Five Little Things

How is it Sunday already?! Soaking up what’s left of the weekend with my boys, and sharing a few fun things for what’s left of yours 🙂

1 // Books To Read With winter break fast approaching, I’m really looking forward to a little extra time to do some binge-reading. This should surprise no one. Amy Poehler is amazing, Lena Dunham is fascinating (because, GIRLS), and The Interestings has been showing up all over the bloggers I Insta-stalk so I’m assuming it’s worth an afternoon.

2 // A Movie to Love This movie is probably old news to a lot of people because, well, it came out before I was born. HOWEVER, I randomly caught it on Cinemax the other day and have watched it in pieces between episodes of Bubble Guppies and entertaining a toddler (who lets you know that “Santa’s watching!” as he makes consistent choices to land himself on the Naughty List), and it’s great! Classic Chevy Chase. Without giving too much away, he moves to a quirky small town in the country with his wife so he can write a novel but basically nothing goes as planned (of course). And in case you were wondering, the 80s hair was as atrocious as ever 🙂

3 // Holiday Cards and a Link to Share The fact that we were able to get it together enough to send out actual family photo holiday cards this year is pretty amazing. Usually, I completely forget until abouuuuut this time of the month when it’s too late to order them and all the good ones at Target are picked over. I was so excited to have the chance to use our family pictures from May, even if it didn’t make for the most “Christmas-y” card. Who makes the rules, anyway?

I stumbled upon this link today on Facebook, and let me just say amen, sister. Don’t be fooled by the smiling toddler on the card, because for the other 364 days, 23 hours, and 59 minutes of the year we are all aboard the Hot Mess Express (but no one wants to hang that on their refrigerators).

4 // A Bright Spot I am not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination, but for the last week I’ve tried hard to carve out at least five extra minutes before rushing out the door for this. SheReadsTruth is great not just because it’s a small way to dig deeper, but because it’s written by women who make it applicable. Bonus? It’s short and sweet and fits perfectly between packing lunches and making sure we’re all wearing shoes.

5 // A Week of Excitement This week is so full, and I can hardly wait! Monday and Tuesday are full of the usual, but the end of the week is full of things I’ve been looking forward to for months. Mom and I are taking a mini-roadtrip to Philly on Wednesday so we can be Justin Timberlake groupies (you’re jealous). Thursday is full of big things at work AND it’s Mike’s birthday! And Friday? Stay tuned 🙂

25 Before 25

December 10th was my half-birthday. That means I’m halfway to 25, at which point I’ll be halfway to 50, which is halfway to 100 and wait a second– 100?! Let’s just talk about 25.

 There are roughly a million things I’d like to do before I turn 25, but I don’t think befriending JLaw or spending seven days on a remote tropical island are really in the cards between now and June, so a slightly less ambitious list might have to do. In no particular order, here are twenty-five things I hope to do before I turn twenty-five 🙂

Wish me luck!

Saying It Out Loud

This can’t be it.

Right?

I can’t be looking at the next forty years of my life. There has to be something more.

I’m not even sure you’re supposed to say that out loud.

Maybe it’s a quarter-life crisis talking, or maybe it’s real. Breathing. Peering out from the shadows of long days and screaming at the top of its lungs. Maybe there is something more.

But I can’t quite put my finger on it. All I know is that I’m not ungrateful for what is, and it isn’t lost on me that what is should be enough.

But somehow it isn’t, and I guess that’s okay, too.

Restlessness promises opportunities if you’re brave enough to chase after them, and I want so badly to be brave.

Eleven Weeks

Looking round! The bump has definitely popped this week. WOWZAH.

Feeling like I’m almost out of the woods when it comes to all of this first trimester nonsense.

Craving the most random things all day err day. Don’t even try to guess because whatever I wanted five minutes ago, I probably won’t want ever again. Last weekend, it went from Velveeta shells and cheese to Sheetz mozzarella sticks to Sonic corn dogs. All very healthy and well-rounded.

Avoiding whatever I was craving yesterday.

Loving that this is the first chalkboard update to happen in our HOUSE!

Wishing that I could buy all the maternity clothes in my Old Navy shopping cart! BUT I’m pretty sure my credit cards are in witness protection these days.

Waiting patiently impatiently to feel this nugget move around in there! So many exciting things to come 🙂

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Chalkboard updates? Right up my alley as a self-professed Pinterest junkie, but definitely not my original idea. If you want to see some non-amateur (and super awesome) chalkboard updates, head on over to Little Baby Garvin 🙂

High Five For Friday: Anniversary Edition!

When Mike and I eloped in NYC three years ago, we decided to make it our thing to go back and celebrate with our friends every year. I’m a little a lot obsessed with traditions, and this has got to be my favorite one of all! There’s something perfect about September in the city, great friends, and memories that I know we’ll still be talking about when we’re all old and crazy. High five for an amazing anniversary weekend 🙂

1 // Great Times with Great Friends!

Surprising Mike with the happiest news.

Cards Against Humanity on the roof deck of our sa-weeeeeet digs.

Avenue Q orchestra seats for $20!

So much food and dinner time shenanigans.

2 // 10 Pounds Later…

One of the best parts of being in the city is the food! We ate at so many great places. Our dinner at Nook (Hell’s Kitchen) and brunch at Bare Burger (Astoria, Queens) were by far my favorites. Nook is literally a nook that you might miss if you don’t look closely, with amazing salmon and a cream sauce to die for. Bare Burger = a breakfast sandwich the size of my head, loaded with so many goodies I can’t even remember and BACON.

3 // JIMMY. FALLON.

One big CHECK off the bucket list! Going to a Tonight Show taping was worth every minute of the Twitter-stalking it took to get the tickets. I don’t have many pictures to show for it because any/all cell phone use and cameras were prohibited, but it was so cool! Barbara Streisand was his one and only guest (because, well, she’s Barbara Streisand), and they had a ton of fun together. Look for a more detailed post soon 🙂

4 // Time for Being a Grown-Up

Sleeping in? Check. Eating at restaurants that do not offer chicken tenders? Check. Carrying a purse that does not include diapers or sippy cups? CHECK. It’s nice having a couple of days to be just Erica and Mike instead of Mommy and Daddy. Necessary.

5 // Traditions

Three years ago, we said our vows at the sundial in the Shakespeare Garden in Central Park. We go back every year to take a picture in the same spot. It’s crazy to think about how much has happened since the first time we stood there!

Some people say that getting married young is hard because you don’t have everything figured out yet. As much as that can be a challenge, it’s also kind of cool because we’re figuring it out together. Cheering each other on, falling flat on our faces, saying we’re sorry and doing the best we can with what we have.

Everyone’s still alive (and no one is sleeping on the couch), so I think we’re doing okay 🙂

Happy Friday, everyone!

High Five For Friday!

Can you believe that summer is over? Seriously, all I did was blink. This week was definitely full as we said goodbye to summer and hello to the start of business as usual. Here are a couple of quick highlights 🙂

[ONE] Waiting

As of 6:30 Monday evening, everything is signed, sealed, and delivered for our home loan! All that’s left to do is wait. And try not to compulsively check my email. And maybe keep the stress-eating in check. Our Mortgage Guy says that USDA’s turnaround time is running close to thirty days, so we should know something official in a few weeks! Hopefully sooner than later..?

[TWO] Zoo Date 

Landon and I met up with some sweet friends at a local zoo on Wednesday and we had a blast! These Terrible Twos are just too cute for words 🙂

[THREE] Yankees! 

Mike and I were able to get away for a rare (VERY rare) date night! We took a quick trip to Baltimore to see the Yankees play the Orioles, and it was a really great game! We even had time to snag a real, honest-to-goodness sit-down meal that didn’t include chicken tenders or juice but DID include some adult beverages. Date night FTW!

[FOUR] Back to the Grind

School is back in session! For teachers, anyway. We had two days full of meetings and general attempts at getting our lives together, and I still feel like I have a long way to go before I’m ready. Ready or not, though, fifteen little people will be sitting in my classroom on Wednesday.. GAHHH!

[FIVE] Five Things to Love

This movie for binge-watching (because sleep is for the birds.. right?)

This article on perspective.

This service because no one has time to actually scrapbook these days. And hello– it’s SIX DOLLARS! They had me at free shipping.

This app for your lady business: Clue

via womenpla.net

This funny for your Friday 🙂

Jimmy Fallon #Hashtags

Check out more H54F posts here. Have a great weekend!

Shouting It From the Mountaintops

No one tells you how complicated it is to buy a house. Or maybe they do, and we just choose not to listen. It’s one of those things, much like birthing babies, where we romanticize the end result so much that we refuse to acknowledge the actual pain involved until we’re in the thick of it, begging for an epidural.

And believe me when I say that we are in the thick of it. GIVE ME THE JUICE.

Shortly after being pre-approved, we found a steal of a starter home in a great town and put an offer in about two weeks ago. Our offer was accepted the next day. Since then, we’ve had inspections done and written checks and signed our names about a bazillion different times for about a bazillion different things. We are so incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by such patient, kind people in this process, or my head would literally have exploded by now.

Even though our Mortgage Guy tells me to RELAX every time I see him, I still feel like I’m going to be holding my breath until I see the loan commitment letter and I have the keys in my hands. Part of me still doesn’t believe we’re actually able to buy a house. I’m afraid to shout it from the mountaintops of social media or picture our future in that house because what if it doesn’t happen?

There it is. The heaviness– the fear– weighing on me in what should be an exciting time. What if it doesn’t happen? Well…

WE’LL BE OKAY.

We’ll be okay because we’re happy and healthy and have a roof over our heads. We’ll be okay because we have food to eat and jobs that provide for us and friends and families that support us. We’ll be okay because it isn’t our plans that really matter anyway, and all good things come in their own time.

I’ll probably need to read those words a few million times between now and our settlement date, because “high strung” doesn’t even begin to cover it under normal circumstances. I’ll try really hard to take our Mortgage Guy’s advice and RELAX. I might even start to picture Christmases and new babies and birthday parties because HOW EXCITING! You guys…

WE’RE BUYING A HOUSE!

Adventures in Being a Real Life Grown-Up

Alternatively titled, I’m 24, Not an Idiot. For Reals + 37 Unrelated Emojis.

Mike and I are currently riding the roller coaster otherwise known as trying to buy our first home, and let me just tell you– I’ve aged about ten years in one week (and sincerely wondering why no one teaches you about this stuff in high school because, hello).

Our Mortgage Guy suggested that I look into refinancing the loan on my car to make things look a little better financially on paper (insert boring mortgage-related jargon here), so I did. Not a big deal. I really should have done it a while ago anyway, because buying the car when I was 20 with five minutes of credit history = disgusting interest rate.

I decided to try refinancing with my current lienholder (The Bank That Shall Not Be Named) because I figured– You already have my money, you probably want to keep my money, YOU’RE WELCOME. Apparently the customer service rep who handled my request assumed I had < 2 brain cells because he presented me with the most ludicrous offers of all time:

a) Refi my car AND get $5K in cash to “enjoy a vacation or pay down my credit cards” at an interest rate that is higher than any of my credit cards so ARE YOU CRAZY.

b) Refi my car for an additional 60 months at an interest rate that is higher than the one you gave me when I was 20 with five minutes of credit history so NO THANK YOU.

Needless to say, I politely declined and applied to refinance with the bank we used for our SUV. Their offer was exponentially more reasonable (and a big improvement on the terms we currently have with The Bank That Shall Not Be Named), so we accepted and all is right with the world.

Moral of the story? Being a real-life grown up is tiring. And kind of lame. And a lot harder when you’re 24 and still tugging on the big girl pants and the end goal is to “look good on paper,” but few and far between are the people who are willing to help you do it.

Thank goodness for our Mortgage Guy, for The Bank That Is Fairly Certain I’m Not An Idiot, for our amazing realtor, and everyone else who has even an ounce of faith that we can do this. I get it that twenty-somethings are statistically untrustworthy (i.e. make poor life choices), so you really have no reason to believe that we won’t royally mess this up. Well, aside from six-ish years of meticulously building our credit and working ourselves into the ground.

You guys are awesome, and I promise we won’t let you down. For reals 🙂 😛 😆