuff and what it represents to me. Love, love. LOVE. 

I took off at the day's end, en route to get Sydni and thankful for it being Friday. Rob called as I was heading back to the house, and let me know that Jesse had made it town and was at the house with Zeppelin! Syd and I pulled into the driveway at the same time, and spent the next hour or so catching up with our friend... and furry friend :)

yay, weeknd visitors! hi zepplin! 

And then there was the question of dinner: Jesse wanted to try out something local, so we voted again for Buca Di Beppo, where we wound up with enough leftovers to last us probably through the middle of next week. #PIZZA. Haha. 

buca with mini! 

So that's not a bad way to start the weekend!

We're supposed to get some heavy snow overnight tonight folks - be CAREFUL out there if that applies to you, too!

TGIF!
xo | cmd

A Day In The [Lodge] Life

When you come to the Dren Lodge to stay, chances are.. you'll wake up like I did this  morning:

#HOME.

I somehow got up early and did a round of sun salutes [surya namaskar!] beneath the giant gable windows, and breathed in the traces of cedar and lavender that are permanent scents here. Every detail of the decor here has been deliberately set in its place by my mother's creative mind, inside the log home that is nearing its 30th year of fulfilling my father's dream to build it from the earth to the chimney. Everything about my childhood can be tracked back to this house, and the lyrics to Miranda Lambert's song, House That Built Me may as well be tattooed on every surface of the place.

No matter where I end up in this world, THIS.. is my home.

And because it's my home, it's where I get to work.
I'm a knucklehead for not swiping my mom's memory card; Sydni had a hayday with the camera while we were outside stacking wood for two hours. My mother, whose mind and body very clearly defy their age, was even found at one point about to bush hog the entire space behind one of our fences.

I mean, a family who lumberjacks together... stays together. Amiright?!
[And yes, once I steal mom's pictures, I'll share.]

We managed to finish our day's to-do list in a considerably short amount of time, which left room for showers, naps and play time before dinner. Post-dinner meant some solid time with my family, and I would not have traded this night in for anything the city could ever offer me.

love these three! 

.... EVEN.. if that means we grit our teeth while Ohio State contested MSU - for the win, might I add. ;) [Sorry, dad].

Mom brewed some Teavana, which served to warm us up, as well as provide comic relief.

dad & rob.. haha.

There's nothing better in life than family.
Aaaaaaamen.

xo | cmd

Parent-Teacher Conference & CMA's [Video Blog]

Today = 1. Work. 2. Yoga. 3. Parent-Teacher Conference. 4. CMA's.

The 1 & 2 of the day passed as they usually do; yoga in particular gave me a solid run for my money, but after full-wheel and my feet not going numb in Pigeon, I felt accomplished and ready to shower up for Syd's Parent-Teacher conference.

In a nutshell, Sydni is exactly what I thought she would be in a classroom and more. She's apparently one of her teacher's model students when it comes to being polite, helpful, friendly and forgiving. She's also smart, and while she talks a lot during class [her only less-than-perfect remark], she seems to do so while still absorbing everything that's being taught. Aside from what we gathered to be a typical pattern for a 5-year-old, she managed to make me one heck of a proud little mama. Way to go, boogie! ♥♥♥♥♥

Post-PT conference = CMA's. There was a lot going on, as usual, so I thought I'd just revisit some of my favorite moments [among the many]. Enjoy!

The Band Perry | Covers Gentle On My Mind [Cover]:

Ariana Grande & Little Big Town - Day Drinking & Bang Bang:


Miranda & Carrie - Somethin' Bad:

[Just] Miranda & Meghan Trainor - All About That Bass:

[Just] Carrie Underwood - Something in the Water:

Jason Aldean - Burnin' It Down:

Lady A - Bartender:

... and so many others.
One of these years, despite how mainstream the CMA's are starting to become, I'm going to go. I'm certainly not fluent at high-profile events like that, but let's face it - it's the freakin' CMA's! ;) Congrats to all those big names on the awards they took home tonight. Keep on reminding us why we love our country! ♥

G'Nite, blogbots!

xo | cmd 

BURN IT DOWN TOUR!

It's here, it's here, IT'S HERE!!

We bought tickets back in what, February for this? YAY, COUNTRY CONCERTS!

[Picture time!]

ready to go!

my perch for tailgating!

tailgating with a thousand of our closest friends ;)

jessica & anna stopped by to join the fun!

It came time to head into the actual concert, so off we were, into the swarm of people at the gates of Great American Ball Park. We made our way down through the bleachers and onto the FIELD :D, where we located our seats and prepared for an awesome night.


on the field!

fgl

miranda!

happy birthday, again, babe!

my long lost love natascha

cincinnati's here to party!!

a... is for aldean!!

burn it down tour

jason!!!

kelly clarkson made a [video] appearance

yeah, jason!

happy birthday, to this man.. I.. LOVE YOU!!!

There's some video footage to go along with all of this; please pardon the shakiness and semi-decent sound quality - It was LOUD!

 

Rather than post each and every video here, I'll give you links, if you feel that inclined to go watch them :)

 

Florida-Georgia Line - This is How We Roll

Miranda Lambert - Automatic

Miranda Lambert - Baggage Claim

Miranda Lambert - House That Built Me

Miranda Lambert - Mama's Broken Heart

Jason Aldean - My Kinda Party

Jason Aldean - Night Train

Jason Aldean & Kelly Clarkson - Stay

Jason Aldean - Fly Over States

[NEW!] Jason Aldean - Burnin' It Down

 

 

We rounded out the evening with a late-night grub-out at The Yard House with Brittany and Wayne before heading home [sidenote: staying late = postponing parking lot madness!].

 

What an AWESOME night!!! Here's to country music, country friends and an incredible round out to Rob's birthday festivities.

 

We're some happy people here, folks. Tired, but happy.

G'Nite! ♥

 

xo | cmd

Office Boogie

It's probably been at least six months or so since Sydni's last been in my office while we were open. The couple of times when I had to stop by on the weekends with her don't really count, so today she was super excited to show Nana & Pappy where Mommy works.

My parents are taking her this weekend for a showing Shrek: The Musical up in Mt. Vernon. The theatre company with which I, and just about every other person who grew up in Mt. Vernon participated at one point or another. The current director is my elementary school art teacher. :)

Anyway, they stopped by my office before heading back up north, and Sydni proved that she could probably do my job just as well, if not better than me.

look at this girl..

hahaha ♥♥♥

And of course, some yoga.

like mama, like mini

Haha. LOVE. Her. Have fun this weekend, you three!

Rob and I just got back from Hibachi Master on Beechmont; it was recommended by one of his co-workers to be tried, and we weren't disappointed. Sushi's always a fail-proof option, haha.

JASON ALDEAN & MIRANDA LAMBERT ARE PLAYING TOMORROW... + FGL + TYLER FARR.. but if I'm being honest, I'm primarily amped for Miranda & Jason.

ONE MORE DAY!
G'Nite!

xo | cmd

Friday: 5 Reasons IT. ROCKED.

Usually, Fridays come and go and serve up the excitement of 1] the work week ending, 2] Friday office lunches and sometimes 3] early releases that give the weekend a jumpstart.

TODAY however, Friday churned up five reasons to call it a slam dunk day. We'll go in chronological order, since all of them are pretty awesome!

1] JENNIE'S BIRTHDAY!

she's gorgeous!!! hbd, jennie!

Haaaaaaaaappy BIRTHDAY JD! This lovely lady celebrates another year young today! We agreed that now that I'm back in Ohio and am slowly migrating my way closer and closer to Columbus, I'll make it a point to get up there soon and we'll do some belated celebrating. I hope your day was amazing! ♥

2] SAMSUNG OR APPLE? HOW ABOUT ONE OF EACH?!

So, the bad news is.. that someone in Norwood managed to comandeer my work phone over the weekend. Since I don't typically tote it everywhere I go, we ascertained that someone either swiped it off my desk or I dropped it in the 40 feet between our door and my car. Either way, it didn't dull the anxiety of having to tell the bosses that I lost their phone. What softened the blow is realizing that my bosses are two of the most understanding individuals around, and advised me that it wasn't a big deal. Things happen. < Somehow, that made me feel even worse? Haha. Anyway, my now-kidnapped Samsung was officially replaced today with an iPhone. I'm a loyal Droid user without the faintest clue of how to operate an iAnything, so this.. should.. be interesting. Either way, that weight is off my shoulders and now I'm back on connected x2 status!

personal + work

P.S. - Don't worry, Droid... I'm not going anywhere ;)

3] JASON ALDEAN + MIRANDA LAMBERT + FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE + TYLER FAR??

.......... Yes, pleaaaase! I like all those names. I found out a few weeks back that Jason Aldean's Burn It Down tour was scheduled to come to Cincinnati in July, and that tickets went on sale today. Luckily, I realized the gravity of that statement, because in Cincinnati, tickets like this have a shelf life of abouuuuut 1 hour, if that. I wasn't wrong. I managed to snag 2 on-field seats for Rob & me at 10:04 AM, and saw that the entire show had sold out by about 10:40 AM. It's gonna be a beautiful, beautiful mayhem.

to say i'm excited is an uuuuunderstatement.

4] FAMILY. REUNION.

Let me repeat that: FAMILY.... REUNION. No, it's not my actual family, but I can explain. A week or so back, Ali and I orchestrated plans for her, Tim and Damanji to make the trek from IL to our new place here in Cincinnati to hang for the weekend. TODAY, I had a conversation with Marianne today that very quickly turned into the realization that she is ALSO free that weekend, and thus will be driving in from VA to join us.

omg. ooooooh....my.... gaahhhhhhhshhhhh..

The reason this is so phenomenal is because these four individuals are some of the best, hilarious friends I found in Illinois, and to have us all back together at the same time seems just too good to actually be happening. Among the other debachles I'm sure we'll find, there will absoLUTELY be an updated take of the awkward family photo. Not sure what that is? Well... here's the last one:

this.. just... this.

Is it MARCH yet?! I need to see these faces. There will be some shenanigans ensuing, without a doubt, but I... can't.... WAIT.

5] DOUBLE DINNER DATES! 

I'm not entirely sure what I did for the first half of this month, let alone the whole month of January. Whatever it was, it didn't include nearly enough facetime with Catie, so we decided last week that we'd get together tonight for dinner. It happened. It... happened.

how. i. love. her.

Rob & I met Catie & Andy at The Hitching Post, which was our first choice. When we realized they were closed [sorta?], we switched gears and landed at Allyn's. Goooood call (: It's actually the first real double dinner date Rob & I have done since he moved here, so it was undoubtedly a great time all the way around.

man oh man.. i love him.

And the food wasn't anything to shame, either!

sugar snap peas & salmon? sold.

If this is any indication on how the rest of the weekend is going to go, then we're in for a fun couple of days!

Tomorrow = Pinterest hack/tutorial [hopefully] on some wall art I planned today as an early Valentines Day gift to Rob and our little home. I'm pretty excited, and crossing my fingers that I don't botch it too bad.

See ya then!

xo | cmd