I love these things: Etsy edition.

I like to pretend that I have a few hobbies (if any). One of them being baking. Another one is finding-and-favoriting-and-possibly-buying-things on Etsy. I like to think I have an eye for favoriting great things on Etsy. I guess that's more of a talent than a hobby but I still want to call it a hobby so I feel like I have more than I actually do. 

Here are some of my recent fave favorites that I think are worth sharing (and buying!). 

Black and Orange O's shirt

Opening Day is tomorrow @ OPACY. Baseball is here! Hopefully baseball brought baseball weather with it because it's hard to wear t-shirts like this when it's snowing. The best thing about Etsy is that there are things on Etsy that are 100% unique that you can't find anywhere else. This shirt is an awesome example of that! You won't be seeing anything this great on in the O's shop online (and for only $12!).

Personalized Stemless Wine Glasses (with lids!)

I'm always looking for a new way to get wine into my life/mouth. I've been known to spill alcoholic beverages onto my Macbook Pro and almost completely ruin it and then pay $800 to get it repaired. So...I think it goes without saying that when I'm looking for a new way to drink my wine, I need that new way to have some sort of lid on it. Ideally, I'd like an adult sippy cup. These stemless wine glasses meet all of my qualifications - lid, cute, I can put wine in it. I'm all about them and want to buy some soon! 

Here's a Huge Hug Card

"Who doesn't like getting cards/letters/packages in the mail?" - things I tell myself as I'm "building my greeting card collection" aka have 5 cards in hand @ Target. I've recently decided that it's fun and it makes me feel well-prepared for any birthday/get well soon emergency to have a greeting card collection. In my mind, I have to have as many as possible for any situation. You NEVER KNOW WHAT COULD HAPPEN and you want to have a card for every situation, haha. I'll probably be buying this one in a few days when I have an Etsy binge. It's so cute and simple.

Red + White Polka Dot Swimsuit

Minnie Mouse life. Those days when I wake up @ 5:35am and I'm struggling to make myself get on the treadmill, I like to look at this swimsuit because I think, "I don't know. Maybe if I get on the treadmill and run a little bit, I'll be a little bit closer to being able to wear this in real life in front of other humans." It's perfect. It has polka dots. It's red. There's a bow. Ugh, need. Also, again, Minnie Mouse life. 

Aqua Polka Dot Dog Collar

Etsy not only nails it at having the best human things but a lot of sellers sell things for cute little nice doggies. You can't really find adorable collars like this at a pet store or Target even (gasp)! I think Sasha wants this one. She likes to be fashionable and this is totally her color. Maybe for her half birthday in June! ;)

I love Nutella cookies.

After a long time of not having the energy or desire to bake, be crafty, etc., I finally got my groove back  after buying some Nutella randomly at the grocery store one late Sunday night. I was craving Nutella. But didn't want to eat it straight out of the jar (why? I'm not sure. Something must've been wrong with me) so I went on the search for recipes to make with my newly purchased Nutella.

Let's go back in time, to late January...

I decided to make just regular old Nutella-filled sugar cookies. I made my sister, Catie, help me. I have made these cookies in the past and remembered it being kind of a pain in the butt to make them - so I thought maybe if I had someone to help me, it'd be less of a pain. Welp, even with Catie's help, it was still a pain. I think Catie could vouch for me on that too. The sugar cookie dough gets so sticky and doesn't 'wrap' (I could probably find a better word to describe it) around the Nutella as easily as the recipe says it should - which leads to me wanting to cry and throw dough across the room because I'm a toddler when I get frustrated while baking.
But no pain, no gain, I guess. These cookies taste amazing when they're done, haha. They don't always end up looking very pretty -- but they taste great! Here's a link to the original recipe. 

For 'World Nutella Day,' I decided to try to make some Nutella-related cookies again to bring in for my lovely coworkers. I was doing this to be nice and festive and for the sake of being Nutella-happy so I didn't want try baking anything that would make me want to roll around on the kitchen floor sobbing (this has almost happened when I've tried baking the previously mentioned Nutella-filled sugar cookies). Normally, I'll hit up Pinterest or Foodgawker for a good recipe when I need one, but for this one, I decided to go super simple in hopes that would get me a super simple recipe - I Googled "easy Nutella cookie recipe." Ding ding ding! I found a winner: Nutella-filled Funfetti cookies. What...a game changer. 
Not ONLY did I not need a partner-in-crime (or someone to hold my hand and comfort me as I sobbed over how sticky the dough was) but it was so easy that I actually thought I was doing something wrong so I had to look at the recipe at least 5x to double-check that all was well. These were a hit at the office and I had to eat 2 or 3 after they were done baking because YOLO. I highly recommend them!

P.S. Help me reach my goal of raising $500 for the Maryland SPCA! 

I love paper straws + Blue Moon cocktails.

Sometimes I buy things that are on clearance at Target simply because it's on clearance and it's at Target.

A few months ago, I bought a twelve pack of really cute, colorful paper straws because they were only $1.00. I couldn't help myself. As soon as I got home, I got them out of the plastic Target bag, and put them on my book shelf. And there they sat. For months. I didn't have an occasion for them so I figured I would save them for a special occasion and until that special occasion came, I'd just have to stare at them because there was no chance I was going to waste them.

So recently, when my BFF and I decided we wanted to plan and have a 'drunk sleepover' -- to stay in and drink all night at home and then have a sleepover -- I realized that this was my chance to come up with a way to make that night the special occasion that my paper straws and I had been waiting for. I wanted to make some kind of special drink for our drunk sleepover (meaning we had to step out of our comfort zones and not drink yellowtail) and I wanted it to be drinkable by a paper straw. 

We both love Blue Moon and we both are pretty cool with OJ so I found this drink after searching through the internet one day. 

I was nervous that maybe Blue Moon + vodka would = very gross -- but surprisingly, it didn't. I really liked it and if it didn't require me to pour multiple things (come on, with wine I just have to pour one thing), I'd probably make this more often. I really only tasted the orange juice, despite there not being much in it -- just a 'splash' to be exact, haha.  

I'm not a big drinker of anything other than Blue Moon when I go to restaurants (aka Chili's) or wine at my house so I don't have a lot of liquor or anything fun at home. Because of that, it's fun for me to have a reason to buy a new liquor to 'add to my collection.' My collection right now consists of the clementine Svedka vodka and Pinnacle whipped cream vodka so that's pretty pathetic and clearly I need to do stuff like this more often. I plan on trying to! 

I love these things lately.

Lately, I love:
March for the Animals! It's the time of year again. The time of year where I beg anyone and everyone to donate and help me reach my goal of raising $500.00 for the Maryland SPCA because Sasha and I will be walking in the annual March for the Animals in April! That being said -- here's the link to my page. Please, please, please, please consider helping me out with this. It is so worth it. Your money really, truly does make a difference: 
     $11 pays for one feline leukemia test
     $25 vaccinates 20 dogs for kennel cough
     $43 provides flea treatment + heartworm protection for a dog
     $300 pays for an animal's vaccinations, food, and care at their shelter until it's adopted
The Man by Aloe Blacc. I have a thing with associating certain songs to certain times in my life. Last year, I associated Clique and Hall of Fame with the Ravens SuperBowl run so whenever I hear those songs, I get extremely overwhelmingly happy. Even though I despise Colin Kaepernick, the Beats by Dre commercial with Kap in it came on so much during the end of the football season when I was feeling really sentimental about football and guess what song is in that commercial? The Man by Aloe Blacc. I bought the song and have played it basically nonstop on my way to-and-from places for the past month. I am so in love. It's so good. It makes me feel happy like it's still football season and momentarily makes me forget that it's only barely mid-February/still winter/going to snow every day for the rest of my life/I'm never going to be able to open my car windows ever again.
Greeting cards from Target. Yeah. Give me all of them.
Sharpie ultra-fine permanent markers. Yup. Only want to write in them.
HGTV. Really been into House Hunters and Love It or List It lately. I'm not sure how I didn't get addicted to these kinds of shows sooner. If the Bachelor or Pretty Little Liars aren't on TV, I immediately turn to HGTV. I've even got Paul into liking these shows. I really do feel like I have a keeper with him - he likes The Bachelor/Bachelorette annnnd HGTV? Really feel pretty lucky. He's also got a girlfriend who actually enjoys sports of all kinds (with the exception of golf #snoozefest) so I hope he considers himself lucky too, haha.
Dove chocolates that have peanut butter inside of them. Ya. Had them for breakfast Sunday.
ModCloth and their customer service. Not only has ModCloth.com been on point for me the past week or so, they also have amazing customer service. When I got home from work last week, I got a package from ModCloth -- it had my itemized list of things I bought and some stuff inside the box...that I didn't order. Some weirdo tights and some other strange clothes that I didn't even bother to bring out. I knew it wasn't mine the moment that I didn't spot the shirt with dogs on it that I bought. I was confused on how to return/exchange the things I didn't buy for the things I did buy (because what a strange thing to happen) so I decided to live-chat with someone at ModCloth to figure it out and it was the best experience ever, haha. The woman I talked with was so nice and so helpful and got it all sorted out in the matter of 5 minutes. I am forever impressed with great customer service. Now I love ModCloth even more. Even when they mess up, I love them.

I love life lately.

celebrating Nick's birthday with a surprise party thrown by Shannon that was really great and had Chick Fil A and good times and arguments about the Ravens. I'm sorry. I can't be tamed.

making cupcakes with Catie around and realizing that you can dip cupcakes in sprinkles if trying to sprinkle them on top of the cupcakes isn't working. Catie is a baking genius - WHO KNEW? 

looking at ModCloth 3x a day trying to find something to buy but I don't like anything enough to purchase anything #roughlife #feelbadforme

drinking hot lemon water every morning - it's refreshing and apparently great for you so just doing that to try to counteract the pizza and cookies I'm eating for lunch

listening to One Direction non-stop to-and-from anywhere I drive and humming them forever at work 

trying hard to memorize my expiration date for my new debit card so I can become a pro at online shopping once again without having to look at my card

wearing exclusively leggings or jeggings on the weekend because I'm sick of wearing jeans but I have to during the week for work and also I'm an adult I make my own decisions so yolo
obsessing over my new camera that I am in love with and want to cuddle with all day but when I'm not cuddling I want to be using it to take pictures of Sasha
wishing I could commit more to my Happiness Project. February is going to be my month, OKAY?

I love December Resolutions.

My first month of my Happiness Project went pretty well! Most days I felt really good after checking off that I had followed all of my resolutions but some days, I really didn't stick with my resolutions and it made me a bit unhappy with myself which is the opposite of what I'm trying to do. I realized I have a lot to work on when it comes to seeing things in a positive light instead of jumping to "I SUCK I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T RUN OR MAKE AN EFFORT TO NOT EAT A LOT OF CANDY TODAY." That being said, December's resolutions focus on trying to be more positive -- which is something I already knew I had to work on. 
Obviously, once November has come and gone, it doesn't make sense to just forget about those resolutions and just move on to a new set. So, in addition to this month's resolutions, I will also be sticking with November's as well. 

Here's a mini-recap of my November Resolutions:

1. Go for a run or do a 20-minute workout routine 
Not making excuses (or maybe I am) but November got pretty busy toward the middle and end of the month which actually made it really hard to fit in a run or a workout. The good news is it's on my radar now that I can go for a run instead of pin on Pinterest and I've been running more frequently. Running makes me happy - even if I dread it and Pinterest sounds more fun at the time - and remembering that will hopefully keep me running more often/whenever I can.
2. Stick with Weight Watchers
Thanksgiving week made life really hard and I got extremely off track. The rest of the month was easy. In addition to Weight Watchers, I started participating in a fun, little weight-loss challenge called Diet Bet (here's how it works). I started the first week in November and it ends this coming week on December 6th. It pushes me to stick with Weight Watchers and eating right even more -- but makes it fun to do it. Also, money. 
3. Walk + talk 
I got pretty cray and bought a $1.99 pedometer app for my iPhone called "Moves" and it has made me addicted to walking (or as I like to say "stepping"). It's pretty ridiculous but apparently you should walk 10,000 steps a day if you want to be considered "active" -- oh and I want to be considered active. The most I've walked is around 4,000 and that was a lot of walking so every day I try to walk as much as possible so I can beat my "All-Time Record." That's life. 

4. Say no to sugar
This gets easier as time goes on. Sometimes I just want a mini Crunch bar with breakfast though. I'll never be able to say no to sugar forever. It's all about portion sizes for me. 

December's Resolutions:
1. Think of the good that will come out of it -- even if there doesn't seem to be any good at all. This is especially important for me to do at work. 
2. When in doubt, say something positive -- I sometimes have this fight in my mind, especially within the last few months, where I know that I could say something positive but what comes out of my mouth is something negative. I want to make the effort to say something positive when I feel like I definitely have the choice to be positive or negative and hopefully it will become a habit (like it used to be for me).
3. Smile, smile, smile -- I've heard/read in several articles that just the act of smiling, even when you're alone (creepy, I know) or there's no reason to at that current moment, can make you feel positive and happy. I try to do it in the car sometimes when I can feel my road rage getting out of control and it really does help so I want to do this more often - especially in situations that I consider to be "negative."
4. Truly compliment someone else (and myself) -- something else I've had to fight in the last few months is the urge to say something negative about someone/something or insult them. It started happening by default when I was struggling in September and October of this year and that's really not who I am. In an attempt to get back to positivity, I'm going to make the effort to truly (not a forced one) compliment anyone/something/someone on a daily basis. I say "(and myself)" because as I talked about in my first Happiness Project blogpost, I'm not very fond of myself sometimes. I think in addition to complimenting those around me, I need to also take the time to compliment myself. 
5. Read at least one positive quote a day -- I've always been a fan of quotes in my "adult life." Whenever I'm feeling especially icky or mad, I'll Google "positive quotes about ______." Then I read a few and it will usually bring me back to feeling pretty decent. Cheesy, right? That being said, I think it would be helpful for me to read quotes that make me feel good on a daily basis, instead of just when I'm not feeling great. Super cheesy on a daily basis. I think it'd be fun to keep some sort of journal or Google doc (I'm addicted to Google docs) with all of my favorite quotes! 

I love being thankful.

I'm thankful for:

• Torrey Smith's wife's tweets during Ravens games
• a boyfriend and best friend that take my half-birthday very seriously
• a best friend who has the same sense of humor as I do 
• really nice, super great Chili's employees
• the same teal scarf I wear every day because #fashion
• warm walking-weather into mid-November
• safe rides home late at night without deer friends out-and-about trying to hang with me
• times when I have mature conversations with my 8-year-old sister, Brooke
• my warm, comfy bed - every night when I go to sleep I think about how thankful I am for my 4 layers of blankets
• Anthony Allen's tweets about Maury
• the fact that people think of me when they see/hear "#yolo"
• work friends that get my life
• the nicest, sweetest, cutest doggie ever
• a supportive family, best friend, and boyfriend that all help keep me happy and smiling every day
• a younger sister who still thinks I'm funny even though she acts like she hates my life on Twitter
• online shopping - it makes me very happy hehehe
• a job - one where I work with fun people who like to do fun things 
• daily routines 
• a hilarious boyfriend that makes me laugh even when I don't want to support the weird-o things he does sometimes 
• never worrying that I'm going to be alone because of the great people in my life
• Pretty Little Liars - even if it is very frustrating
• my team 

I love weekends.

This weekend I:
ate way too many mini York peppermint patties. Paul started eating them in the past few weeks and now I find myself strangely addicted to them when I used to think they were stupid. 
spent the last hour of my work week with a meeting that consisted of Bohs and sushi. Probably the best + only way to spend the end of that crazy week.
bought lots of new things at Target -- totally unusual (not) -- including dry shampoo (finally) and the best (and cheapest) eyeliner pen. Shout out to Jackie for the recommendation on eyeliner -- I'm really excited.
hung out at my house + watched football with my bff and boyf. This is really great (and unusual) because I rarely hang out with both of them on a Sunday afternoon and even more rarely (probably terrible english, whoops my bad) at mi casa. 
started running again. Hey sore legs. Ouch. Feels good to be back at it, though, as it always does when I start running again after a long period of time without running anywhere ever.
got sleepy at Starbucks with Shannon. Just doesn't seem right, AM I RIGHT? The lighting in the Starbucks near my house makes me FALL ASLEEP while I drink my drank. That's life, I guess. I did get a new pretty Christmas cup - yaaay!
watched Paul play on his iPad. #iPad