Decisions, Decisions

You may have noticed that I've kind of deserted this little blog of mine. I started 2013 feeling very optimistic about this space and getting back to posting regularly. Clearly, this has not happened. 

I'm currently debating starting over in a new space. This blog has been wonderful for me for the past few years but I don't feel that it is a very accurate representation of me anymore. When I first started 'All Dressed Up' I had every intention of blogging about beauty, fashion and other interests in my life but ended up enjoying the freedom of posting about whatever I wanted whenever I wanted so the focus never went in that direction. I'm now stuck in a bit of a creative rut and not sure where to go from here. I find that I really enjoy posting about my adventures in life but would also love to have a more focused blog as well. This is where I am torn and why I am not sure where to go from here. 

I just wanted to let you all know that I am planning on coming back someday, I just haven't decided in what format. Thank you all for continuing to check out my blog and also contacting me through Instragram and Twitter. I've loved the people I've met through blogging and most definitely do not want to stop forever.

Have any of you ever started a blog over again? Do you have any thoughts/suggestions? I would love any feedback you can provide while I decide which direction to take things.

Thank you for reading! :)

2012: A Year in Review

So 2012 is over and to be honest I’m kind of glad to see it go. Last year was the hardest year of my adult life thus far and I’m really hoping in 2013 things will turn around. While 2012 wasn’t my favorite year, there were still some very good times that were had. Just like in 2010 and 2011, I’m going to share my ‘Year in Review’ post for 2012.

January

I started 2012 off super sick and missed out on the New Year festivities. We rang in the New Year on the couch while I sniffled and whined. I also ended January sick so I watched A LOT of Full House throughout the month. I did end up venturing out at least once in January for dinner and pool with some friends. I read quite a bit this month and shared a book review on ‘The Radley’s’ by Matt Haig.

February

I was still recovering from my illness the first half of February so the blog was kind of quiet. We went on a double Valentine’s day date with Chris & Justine to the Monster Truck show. It was awesome and terrifying and reminded me of my childhood. I can’t wait to do it again this year! 

March 

My Grandpa was given 2-3 weeks to live at the beginning of March and passed away on  March 20th. This was very hard on me and the month of March was very stressful and sad. I couldn’t bring myself to blog much in March.

April

We had a Celebration of Life for my Grandpa and I had to give a speech in front of all of his friends and family. I was super nervous but was able to make it through. Justine and I went to see Meiko perform at the Doug Fir downtown and my sweet Chopter turned 3! My boyfriend and I worked our way through all of the Harry Potter movies and I shared a 90’s Crushes post.

May

My boyfriend and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary on May 4th and I shared pictures of us through the years. I wrote about my struggle with blogging and being happy, we celebrated my dad’s birthday with a Hamm’s tall boy and we celebrated Andrew's birthday with a TMNT themed cake.

June

In June, I shared Andrew’s TMNT birthday cake that I made and a post about how different my boyfriend and I are when it comes to cleaning. Andrew and I went to Thrice’s Farewell Tour at the Roseland, I went to my first PNW Blogger event and visited with my great Uncle and cousins. I ended the month with an embarrassing story about high school softball and the great lengths I went to to avoid PE sports.

July

Work consumed my life in July and I had little time for anything else. We went to the Drive In, I took a few day trips to the beach and spent a couple of mornings at the pool in our complex. My brother turned 22 and went on a fabulous trip to Las Vegas without me (*tears*) and I held my mom’s best friend’s grandbaby while my mom gave me the ‘I-want-grandkids-now’ glare.

August

I didn’t post AT ALL in August as this month was a real struggle for me in almost all aspects of my life. I did get to sneak away for a weekend to surprise my best friend at the beach for her birthday! I made the 3 1/2 hour drive to Florence on my own and had to get an emergency oil change in a strange town on the way home. I was just beyond thankful that my car didn’t give me trouble until I was back in civilization. I also got to watch a good friend marry the guy she has been with since before I met her. 

September

I shared my favorite mix of Fall songs, started re-reading the Harry Potter series and watched a ton of movies. I made a list of my dream Fall wardrobe items.

October

Andrew and I went to see Hotel Transylvania and Justine and I spent half a day downtown at the Portland Saturday Market. Meiko was playing another show in Portland and Andrew and I made it a date night. I organized all of my craft supplies one weekend and realized I have way too much craft stuff. My bestie and I spent a long Saturday together visiting Pittock Mansion, getting dinner and cupcakes and finally seeing The Perks Of Being a Wallflower in the theater! Andrew bought me the new Taylor Swift album. We spent a day at the pumpkin patch with my brother and his girlfriend and I helped my mom make a scarecrow for her front porch.

November

November was amazing! I went to the PNW Blogger meet up where I got to meet local bloggers and say hello to those I met at the last event. My mom had her holiday bazaar. I helped out the whole weekend and even sold some of my crafts. My best friend and her boyfriend put in an offer on a house and it was accepted! I had to renew my driver license and turned 26 years old. My boyfriend made me a cake for my birthday and I spent my birthday evening getting pizza with my family since my boyfriend and friends were all sick. We celebrated Thanksgiving day with both of our families and I made 3 pumpkin pies this year. The day after Thanksgiving we got our Christmas tree and decorated our place for the holidays.

December

December was extra busy and I just put blogging on hold completely. I got most of my Christmas shopping done early this year which never happens. We helped Justine and Chris move into their new home! My family got together to help my Grandma put lights on her house. We went out and celebrated my brother’s girlfriend’s 21st birthday at a club downtown where we realized just how old we were. My brother and I took a trip to Bend to visit with our Dad’s side of the family. We hadn’t all been together for at least 19 years so it was a blast to catch up with them all. We celebrated Christmas morning at home, had brunch at Andrew’s mom’s house, lunch at my mom’s and spent the rest of the evening at my Grandma’s house. The rest of December I spent busy at work due to end of the year deadlines.

All I’m wishing for in 2013 is happiness, health and positive outcomes. I hope you all had a fabulous 2012 and are off to an even better start on 2013!

Where have I been?

Wow, It’s mid November! This year is just flying by and I really wish it would slow down a bit so I could enjoy it! So far, November has been SO busy. It’s been crazy. Crazy in a good way though! :)

I attended the PNW Blogger meet-up that was coordinated by Chelsey from The Paper Mama on November 3rd. It was held at West Elm which is an amazingly dangerous place full of wonderful things. Justine and I rode together and met up with Tabatha when we got there. It was so nice to finally meet her after talking to her online! I also met quite a few new people and got to say hello to a few I met from the last meet up. It was so much fun and I only wish it could have been longer as there were still people I wanted to meet (Ashley, I'm looking at you!). The time just flew by though! Whole Foods provided delicious snacks and wine and West Elm was nice enough to let us wander through their beautiful store after drinking said wine. I entered a raffle for a $50 West Elm gift card and won! I never win anything so I was super excited. I am still deciding what to spend my gift card on.

The day after the event, my best friend and her boyfriend found out that their offer on the house they wanted was accepted! They are going to be homeowners and I am SO excited for them! I can’t wait to see their new place in person. They will be moving in just in time for Christmas and it’s going to be fabulous!

The drivers license I got when I was 17 expired on my birthday this year so I had to go renew it before November 12th. I stopped at the DMV near my place the week before my birthday to renew and there was a girl and her mom sitting next to me waiting for the girl to get her picture taken. The mom was so excited and kept telling her daughter how proud of her she was. I turned to them and smiled and the mom told me “It took a few tries for her to pass, but she did it!” The daughter seemed embarrassed so I told her it was okay, it took me a few tries also. The mom asked her daughter if she wanted to brush her hair for her photo and the daughter said “MOM! It’s just my permit! Gosh!” I turned and looked at her and in that moment I realized that she was only 15 and had just passed her permit test. She was at least 10 years younger than me. I seriously had to choke back a few tears at that moment because that really put my age in perspective for me. I’m not ‘old’ by any means, but I just cannot seem to wrap my mind around the fact that I was 16 TEN years ago. Also, my new license photo sucked. So that was the icing on my old birthday cake.
The next weekend was the holiday bazaar my mom and I put together at her house. She has this great covered patio that we were able to set up to look like a gift shop. It was chilly being partially outside and a lot of work went into the setup but it was also a lot of fun. We had quite a few people come after seeing our signs posted and lots of friends and neighbors stopped by as well. My mom is already planning on having another one in the spring and possibly an end of summer bazaar as well. My boyfriend's mom actually stopped by one day to see the bazaar and my mom and his mom finally got to meet after 5 1/2 years of us dating! It’s funny how as soon as they started talking the subject changed to how they both want grandkids, like NOW. The last day of the bazaar was the day before my 26th birthday. My mom, aunt and some friends surprised me with a birthday cake during the last hour of the bazaar and they all sang to me. It was so sweet. When I got home that night, my boyfriend had made me a card and the ugliest cake ever (that’s just how he does things) and we celebrated over pizza and breadsticks.

On my actual 26th birthday, most of my friends and boyfriend were sick so I went to dinner with my mom, my grandparents, my brother, my brother’s girlfriend and my cousin Sara and her boyfriend. We had pizza (again!) and pumpkin cake. Also, Honey Boo Boo’s twin was there and Sara and I spent the evening trying to get a good photo of her, so there was that.
I’m 26 now and it is very weird. I think I’ll save my tears for 28 though, I will probably need them more then. My birthday is also the anniversary of my dad's death and he has been gone 15 years as of this year. It is still SO strange for me to think that he's been gone that long. It's always hard to have to share my birthday with such a tough day but it almost makes it bearable since it's also a day of celebration for me. Bittersweet, I guess.

Now that all of these events are over, I’m seriously hoping life gives me a little break. With the holidays coming up I know that is not likely but I’m actually really feeling festive this year. I’m looking forward to getting our tree on Friday and decorating our apartment. I put together our Christmas movie schedule tonight and am just looking forward to spending time with friends and family the rest of the year.

A good tune for your Sunday

I was super excited to see that one of my favorite musicians, Meiko, filmed a cute video to go along with one of her songs. The video is for the song 'Good Looking Loser' which is an amazing song (with a hilarious story behind it) and the video is pretty perfect. Happy Sunday!

Currently:

I know, I know, another 'currently' post. In my defense, I have been so busy between work and prepping for our holiday bazaar that it's all I've got left in me at the end of the day! Plus, it allows me to share what has been on my mind lately. :)
Reading: I actually haven't been reading at all recently as I spend most of my nights crafting. I did manage to read a chapter from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets last night before bed though. It's taking me a lot longer to re-read the series than I thought it would.

Watching: Still keeping up with my guilty pleasure shows but again, I haven't been doing much other than crafting every night so I'm even behind on my shows! Sad face.

Listening to: Taylor Swift's new album. That is literally all I've been listening to since Andrew bought it for me. I love it. My favorite song on the album is 'All Too Well' and if you have not gotten the album yet I recommend the Target deluxe edition because the song 'The Moment I Knew' is completely worth having. It's my other favorite.

Thinking about: What to do with my pumpkin. It's still sitting on the porch un-carved. My boyfriend puts away all decorations the DAY AFTER every holiday so if I carve the pumpkin on Halloween night I have to throw it out the next day. If I don't carve it I get to keep it out until Thanksgiving. UGH! I feel like it's such a waste to not carve a pumpkin but then again it will only get to sit out for an evening. 

Loving: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Kit Kats. Not that this is a new development but I bought a couple bags of candy today "just in case we have trick-or-treaters" tomorrow. We won't (we never get them!) but that is fine, I'll probably eat it all before tomorrow night anyways.

Looking forward to: The PNWBlogger meetup! It's on Saturday and I'm so excited to see/meet everyone!

Making me happy: Cozy nights with my boyfriend and my pom, Angry Orchard hard cider,  and sleeping with the window open to let the cold air in.

A Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

On Thursday evening we took a trip to the pumpkin patch with my younger brother and his girlfriend. After I found out she had never been to the Sauvie Island corn maze/pumpkin patch it became my duty to introduce it to her. Andrew and I have been going to Sauvie Island for pumpkin picking and corn mazing since we first started dating. 

As soon as we got out there, we decided to eat first as the shops and cafe start to close down earlier. We each ordered a bratwurst and hot apple cider and found a picnic table to sit at while we ate. After we scarfed down our food, we headed over to the hay ride area to wait in line for the next tractor. 
They are just the cutest.  The pumpkins this year were the largest I've ever seen them. It was insane. Andrew pulling the vines off of my pumpkin selection. It was so perfect and also 35 lbs. Yikes. After putting our pumpkins in the car, we ran over to grab tickets for the corn maze before they stopped selling tickets for the night. This year the maze was themed 'Portlandia' and yes, they put a bird on it. I can actually see the resemblance between my brother and I in this picture. After the pumpkin patch we picked up a pizza and some beer and finished the night at our place watching Hocus Pocus. Because it is not Halloween until you watch Hocus Pocus. Am I right?

Currently:

Reading: Still re-reading the HP books. I haven’t had much time to read lately but I need  to start making more time for it. So many books to read, so little time.

Watching: SO many shows. It’s a little ridiculous. All the Fall shows such as Nashville, Hart of Dixie (so happy it’s back on!), New Girl, American Horror Story, etc. Also, I’ve been watching Freaks & Geeks while I craft at night. It’s kind of the best.

Listening to: The rain! FINALLY! There is nothing I love more than listening to the rain come down while I’m all cozy inside. It’s been raining hard today and I am enjoying the crap out of it.

Thinking about: All of the projects I have to complete before my mom and I have our holiday bazaar. I’ve been crocheting bows and making felt gingerbread men ornaments like a crazy person. I have so many projects and decorations to make before November 9th that I’m worried I’m not going to complete everything in time. I’m going to stay home and craft alllll day tomorrow. (If you are in the Portland area and would like additional info on our holiday bazaar, send me an email. I’m not going to post the flyer here for obvious reasons but if you email me I can fill you in on the details, you know, if you aren’t creepy and stuff.)

Loving: The weather, still. I’m a rain and gloom person (I know, it’s weird) and the weather is just absolutely perfect right now. Also it’s getting dark early and I kind of love that too.

Looking forward to: The holiday bazaar! My mom had one when I was little and it was a blast. Her dream is to open her own little store someday as she loves to paint and craft. Also, the PNWBlogger Holiday Party! Justine and I bought our tickets last week and I’m super excited to see bloggers from the last event and also meet new ones! Anyone else going?

Making me happy: Pumpkin scented candles. Ginger ale. A sleepy dog. Giant pumpkins on our porch. Crafting again. And rain. Of course.