Birthday Rewind

Whew! Time is flying!! I cannot believe January has already flown by...And so much is going on.

A little over a week ago I celebrated my Birthday! And, I got some lovely surprises.
1. Ryan took me out to one our favorite spots, Twist and turn Tavern, for dinner on the day before my birthday (and boy was it fun to get a date night with him!) Between work, moving, and wedding planning I feel like we have hardly have gotten time for the two of us. 

2. I got to have lunch and poke around Mount Airy with one of my friends. It was so much fun to just have a relaxing day! I never get to do that anymore.
3. When I got home from having some fun Ryan was at the house and gave me a Nook Cover for the Nook I got for Christmas. I cannot tell you how great that was (and shows you how well he knows me... I don't need anything fancy, just give me the stuff I won't get for myself.. and yes, a Nook cover falls into that category... I am lame... I know...)
4. Dinner at Sabatino's! Sabatino's is the best Italian restaurant in Little Italy in Baltimore, hands down. We had a great time along with great food (as usual). Then it was back home for the final surprise of my Birthday...

My mom visited!! (and brought me the wonderfully puppy that had been staying with her during the move) And so, the last 10 days of my life have been consumed with a wonderful new bundle of joy/ competing with Ryan for her love. 

and now we are only a few days away from Ryan's birthday and I have a few things up my sleeve ...(But for now you will have to wait and see!)

2012 Reading List

Look, Look, I am posting more for 2012 as promised! In honor of getting an awesome Nook from my future in-laws I am going to talk about my reading list. (Plus I have read some awesome posts from my friends that are putting together their 2012 reading lists)

I didn't get too much read in 2011. But, here are a few highlights! 

Such an amazing book. Probably my favorite read of 2011. I laughed, I cried, I loved it!

This is an amazing story, I flew through it! It has so much information that I never knew.

This book challenged me, made me think, and reaffirmed me! 

Cute and fun. But, be prepared to cry...

2012 Reading List:

I love to read, but am terrible with follow through. Therefore, I am going to shoot for reading 12 books over the year (That's right, one book a month). But, I would be happy if I read 1 Novel,  1 Non-Fiction, and 1 Faith book for the year. 

Novels:

(Just Finished!)

Non-Fiction:

Faith:

I have more than 12 books on my reading list for 2012, but I these are some that I have been meaning to read for a while. Will let you know if I read anything else! What are you planning on reading in 2012? Any suggestions? 

Hello 2012!

First, I know... I know... I fell down on the job in 2011. As I look back over the year I got around to very few blog posts. But,  I promise to be better in 2012! Starting with this post.

As some of you may know 2012 is going to be a big year for me! To kick off the new year I got a puppy! Well, my parents got Ryan and I a rescue puppy. A beautiful, amazing, smart, sweet, loyal...well, you get the idea... puppy! She is the new love of my life (shhh... don't tell Ryan).

But how can you not love this cute puppy face!

The second major thing that has happened is that Ryan and I signed a lease for a house! We wanted to find a place we could call home when we got married and this is going to be a great first house. (OK, OK, you got me. We did it all for the puppy. But come on, she needs wide open spaces. She needs to feel the grass beneath her paws and the sun on her golden fur.) I'm sorry, I digress. Oh right, the house. 

Ta Da!
 (It looks better now that the leaves have been raked...and it will look much better in the spring when I clean up the flower beds!)

The kitchen

The Breakfast Nook

The Kitchen looking into the Breakfast Nook

The Living Room

The Living Room

The back porch/ yard

The back yard!

It also has a huge basement (with enough room for Ryan to have a "man cave") and a walk up attic for storage. Not to mention that it is a 2 bedroom house so I can actually have a guest room for when friends and family visit! We are so excited that this will be our first home and look forward to starting our married life here. I cannot wait until it is decorated and all homey. When it is I will post some pictures here for all of you to see. 

Here is to a wonderful 2012!