10 reasons why fall and winter don't completely suck

So anyone who knows me, knows that I love summer.

The beach, cookouts, awesome beach hair, tans, flip flops, sundresses.

Perfection.

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It snowed before Thanksgiving. NOT OK.

I can't help but be sad when the weather gets cold, but at the same time I kind of love it.

Why you ask?

1. Leggings. If you're one of those people who are like "But Jenny, leggings aren't pants!" then stop reading.

Go away and never come back.

2. Cozy sweaters and cardigans. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.

3. Cozy socks. Short ones, fluffy ones, long ones. I'm normally anti-footwear, but there is something awesome about a comfy ass pair of socks.

Put the two together and I'll never get out of bed.

4. Boots. I'm fairly certain every girl on the planet will agree with me on this so I don't need to explain myself.

5. Scarves. Even though I feel like they look ridiculous when I wear them with my hair down, I'm obsessed.

Scarf, leggings, boots, cozy socks - it's a conglomerate of comfy!

6. Movember. Now some girls may not like the idea of their guy not shaving for a month because it's all itchy and rough when you kiss them. Personally, I love a guy with some facial hair. Also, no shave November parties are a blast.

Girls can rock the walrus, too!

8. Football. Pirates, Cowboys, beer. Yes, please!

9. Howl-O-Scream. I am a roller coaster, Halloween, food and beer enthusiast so there is really no reason why I wouldn't love Howl-O-Scream. Despite my still-bum knee, Justin and I made the trip to Busch Gardens for a day of pure awesomeness. It rained pretty much the entire day but that didn't stop us from riding roller coasters non-stop, stuffing our faces, watching an old lady on a motorized wheelchair get arrested for shoplifting and getting the crap scared out of us.

Well..... I got the crap scared out of me and Justin laughed.

10. My electric blanket. Justin (AKA the greatest boyfriend in the history of boyfriends) gave me an electric blanket as one of my Christmas gifts last year. You may be thinking to yourself "Wow. That is an extraordinarily un-romantic gift." You obviously don't know me. I work in public education so the idea of turning the heat on it my house is a joke. Therefore the electric blanket is the second greatest gift I have ever received, second only to my life (thanks, Mom) 

What are some of your fall favorites?

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Hokay, it's time for me to call it a night.

 It's a short week at work and I can't wait to get the ball rolling!

Goodnight!

xoxo

Jenny

You look familiar... Do I know you?

Oh. Hey blog... haven't seen you in awhile.

I'm just gonna move on now and pretend like I'm not someone who neglects her blog for months on end. 

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Needless to say, life has been just a wee bit busy the past few months. Started a new job, new classes and all the fun things that go along with this time of year. So lemme just get down to business and give you a recap on life:

Summer ended and that sucked.

HOWEVER

I transferred schools over the summer and am now working at a new elementary school as the library assistant. Can I just take a minute to talk about how awesome working in a library is? I get to see all the kidlets, help them pick out awesome books, it's fairly quiet and the librarian I work with is supah awesome and hilarious. Every now and then I really miss the people and kiddos at BDQ but I know I made the right move.

October rolled around and that means Halloween parties! I am a huge fan of dressing up for Halloween and I normally plan out something way in advance, but it snuck up on me this year. I ended up throwing together two outfits at the last minute, but I loved both.

Justin was out of town for the first party so I had to think of a costume that could fly solo : ( I ended up putting together a cheap, easy and very funny costume. Best part? It was a little sexy but loose so I could eat all the snacks I wanted. Priorities, right?

Costume #1: walk of shame

Our next party was at Marianna's and Justin had the brilliant idea to be the Brawny man. At the last minute I thought it would be cute to tie into that and be a housewife.

Costume #2: Brawny man and his housewife

One of the perks of working at an elementary school? You get to dress up at work too!

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I also going to blame quite a bit of my absence on finally realizing that Breaking Bad is the greatest show of all time. Was I living under a rock all these years? I mean, really.

Anyways, Justin and the rest of the human race kept talking about the series finale so I figured I would fire up Netflix and give it a shot. Ughh. There were a few Sundays were I literally only got out of bed to pee. It was borderline pathetic.

Also, were has Aaron Paul been my whole life? Hellloooo new celebrity crush.

What I didn't know was that the last half of the finale season ISN'T ON NETFLIX YET. I refuse to buy the last episodes but I'm seriously freaking out.

Side note: I just realized I talked about another Netflix obsession last time I blogged. Oh lawd.

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Well I'm gonna let myself slip into the Pinterest blackhole for a bit... Maybe I'll be an overachiever and post some more lata.

xoxo

Jenny

Lazy Sunday with The Tudors

I hope everyone had a good weekend!

My weekend started off good, because on Friday I found out that I won't need surgery! I got my MRI results back and rather than a torn meniscus, I have chondromalacia patella. For those of us that aren't doctors, that means that my knee cap has shifted to the outside of my knee and is no longer in line with the rest of my leg. This is causing my knee cap to grind on and wear down the cartilage on the backside of my knee. Even though that means I'll need several months of physical therapy, I'll take that over surgery.

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Market Jam was this weekend! My doctor told me to start gradually putting weight on my right knee so I figured Market Jam would be a good time to give it a go. After all, navigating that crowd on crutches would have been terrible! It hurt a bit, but it didn't stop me from having a good time with friends.

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Random side note: does anyone else fine themselves binge-watching Netflix?

I've had a lot of free time thanks to my knee and I am currently obsessed with The Tudors. Have you watched it? Wow. Just wow. Anyways, I just started another season of it so this post is going to end in about 5..4..3..2..1

Adventures in MRI Land

I've been a terrible blogger.

I would like to tell you that I have been super busy or on some awesome vacation, but the truth is...

I've just been lazy.

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Let's play catch-up

Last weekend was wonderful though because Kindal, one of my old college roomies, came to town! We spent the weekend eating delicious food and drinking lots of wine.

Saturday night we ate at Persimmon's in New Bern - if you haven't been there, I highly recommend it. After crab dip, calamari, blackened chicken pasta and an amazing champagne/pineapple juice cocktail I was STUFFED. So what did we do after that? Buy a whole chocolate cake, a tub of ice cream and stuff our faces more while watching movies in our pajamas. Perfection. We only get to see Kindal a couple times a year, so the weekends are always way too short, but so much fun!

Roomie Reunion!

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So you might have looked at the title of this post and been slightly confused. If you don't already know, I injured my knee a little over a month ago. I had my first appointment with an orthopedic surgeon on the 10th of this month and after a physical examination he said that he was pretty sure I had torn my meniscus, but that he needed to see an MRI to be sure. It took a little while for them to call me back about when I would be going, but I ended up going to get an MRI scan done this past Tuesday. What is an MRI like, you ask?

LOUD.

I had one previously, but it had been years ago so I really had no idea what to expect other than going in a big magnetic tube. After filling out the paperwork, freaking out/hoping I didn't have any random metal in my body that would get sucked out and waiting for a bit, I was called back for my scan. I got a lovely pair of men's XL scrubs to put on (they really complimented my figure - I should have taken a picture!) and I hobbled towards the room where the machine was.

The MRI techs helped me lie down, strapped my knee in place, gave me some headphones to listen to music and told me it would take about 25 minutes. I had only one rule:

No moving.

Really? Do you know me? Not a problem. I've been lying still for the past month - I'm kind of a pro at it.

What I didn't think about is my body's natural urge to do the exact opposite of what it's told to do.

"Oh? You want to go outside and have fun? Nope. I'm tired and hurt - lets stay in bed all day and not move. What's that now? You want me to be perfectly still? Nah uh. Not gonna happen."

So as soon as the machine turned on and started sucking me in to the tube (which is tiny and now it makes sense why they ask if you are claustrophobic) this is what was racing through my mind.

For the entire 25 minutes.

#1: Why did I pick this position? It might be the most uncomfortable position I have ever been in.

#2 My left foot itches SO BAD.

#3 Please don't suck me all the way in this tiny tube. (thankfully, I only went boob deep)

#4 My feet are very cold, socks would be great right about now.

#5 I really hope I don't have any random metal that is going to rip out of my body.

#6 LOUD NOISES.

#7 Is is supposed to sound like this or is it breaking?

So after 25 minutes of resisting the urge to move around, scratch my cold feet or wiggle out of the incredibly loud death tube - I was done.

Pshhhh, that wasn't bad at all. I wasn't nervous... Nope.

I hobbled back out, got compliments on my super awesome crutch cup holder (thanks Dad!) and was on my way! Now I go back to the orthopedic surgeon tomorrow afternoon to discuss the result of my MRI and decided where to go from there. Preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best!

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xoxo

- Jenny

If too much chevron is wrong, I don't wanna be right

Hi. My name is Jenny and I have an addiction

...to chevron.

I'm a little late admitting this, but I know I'm not alone. If you haven't fallen prey to this awesome pattern at one point or another, I think you might be the one that needs the help. It has been popping up everywhere: clothes, home decor, blog backgrounds, furniture, weddings... I could go on forever.

I already took the first step and admitted I have a problem, so I'll go a little deeper and share some of my favorite chevrony (is that even a word?) things that I have found and done myself!

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I will have an accent wall like this in my house one day

Pinned here

Cutest nursey ever? I think yes.

(Photo courtesy of Papery and Cakery)

Chevron AND stripes?! I'm in heaven..

Photo courtesy of Simple Dwellings

I love this dress

Justin was super happy about our humidity hair. Buy the dress here!

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Even though I rent and sometimes have a hard time making it really feel like it's my place, I've found some easy ways to incorporate this fun pattern and liven things up a bit!

My coffee table (ignore my gross brown carpet!)

A fun corkboard for my kitchen

which is now covered with random junk

Plus a little something I made for my niece's nursery

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Are you obsessed with chevron too or has another pattern taken over your life? Let me know in the comments section and/or link some of your favorite ways to incorporate patterns!

xoxo

Jenny

The greatest cheeseball in the history of cheeseballs

I'm about to show you how to make the greatest cheese ball in the history of cheese balls.

True story.

I got this cheese ball recipe from my grandparents a few years ago and it has become one of the front runners in my appetizer arsenal. If you are like me and love cheese, things that aren't even remotely healthy and dipping - this is for you. It my not be the prettiest thing and the ingredients make it sound a little weird, but you gotta trust me on this. It is amazing. Don't make it unless you are prepared to have everyone in your house standing around it in a circle shoveling it in.

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What you will need:

2 blocks of cream cheese (8oz)

2 packets of Buddig beef

1 bushel of green onion

Worcestershire sauce

Cutting board

Large mixing bowl

A big spoon

Plastic wrap

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Got it all that? Good. Let's do this.

Wash your green onions and give them  course chop.

In to the bowl they go!

Do the same with one packet of the Buddig beef and throw it in the bowl with the green onion.

Put in your two packages of softened cream cheese.

Unless your arms are jacked like Arnold Schwarzenegger, you are going to need to let your cream cheese sit out for a while to get nice and soft.

Give that bottle of worcestershire a couple of good shakes and you are ready to mix!

Once your mixture looks like this ^ it's time to lay out a sheet on plastic wrap on your counter.

Spoon your cream cheese mixture on the plastic wrap, then take another sheet of wrap and cover it. Roll it up and form a ball or log - whatever you want. Let it sit in the fridge until cold and relatively firm to the touch (usually about 4 hours or so). When you are ready to serve, chop up the other packet of Buddig beef and press it on the outside of the cheese ball. Serve cold with Wheat Thins and enjoy!

Kitchen gnome approves

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xoxo

-Jenny

End of the week recap!

I hope everyone had an amazing 4th of July!

My sister and brother-in-law just moved into a new house so they threw a huge cookout and invited the whole fam and some friends over. I spent the day hanging out with my sweet niece so my sister could prep everything and clean up.

Can I just take a minute and talk about all the food we had?

 There. Was. So. Much. Food.

Tim made homemade pulled pork (I'll have the get the recipe from him and post it!) and chicken wings that were incredible. There were dips, pinwheels, veggies, the greatest cheese ball in the history of cheese balls, chocolate covered strawberries and soooooo much more. It was all delicious, but I didn't get to take any pictures because as soon as it was put out, we were all over it! I feel like 90% of my family's time together revolves around food in some way... it's a wonder we aren't all 700 pounds. I did manage to get one picture of Justin and I before we left.

My knee brace really adds a special touch to my outfit

How did you celebrate the 4th?

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Last night the festivities continued and we went to a BBQ at my old college roomie, Anella's house. After shoving more food in my face (surprise, surprise!) we hung out and played some corn hole and beer pong. My depth perception and aim have greatly improved since college which was a nice little surprise. After awhile everyone else left and it ended up being just Anella, her fiance Raymond, Justin and I hanging out. It was a relaxing and fun night!

Upset about about our humidity hair?

I don't even know

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xoxo

- Jenny