Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday

Head on over to The Vintage Apple and link up! 

DIY Coasters using scrapbooking paper and modge podge

(source: lightrefreshmentsserved.com via Amie Baron)

(Source: germancarscene.com via Ambra Valentini)

(source: aroomsomewhere.net via Christine Spearbeck)

(source: nailstah.com via Wendy DeCora)

(source: goodreads.com via Regina Bolding)

(source: thepinkandblueblog.com via Crystal Salisbury)

(source: sunsurfer.tumblr.com via Maria Gnezdilova)

Target Tuesday

Head on over to Tara's blog, fabulousbutevil, link up and let your lovely bloggers know what you're craving to buy at Target.

Mossimo® Messenger Bag - Black

Xhilaration® Top Handle Messenger Handbag - Tan

Mossimo® Fold Over Satchel - Pewter

Merona® Grey Tote

Mossimo Supply Co. Top Handle Pebble Handbag - Black

Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene the Aftermath

I survived. (not that I was ever in danger, but I was scared)

Irene ended up pretty much fizzling out by the time she got up here. Her wind was pretty weak, I don't think it blew over 40 mph at all. But her rain reeked havoc on many parts of my city. The Pequabuck River runs right through most of our city. Usually, it's a peaceful little river and even a creek in other places!

We have a section of my city called Forestville. It's the lowest lying area. If the rain comes fast and strong enough the road leading the highway through the section usually gets flooded. But, not as bad as this. This was unrelentless flooding. At least four feet deep.

Don't worry I wasn't standing in the water

The highway was deserted.

The parking lot of this factory was underwater.





Memorial Boulevard is underwater. The water was flowing perfecting down the lanes.





Remeber the cute little creek I was playing in last weekend?





This is what it looked like when Irene came through. It actually flooded the entire park and onto the streets. This was several hours later when it finally receded.



Rt 6 in Bristol. Our main drag.

Thankfully, all the water pretty much receded fairly quickly. All in all Irene was a bust, but I'm very thankful. I am praying for the people in Vermont because several towns have been cut off because roads have been washed away, bridges swept away, homes swept away. I couldn't even imagine how it would have been if Irene was a Cat 2. Thankfully, she was only a Tropical Storm as soon as she made landfall.

Over 40 people have been lost. One actually right here in Bristol. Him and a friend decided to take a canoe out and paddle along the street that became flooded from the river overflowing the bank. They misjudged just how powerful the river was (which was also slowly receding at the time) and they were swept into the rapids. Their canoe hit a tree and they capsized. They were then swept down river and came to the bridge where the railroad tracks sit, and apparently both of them hit their heads. The sole survivor reported today that he went under the bridge but came back out on the other side just fine (I really don't know how, the water was so high) and his friend was no where to be seen. Unfortunately, his friend was found after midnight yesterday. RIP to him. I'm sending prayers to his family as well.

Some parts of the state are a mess and still will be for a while. But I'm very thankful and grateful that none of my friends or family were hurt, they we didn't (somehow) lose power and that waters did not enter our home.

Today's a day to stop and think about how lucky I am, it could have been ten times worse.

On My New Design & a Hurricane Named Irene.

I decided that I wanted to do a complete blog makeover. So, somehow I did it. What do you guys think? I changed my name, because I wanted something way shorter. And my posts are about as random as they get. I even have a little button now, so go ahead and grab it. =) Thanks!

I'm sure by now all of you have heard of Hurricane Irene. For the past two days now, I've been intently monitoring everything I can. It's coming pretty much right for CT. I'm pretty much scared to my wits ends. Seriously. This thing is forecast to produce some crazy wind for a very long period of time as well as some heavy rain.

My plans are to pack a bag for boyfriend's house. I'm going to put like a week worth of clothes in, just in case. My parents and brother don't know what they're doing yet. I told them they seriously should think about evacuating our home and heading to the Clarion which is about five minutes away from boyfriend's. We have way too many trees in our yard, and most of them are old and don't even produce leaves anymore. Plus, we've had an awful lot of rain in the past month, which makes trees' roots very soft, and can cause the trees to fall a lot more easily. So after I run my errands I am going to talk them about their plan.

During the hurricane, if the power is still on, I hope to update my blog. If not, I'll try and update on my phone till it dies. When that happens, I'm switching to good old pen and paper and then I'll post online when we do get power back. Which hopefully won't be long. But one may never know.

On my favorite meteorolgist's blog, Ryan Hanranhan for NBC30, his latest update included this: "If a direct hit from a category 1 hurricane occurs the power infrastructure will suffer a devastating blow in many areas with power outages likely lasting for a week or longer."

You guys are welcome to follow his blog here. I suspect he may be in contact with the outside world through his blog for the deration of the storm. So, if you're curious as to what's going on, head on over and check it out.

Tonight, I also need to fight the crowds to get some essentials. Food, books, magazines, water. Then it's just waiting and watching and hoping. I'll be posting tomorrow and likely on Saturday and as I stated hopefully throughout the storm on Sunday. May be living off pb & j though. =(



Are you in the path of the storm?

What are your hurricane plans?

Have you ever experienced a hurricane?

Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday

I took one look at Michelle's blog, The Vintage Apple and fell in love. I've been reading her weekly link-up on so many of my favorite blogs, that I just had to join in. Head on over, you won't be disappointed. 

I have to be honest, when I first logged onto Pinterest, I had no clue what I was doing. Now, I'm addicted. Especially to the DIY section.

 (Source: maybematilda.com via Marie Ballance)

(source: weheartit.com via Allison Winter)



(Source: milkbottles.com.au via Yvette Wilson)

(Source: Flickr via Steffi Reinhold)

Target Tuesday

Head on over to Tara's blog FabulousbutEvil and link up for Target Tuesday! Target Tuesday is where you let everyone know what you're really dying to buy at Target.

This week I'm looking at some bathing suits for my cruise in December.

                                                  

 Merona Women's Bandeau Shirred 1-Piece Swimsuit-Emerald Green



 Merona Women's Floral Print Bandeau Shirred One Piece Swimsuit-Multicolor

                Merona Women's Polka-Dot Bandeau Shirred One Piece Swimsuit-Black/White

Merona Women's Crochet Swim Cover-Up Dress-Black

Meron Georgette Coverup Dress-Black

Even though the cover-ups are sold out, I just pray they get some more in. I really need to start getting all the "summery" clothes before they disappear or I'll be the only one wearing a Christmas cocktail dress to the beautiful, sunny, and warm islands.



On This Weekend.

This weekend was pretty quiet. Boyfriend got stuck working till close on Saturday night, because one of his employees decided she just wanted to quit because she was having a bad day. She just walked right out. It's not the first time she's done it.

I did spend some time with Kelly though. We went on a little walk into a local park and we found a little river that has the clearest water we've seen around these parts. We took the opportunity to dip our feet into the water, climb on some rocks and attempt to cross the small river, only to find out that it was way too deep.

Yes, that's me. Rocking my Alabama Crimson Tide t-shirt and my large hips. Also, I have an issue with my hair being to one side all the time.

After I found out that boyfriend wasn't going to be out at a reasonable time, Kelly and I hit up the Wolcott Fair. It sucked. It was way too small and their were wayy to many teenagers around. The highlight of the night was wearing flip flops and venturning to see the animals. It was muddy between the pens were you walked. At one point, Kelly stopped abruptly because she saw a llama and was afraid it would spit on her and I almost fell. The llama found this amusing and ran over to the side of his pen to watch my almost fall. Thanks llama. I also forgot my camera. =(

Yesterday, boyfriend and I ventured out with his friend Randy. We went to DQ for lunch. Then it was off to Manchester to visit the Christmas Tree Shop. I finally found a lamp I like for our future place. We also got a little bobblehead of Mulligan, boyfriend's Boston Terrier for his mom.

We went to mall and then back home for the evening. We played some video games. (yes its my favorite hobby, I own an Xbox 360.) I made dinner, which consisted of cube steaks marinated in Lowry's 30 Minute Marinade. Baked potatoes and Green Beans. It was yummy. Then I headed out with Amanda for some ice cream at Friendly's later on.

31 days till my first vacation this year. More on that tomorrow. =)

Fair Season

Even though I'm pretty bummed that summer is unofficially coming to a close in a week or two, it means that my favorite, favorite season is upon us. Fair Season!

I absolutely love fairs. This weekend kicks off the start to fair season with the Wolcott County Fair. I've never been, but I may just convince boyfriend to go tonight when he gets out of work. 

Next weekend is the Terryville Country Fair, which I have attended every year since I could remember. It's a fairly small fair, but they have livestock, the awards barn, plenty of games, ride and food. Mmmm the food.

But my absolute favorite, the largest fair in New England, is the Big E.

The Big E is located in Agawam, MA right down the road from Six Flags New England. It literally can take an entire day if you look at everything. They have live concerts (with some big names!) and sooooo much food. Good thing I do plenty of walking as well as eating. hahah. The unique feature is their state buildings. They have a state building for every state in New England. (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine). Inside the state buildings are local businesses or attraction vendors for that state. Like in Maine, they have an amazing baked potato station. In Vermont, amazing creamy chocolate milk. In Connecticut, Pez. Yes, we are manufacturers of Pez. haha. If you're ever in the area of Springfield/Agawam, MA def check it out. You won't be disappointed.

I need to pre-excersize before I stuff my face. There honestly should not be a 6 month period of fattening foods to be consumed, it's just not right. 

Hope everyone has an amazing weekend!
Hopefully I'll get some pics if I do go. =)

Have you ever been to a state fair?

What's your favorite thing to eat there?

Our First Time

I am soo soo excited for Decemeber. Boyfriend and I finally booked our first ever cruise!

We have chosen to sail aboard Carnival Cruise Lines. Our ship is the one pictured above, the Ecstasy. Our iterniary includes Freeport, Bahamas; Nassau, Bahamas and the cruise lines personal island, Half Moon Cay, Bahamas. We are sailing out of Port Canaveral, FL so we are going to fly into Orlando.

Here's some more photos of the ship I got off Google.

We leave Dec 5th & will be back Dec 10th. I'm part nervous and part excited. I'm really looking forward to the Formal Night dinner, being able to order room service if I don't feel like enduring the crowds for the buffett and the 24/7 ice cream buffett. I'm so gonna need to check out that gym while I'm there. ;)

This is also the first time outta the country for us. I can't wait to share all the pictures with you guys. Only 109 days left! hahahah.

Have you ever been on a cruise?

Where did you go?

What was your favorite activity on the ship?

Fill in the Blank Friday.

It's time for another Fill in the Blank Friday post. Head on over to Lauren's blog, The Little Things We Do and link up! It's fast becoming one of my favorite series. And while you're there, don't forget to wish her a Happy Birthday!

My favorite birthday was: had to be 16th. My friends and I went to see this cover band of Weezer. They were all very cute and because of them, I fell in love with Weezer.

My worst birthday was: my 9th birthday, kinda. I still make fun of my mom for this, but at my birthday party, she gave all my friends tokens first at Chuck E. Cheese and I just sat there till she finally realized I was still there, tokenless!

My favorite birthday memory is: honestly they were all good. No time was better or worse than any other. My birthdays are quite unexciting and I like it like that.

The best birthday present I ever received was: Yankee tickets this past year from boyfriend! We sat in left field, right behind Brett Gardners butt at the wall.

The best birthday present I've ever given was: a surprise birthday for my boyfriend. We did it at the best friend's apt and all his friends showed up. =)

Birthdays are: a great way to spend time with the people you care about. I love pampering my friends and family with attention and sometimes cake. I love cake. haha.

My favorite age so far has been: 25. My car insurance went way down and now I can rent a car without underage fees, hahaha. In a weird way I do enjoy getting older. I'm still not looking forward to 30, but that's still five years away.

Hope everyone has an amazing weekend! It's gorgeous here, so I think some fishing tomorrow needs to happen. And, Happy Birthday Lauren!

On A Dream Come True.

My brother Kevin graduated from Central Connecticut State University in May with a degree in Secondary Education with a focus in Math. I'm very excited to tell you guys that he has officially found a teaching position!! It's his dream come true!

He's been scouring the schools in CT (and MA) for any kind of teaching job all summer long. He was hired by Middletown High School for a 1 year sub teaching job to take over because the current teacher is having a baby. He is super duper excited and has a full schedule to keep him super busy. Congrats Kevin, I love you.

Kevin (on left) with Matt in Cali, two years ago