Three Years with Lover Boy

Today is me and Casey's three year anniversary. It hasn't been the easiest or the most continuous road but I don't want to focus on that. I want to focus on the wonderful memories we do have. Such as uncontrollable laughter after he accidentally knocked a bowl full of flour all over me and the floor. Or the perfect feeling of crawling into his lap, curling up and laying on his belly. And running to hug him right after my college graduation ceremony. Or trying to have a picture taken of us and he chooses to lick my head and having that picture end up being one of my favorite pictures anyway.

I love you Casey and I'm excited to continue having adventures and making memories with you.

xo Erin

Things I Love Thursday // #5

1) I would have to do Pinkie Pie proud and use this Pinkie Pie Mug for chocolate milk.

 (via. ThinkGeek)

2) This Mysteries of the Universe Tee is awesome. (Plus I love glow in the dark t-shirts!).

(via. ModCloth)

3) I'm looking for new projects and this Seaside Cowl caught my eye.

 (via. KnitPicks)

4) Don't these lemon meringue cupcakes look delicious and perfect for summer?

(via. Cooking Classy)

5) Look at these adorable bunnies Kaylah has been watching grow!

(via. The Dainty Squid)

I haven't gotten to see Casey alone this week so I'm really looking forward to seeing him this evening and this weekend. Tomorrow is Friday, hooray! I hope yours is wonderful.

xo Erin

Izzie & Rupert // Adoption Story

Since I shared Waffles' adoption story, I figured it would only be appropriate to share Rupert and Izzie's as well. Rupert and Izzie were kind of impulse adopted. We had talked about adopting a cat, put weren't exactly planning to the day we got Izzie and Rupert. The setting was a few days before Christmas; I suggested to Casey that we just see what cats they had before we got dinner and saw The Hobbit. You can probably guess where this is going. Rupert and Izzie (at the time named Hannah) were together in a cage at 4 months old with a note that they are bonded and should be adopted together. Part of why they were bonded is because they are from the same litter! Yes, our Mr. Rupert and Miss Izzie and brother and sister.

Casey always wanted a tortoiseshell cat and Izzie just happened to be exactly that. We went in and got to hold them; I held Rupert and Casey held Izzie. They immediately started crawling  up on our shoulders and then Rupert nuzzled me! I turned to Casey and said "he nuzzled me, we have to get them!". Casey was hesitant because he didn't want to get two cats. But the adoption counselor was very persuasive about two cats being better than one.

We told the adoption counselor we needed to talk about it then we'd be back. Well there wasn't much discussion because really Casey was already saying yes but just couldn't admit he was saying yes. We picked up my checkbook and hurried back to get them! I went around shopping while Casey did the paperwork. They were a bit sick so they gave us medicine they had been giving them. Then we took them home! As you probably guessed, we didn't make it to The Hobbit that night.

They explored  the apartment fairly quickly but spent most of their time under the coffee table or snuggling with us on the couch. We even did a little laser pointer play, sending them up the walls. I faught to keep Rupert named Rupert because I really liked the name. However we wanted to change Izzie /Hannah's name; Casey's friend brainstormed some names for us and we both really like Isabella. Just like that, she was renamed.

As I mentioned the little kittens were sick and they kept getting worse and worse (if you couldn't tell by how nasty Rupert looks in some of the pictures) . Once we got them to the vet he gave us better antibiotics and some gel for their eyes (which had gotten very red). I had the pleasure of administering their medications and they got better fairly quickly.

Now they're 10 1/2 months old and basically full grown. It's really hard to remember how tiny they were when we got them without looking at the pictures. Rupert, especially, has grown a bunch. He's a little over 12 pounds! He is our big, big boy. I can't help but pat his big belly whenever I hold him. Izzie is keeping things petite at a little over 9 pounds. We were actually surprised she was even that much. She's so itty bitty, especially compared to Rupert. It's been amazing having them, they are the best kitties. 

Oh man, now I'm reminiscing about their adoption and how adorable they were, and how adorable they are now. I need to go snuggle them now, kbye.

xo Erin

Projects // Giant Granny Square Blanket

Look at this beast of a blanket. I knew when I finished college I wanted to start getting busy with crafting. The Giant Granny Square Blanket had been on my mind since first seeing it and seemed like a manageable large project. After Meredith completed hers, I was convinced this would be a fun project and I made it one of my summer goals. This blanket is and will probably remain the largest yarn project I ever made. Surprisingly, it only took about a month of casual crochet to complete! 

Meredith was not joking when she said this project eats up yarn. I don't even remember how many times I went to Michael's while working on this blanket. I had to have been at least 7-8 times, including going 3 times one week. One day I went to pick up more yarn and I had apparently already bought all the cream color in TWO stores! I had to go a third store where they thankfully had some.

I used the pattern from Purl Bee except that I repeated colors instead of using a different color each color round. I also substituted with Loops & Threads™ Cozy Wool yarn from Michael's. The colors I used include Fleece, Spearmint, Golden Rod, Thunder, Velvet, and Clematis. I tried to keep track of how much I used of each, but I got so caught up in the project that I kept forgetting to mark it down! 

Izzie loooved whenever I would bring this blanket to work on at Casey's. She would climb into my lap and knead it and then lay down (you can see the photo evidence here, she also licked me). Which was adorable but also made it difficult for me to keep working since I couldn't rotate the blanket with her on it! I'm thinking of making her a mini version with the left over yarn since I probably won't be hauling this massive thing over to Casey's anymore. 

Waffles made an appearance when I was taking photos, mostly because she saw a bird outside. I'm not sure how I'm going to store this blanket. For now folding it over the end of the bed, as pictured above, seems best. I would fold it up more but it is HEAVY which makes folding it semi-tiring. I will be using it every night too, so why burden myself with the folding and unfolding every day.

What large projects have you taken on recently? Would you crochet this giant blanket?

xo Erin

Things I Love Thursday // #4

1) I have not been able to stop thinking about this  "The Night's Watch" brooch.

kateslittlestore

2) This "Perfect Dot Picnic Bag" is indeed perfect!

ModCloth

3) This maxi dress is on my to buy soon list.

Ruche

4) Savannah's post on Maiedae about eating intuitively really spoke to how I'm trying to change my eating habits.

Broadsheet

5) I am kind of dying to try this Homemade Cosmic Brownies recipe.

Averie Cooks

Have a good one!

xo Erin

The Little Things...

I find it to be SO adorable whenever Waffles sticks her head out of her cube. I feel like she's going "Hey, I love you, so that's why I'm stickin' my head out and looking at you. Okay now it's time to sleep". I mean come on, how can her using her paw as a pillow like that not make you go "awwwww"!

What adorable things do your pets do that make you incapable of resistance?

xo Erin

Get it Together Binder

I am a very visual person. Being very visual can cause difficulties sometimes. Difficulties such as not clearly remembering previously laid out plans or wants and goals and just general forgetfulness. To combat these difficulties, I made myself what I call a "Get it Together" binder. When I made this binder I was kind of fed up with myself. I was fed up with constantly losing myself and continuously wasting time and not working towards anything. I needed to, well, get "it" together; "it" being myself. I keep this binder on top of my desk, I never put it away fearing I'll forget everything I put inside it.

Items I have in this binder include:

// Year Long Calendar. I have a year long calendar so I can keep in mind where I am within the larger span of the year. This is important because I have some long term events that are months away which I'm looking forward to. Those events (which occur in a year) keep me going a lot of the time so it's nice to see how much closer I get each month.

// Monthly Calendars. I'll keep a few monthly calendars rotating so I can write down more specific occurrences. I use the monthly calendars to plan things like baking, or things I need to do for blog posts. I also use the monthly calendars for things I just need to remember like season premiers of TV shows or movies being released.

// Goals. I keep my goal lists within this binder as well. Currently I have my summer goals, 22 by 23, and money goals.

// Erin Web. I drew a web to have a visual representation of myself. The web helps me keep in mind who I am, where I plan to go, and what I do. For example I have a present section (which is now out of date since I'm in a limbo between present and near-future) which lists me as undergrad student and research assistant. Then I have a near future where I list potential jobs. Finally a future section which includes being a graduate student which will lead to being a guidance counselor. Then I have other sections such a hobbies and blogger.



// Portrait of INFJ. I printed out a portrait of an INFJ (my Meyers-Briggs type) because it is a very accurate description of me and it's useful sometimes to have that written out because it can help me when I'm feeling lost. When I read it sometimes I understand my behavior and thought processes more and in turn I can better tackle whatever is going on.

// Timeline. I have a personal time line of how I would like my life to go. This timeline is helpful to me because it helps me remember what I want and when I plan to have it happen in my life. For example getting a job, apply and going to graduate school, moving, getting married, starting my career, starting a family, etc.

// Casey Stuff. The Casey Stuff sleeve includes love notes he's written me and cards he's given me. Some of these are from trying times in our relationship, so they're nice to look back on to remember how strong we are. I also have a list of things I need(ed) to work on to make our relationship even better and make us both happier.

How do you keep track of all the craziness in your life?

xo Erin