Summer in the City???

By this point in June I expected to be sweltering in the heat, and buying popsicles in bulk, but instead am wrapping in sweatshirts and warm PJ pants! The weather is kind of depressing, but sadly enough is better for me. If it was beautiful and sunny out I would be depressed about the fact that my life is ALL WORK, and NO PLAY! so at least the crummy weather helps me not be completely bummed.

For those of you who read the blog (i am hoping there is at least one person), you may have been wondering where we have been. Matt and I are working as usual. I got a summer job at a student insurance company in Quincy, MA so i shuffle off there every morning, and then when i get home it is the mad dash to:

• make dinner
• work out
• look for an apartment with 2 parking spots and an outdoor area
  
• pack lunch
• eat dinner
• study for the CPA exam, which I am supposed to do 3-4 hours a night...yeah, right!
• talk to matt about his day
• sleep

It is quite exhausting, and since i never do all the studying I am supposed to I am constantly feeling guilty and stressed out. It is not good for morale. However sometimes I do fun things... like last week, I pickled things!



I have an unnatural love for all things pickled! Oh how a jar with vegetables, vinegar and salt can make my heart swoon!!!


I made pickled carrots, pickled green beans, 2 jars of pickled snap peas, 2 jars of sliced pickles and 1 jar of pickle spears! I have already eaten all the carrots, 1 jar of snap peas, and have been nibbling on the other jar of snap peas... I am anxiously awaiting for the pickles to be ready! I kind of improvised on the recipes, and made them the way I thought they would be good, but everything was adapted from The Joy of Pickling. You should go out and get it right now and start pickling...it is seriously addictive :)

Well, now I am going back to studying. Wish me luck!

A Show and Tell Weekend

Hello All!

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend. Here is the past weekend in a short recap. Yesterday Matty and I went to the grocery store, home depot, Michaels craft store, and best buy.

Here is a picture of my awesome new lamp we got in Burlington, VT for my birthday! I never included it in a blog post before so i figured better late then never!

Here is my Hagen Renaker Collection shadow box house! I got this at Michaels and painted it today! I found this collection last weekend when I was home visiting my mom. It really is her collection, but I always played with it as a kid and brought it home to live in Craft Village :)

After painting the house I planted the herb garden Matt bought me as part of my birthday gift! I love early gifts and I love the beautiful smelling basil, lemon thyme and parsley that are now adorning my windowsill!




And after the herbs I made cupcakes! I don't bake a lot but the cupcakes and frosting were on sale for about $2.50 total, so I couldn't resist! They are so soft and fluffy. I want to eat them all!
The ones on the bottom left have strawberries mixed in. They are so delicious. Every time berries are on sale I buy boxed muffin mix or cupcake mix and experiment with adding them and making berry sauces.

Well, I will try to not be such a stranger to my blog! Hope you are all having a fabulous day!

Where have we been?

Matt and I have just finished a super busy few weeks!

We kicked it off by celebrating Matt's birthday in Vermont. It was so fun, we stayed at the Sterling Ridge Resort Log Cabins in a deluxe cabin! We explored Vermont and then would take nice jacuzzi tubs :) It was just what the doctor had ordered! I will post all about the trip soon!

Then after we got back from the trip Miss Holly came back into our lives! We doggy sat for her while her parents went to London. It was great having her around. I really missed her, and she is a great snuggle bunny! The day after Holly came to stay with us something else exciting happened....

I GRADUATED!!!!

I still cannot believe that I am all done! It is a relief in some ways, but I do not start my full-time career job until September, so now I am stressing about what to do for work for the summer....

I know I should be enjoying some time off, and studying for my CPA exam (when my materials come), and crafting, but right now I am just being a bum and stressing. I am going to try and be better!

Hopefully I will be updating soon about how I have a summer job, or am at least less stressed!

-Meghan

Knock knock...

...whose there? Spring!!!

I am finally beginning to feel like spring time has arrived. It is still chilly and gray out, but it is still just an iota warmer so I am calling whatever this weather is spring weather!

The next few weeks will be a really busy time for me and matt. His birthday is the 23rd of April, I graduate May 1st, and in between now and then I have a million and one things to wrap up and do. I am not fond of finals and final papers. But after that I have to figure out what to do for works for the summer (I have a fall start date for my full-time job).

Part of me wants to hang out and relax because i never will have another summer or a lot of time off until i retire... but taking time off is not my nature. I also have a huge professional exam to study for...sigh.

Well, I am off to drink my tea! We need to go shopping today to buy Matt new pants (He only has 1 pair that don't have a rip now :) )

Hope your having nice Saturdays!!!!

-Meghan

For the Love of Tea

Matt and I gave up drinking coffee daily over a year ago. I LOVED coffee....a little to much. I had to stop because I was drinking so much a day it was making me feel manic. My throat would feel like it was restricted, and my heart was beating so fast, like a little humming bird in my chest, and then after I drank it my energy would crash and I would need more and more...it really was a vicious cycle!

Matt had to stop because he has a heart murmur, and too much caffeine makes his chest feel tight. So now we drink coffee once a week on average. We use it as a treat for ourselves when we are running errands, out for breakfast etc.

So, now all you caffeine lovers are asking the same thing we asked when we quit, "what are they going to drink??!!" The answer to that question was easy....TEA!

I LOVE TEA NOW! I always have liked it, but now we love it. I have gotten addicted to that now! I drink at least 2 cups a day, and usually want it more! The picture above was a good find from when we were Gnome Home jar sleuthing at the thrift store.

Matt and I love crappy tea. We get the cheap Lipton Tea that is 100 bags for about $3. We have tried others, but realize we like the cheap stuff! (isn't it always great when it works out like that!) We used to store it on top of my recipe box in the Lipton 16 bag box...which was driving me nuts. We would put the bags from the 100 bag box into the little box...and it was getting all worn and ripped. When we first got our tea jar Matt was skeptical, but now he is as much a fan as I am!

On a non-tea note, I have been making terrariums. I have made 8 in the past 2 days, which is rare for me. Matt normally makes them, and I take the photos and make the clay stuff and list them and pack them and all the other stuff. However, Matt works from 11:00 am until 7:00pm, so the last thing he wants to do at night is make terrariums! So, instead of studying I have been procrastinating doing my work by making terrariums. I have been really proud of myself! I think they have been coming out nicely. This one is one of my favorites, and I made it 100%, from the terrarium to the house!

I also have changed some of the photos, put some new snazzy backgrounds up. I really think they make the terrariums pop!

Well I hope you all had a nice day!

~Meghan

Tiny Tea Cup Terrariums!

Hello All!

This week is my spring break week. Since we could not afford to go away I have been engaging in some good ole' TLC today. I slept in late, drank my tea, watched The Biggest Loser, made these little tea cup terrariums, ate a sandwich while listening to the Virtual Labs Critiques, watched Jon and Kate Plus 8, started dinner (veggie cacciatore)... and now i am waiting for the boy to get out of the bathroom so I have some company!

Tomorrow I am going to visit my family. My mom is taking Friday off from work to hang out with me, which is super exciting! I want to go to Joann fabrics and Christmas Tree Shop and just hang out with her. My mom is my best friend (excluding the boy, naturally) so I am glad to have the one-on-one time with her. I have an awesome nephew, and a precocious niece who my mom watches 3-5 times a week, and when they are over it is hard to have quality time with my mom.

The boy took Monday and Tuesday off work to be with me... keep my company on my spring break at home. We went into the city to have lunch (he tried Indian Food for me!) and shopped around for the multiple Birthdays coming up (Brothers on the 8th, Moms on the 24th, Nephews on the 30th). While looking for the brother/mom we came across these awesome tiny cups, and a few other jars we have yet to post!

I hope you all had good Wednesdays! Thanks for reading!

Easter Eggs for Everyone!!!

In anticipation of the upcoming Easter Holiday we have decided that every customer from now until April 8th will receive a FREE Easter egg figurine for their terrarium!

My mom has always made Holidays special, and I mean every Holiday, by decorating and giving thoughtful little treats. I have been really nostalgic lately seeing the Easter egg dye kits from PAAS in the grocery store, and remembering how much i used to love dying eggs with my mom, so this is our way of spreading that love and joy with all our awesome supporters.

The eggs are so fun to make, I love mixing the colors to get a nice pastel marbled look... I think they look like dyed eggs do after you dip them. (at least i hope they do!)