Domestic Bliss

It was announced last week at work that we'd be given the week of Thanksgiving off. I was thrilled, excited, relieved, and as I sit here during the final hours of Friday before Thanksgiving, I can barely contain myself!
And then it hit me. I am really ridiculously excited to do certain things that most people detest. My to-do list for next week before we head up to Arrowhead for Thanksgiving includes, but is not limited to:

• Hit up the county clerk's office to pick up our marriage certificate
• Hit up the Social Security office, with said marriage certificate in hand, to change my last name (so long Podlas, it's been real)
• Stand in line at the dreadful, bureacracy-ridden Department of Motor Vehicles to get a new driver's license reflecting said new last name
• Make multiple returns to stores at the mall in the crazy Thanksgiving week rush
• Get an oil change
• Clean out my car
• Visit the doctor

Not to fear, I'll be having some fun too. I can't wait to make time for:

• Sorting through over 2,000 wedding photos
• Baking a new recipe I found for pumpkin whole-wheat bread (see post below...haha)
• Having long lunches with a couple friends
• Send some thank-you notes and holiday cards
• Shopping for a few gifts
• Experimenting with what I learn here tonight
• Cleaning the apartment (aka cleaning up life)
• Getting a mani/pedi
• Helping prepare some Thanksgiving goodies for the cabin
• Planning a vacation or two :)

What are your Thanksgiving plans? What are you most looking forward to? Come on, speak up. I know there are more than 2 of you out there!

Doing GOOD While Doing BUSINESS

Leave it to a Degnan to guess correctly :) Well, almost.
Today I launched a new twitter venture to celebrate and highlight the companies in Orange County that are doing GOOD while doing business. I personally recognize the importance of supporting these companies, both as an individual patron and as the recipient of this generosity as it pertains to my work.
Orange County sets a perfect example of the potential that businesses small and ginormous have to make a major difference. From taco shops to surfboard companies to multi-billion dollar commercial real estate empires, businesses here in OC have made it totally trendy to lend a helping hand. I'm okay with that.

Follow me at @doingGOODoc. And if you have a company you'd like to bring attention to, please share...they deserve the attention!

PS - Jamie, your prize will come in the form of homemade bread. Wednesday. Get ready.

tweet tweet

i'm launching a new twitter project/account/alias :) if you can guess what it's about, i'll give you a prize! (you have a pretty good chance considering there are, um, 4 people who read my blog!)

A Monday Letter

Dear Todd,

It’s Monday. And I can’t help but remember the Monday morning feelings I felt exactly one year ago today, waking up next to my fiancé who had proposed just the day before. It was a day of overwhelming love, gratitude, excitement, family and giddiness for what was to come. I couldn’t believe what was happening just before my eyes.

This morning, our alarms went off simultaneously and I had a lucid flashback to that Monday morning after November 15, 2009. That same excitement, love and gratitude rushed over me as I turned to you this morning and kissed your scruffy face. It’s been a year of adventure, of ups and downs, of learning and growing and loving. It’s been a year of finding out who we are – as husband and wife, as roommates, as soulmates.

So, thank you. Thank you…
…for making me laugh uncontrollably with your imitations of an Italian ambulance speeding through the cobblestone streets of Rome
…for perfecting the art of the crockpot and grilled vegetables, and for cooking your own steak so I don’t have to
…for being my warmest blanket
…for encouraging me to step outside of my comfort zone and go camping in sub-zero temperatures (okay, it was 37 degrees)
…for pushing me to talk about things when I want to shut down. Or cry. Or both.
…for bringing flowers home “just because”
…for picking up your life and moving it 50 miles south
…for making the mundane seem fun (I love it when you sing songs as we unpack the groceries)
…for your calming demeanor that makes life seem like a piece of cake sometimes
…for being the very best pasta-maker on this earth. Your homemade linguine comes out way better than mine.
…for loving my family and friends and treating them like they’re yours
…for wiping the tears when they wont stop; for lending your t-shirt as a tissue :)
…for wearing your hideous sandals in spite of the mockery; I love a man who stays true to himself
…for welcoming me in to the most loving, fun and supportive family that I’m so excited to call my own
…for signing us up for this crazy adventure called marriage one year ago today!

I love you more every day.

Love,
The other half of Double T

I'll Show You a Place High on a Desert Plain, Where the Streets Have No Name

Tomorrow morning I'm heading out to Joshua Tree for the first time with some friends.

We'll be dreaming beneath the desert sky in God's Country, according to U2's infamous album of the same name.

It sounds like paradise actually, minus some small details: 35 degree temperatures and absence of running water. I'm so excited to get away and enjoy some beautiful hikes, tasty treats and campside beverages.

And a hubby to keep me toasty :)

In 20 Photos

I came across this article yesterday and it had me in hysterics. I've never seen two cuter kids with a more talented dad, and he has captured their personalities and the joy of childhood so amazingly well! If we only all had creative brains like Jason Lee's.

Deck the Walls

We moved in to our apartment in June, and from day one it felt like a home. Comfy couches, walls painted with rich hues of blue and eggplant, a kitchen stocked with tools, dishtowels and gadgets that would make Ina Garten jealous.
But our bedroom? Three barren white walls. A desk. Two dressers. A bed. And lots and lots of clothes. It needed help.

So off to the antique market I went, five months after we moved in. Then to Target. Then to Aaron Brothers. Then back to Target. Z Gallerie. Etsy. Pottery Barn. Slowly but surely, our bedroom doesn't look like a hotel room. Our bedroom is starting to look like ours. An eclectic mix of picture frames and vintage prints make up this shelf that shows off a few of my true loves: Paris, big leafy trees, Marc Chagall, vintage keys, old street signs and more. It's a work in progress but it's something I can finally be happy to sit and stare at from bed on a lazy Sunday morning :)

Public. Private. Public. Private.

So my track record is kinda stinky. 10 months in between blog posts is a far cry from consistent, but really... I can attribute it to an ongoing battle in my own little head. I don't like pouring my heart out to the world wide web, yet I sometimes feel that if I don't write enough, I might just explode.

If I make it "invited readers only", I'm afraid I'll subconsciously screen what I say, and at the same time, I probably wont reach the group of anonymous readers that I'd like to reach. I'm a total blog-stalker myself and would hate to miss out on an entire audience of random people that mistakenly find my blog. That's a big part of all the fun and I'd kinda hoped to one day have a little interactive bunch of groupies that converse, share thoughts and ideas and random musings within the context of my blog.

So here goes...take five? I guess I've given up on privacy! Public wins...for now.