Fill in the Blank Friday

Linked up with Lauren from The Little Things We Do!

 

1.   My current obsession is    plaid.  I want to wear it everyday in the Fall.

2.  Snail Mail from friends and family    makes me happy.

3.  My greatest strength is  my patience .

4.   Being too particular about where things go and are arranged (i.e. furniture, the remote control, etc.) and being bossy about it   is my greatest weakness.

5.  My life is   on the right path.  I feel like since I moved to Madison to be with Fisch and got a full time job...it's all coming together.

6.  In high school I was    the weird quiet girl.  I had friends but ony they knew I actually talked .

7.  When I'm super tired   I carry on conversations while half asleep and I often don't realize what I am saying .

Thrifty Thursday

Elsie from A Beautiful Mess, one of my regular reads, posted these great tips for thrift shopping. Take a look!

Wordless(ish) Wednesday: A Belated Happy B-Day to Brye

One of my best friends, Brye, turned 26 on Sunday. 

Happy Belated Birthday Miss Brye!

(Of course I already told her Happy Birthday on her real birthday but it's a belated one on here.)

A picture from Brye's 80's theme birthday party last year at which we got to meet Mr. Belding from Saved by the Bell!

Weekend Laziness...

Not the most productive weekend around the McFisch abode.  I blame it one the weather, a little chilly, a little rainy, and the fact that we bought the second season of Modern Family on DVD that just make me want to snuggle under a blanket and relax.

We did make it out of the house on Saturday morning to take a trip to the farmers market, though.  We didn't feel up to fighting the crowds downtown so we just stopped by the one on the West Side in the parking lot of the DOT.

 

If you ever go to the Madison Famers Markets I highly suggest getting a loaf of spicy cheese bread from Stella's Bakery.  We took the suggestion and now we are addicted...and yes I did strategically turn the bread in the picture so the big chunk missing from it, which was eaten in the car about 5 minutes after we bought it, was not visible.

In other news...we had our first fire in the fireplace on Friday night. It made me so happy :)

Blog Award

 

I got my very first blog award!  It was the iDig Your Blog Award and I got it from my friend Miranda at Aimless Transition.

So the rules of receiving this award:

1. Thank the blogger who gave me this award

     Thanks Miranda for the award and for being my first follower!

 

2. Tell 3 random facts about yourself:

(1) In college I worked at the old time photo studio in Lake Geneva. I also worked as an ice cream scooper as my second job one summer.

(2) I was in a commercial for milk when I 3.

 

(3)  My favorite show since I was 6 has been The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

3.  Give the award to 5 others. Some of these are new to blogging and others have been at it for a while, but I still enjoy them.

 

100 Layer Cake 

Marie Bee

Future Lint 

Loveliest Day 

The Day Book

Most of these blogs have been around for awhile but they're some of my faves.

Fill in the Blank Friday

Linking up with Lauren!

 

1.   The best thing I did all week was   got one of my very difficult kindrgarten classes to all be quiet for about 2 minutes while playing a game.  There were of course a lot of other good things about my week but that was quite a feat.

2.   Season premiers of my favorite shows    make me super happy.

3.  Pets are  good for entertainment and a cuddle .

4.   My friends and family  are/ is the best thing(s) about my life.

5.  With the cooler weather I am looking forward to   wearing layers and getting to use our new fireplace!

6.  Something that's on my "wish list" right now is    a pair of rainboots .

7.  This weekend I am going to   spend with Fisch and ejoy and appreciate every moment of it.

I Love Groupon

Have you checked out Groupon yet?

Fisch and I have tried so many new things because of it.  They have deals on everything from resturants to brewery tours to exercise classes (you know, for after you try out all those new resturants) all in your area.  Usually the deals are for more than 50% off too.

If you haven't already signed up for it, 

click the link above and take a look!

Thrifty Thursday

Because I love thrifting so much and because I feel like I am pretty good at it, I decided to make it a blog feature...Thrifty Thursday!

(New Mernona Skirt $6, Vintage Wool Pencil Skirt $9, Vintage Wool Sweater with Sparkly bows $9, Vintage Embroidered Tunic $7, Vintage Cardigan $9)

Last weekend I discovered ReThreads.  I had been to the one on State St. before but just noticed a new one now open on the West side.  I had a bag of clothes that I was going to try and sell at Platos Closet but decided I would give ReThreads a try first.  

So glad I did! 

The way ReThreads works is they look through your clothes, pick out what they want, figure out how much they can sell it for in the store, then they give you either 30% of that total in cash or 50% in store credit.  Since I found about 4 things I wanted in the 15 minutes it took them to look through my clothes, I went to for the store credit.  They assessed my unwanted clothing at $104 so I recieved $52 in credit. With that, I got all the above and I still have $10 left!

I have a feeling ReThreads is going to be one of my new regular consignment shops.  They had such a great selection of vintage and new items and the atmosphere was very organized and relaxed.  

Love it!

Wordless Wednesday: A Very Nice Tree

Amnicon State Park-Summer 2011

 

Time to link up with Lauren for Fill in the Blank Friday!

1.   You should always take time to   relax and breathe.

2.  Children and animals    make(s) the world a happier place to be.

3.  I can hardly wait for   Halloween decorations, pumpkin patches, Autumn festivals, and haunted houses  .

4.    Friday   is my favorite day of the week. (It's about the anticipation)

5.  Something totally dumb and ridiculous that I love is  all the dumb and ridiculous inside jokes my cousin Maren and I have...seriously she will have me rolling on the floor laughing with the drop of a quote/word/voice.

6.  If I could, I would  rent a big house on a beach somewhere warm, in February when everyone is getting desperately sick of cold weather, and invite all my friends to come down for a relaxing vacation .

7.  I rather like   alone time .

Chocolate Attack: Fudgy Mug Brownie

I had a chocolate attack after dinner tonight.  Not having any chocolate in the house I went digging in the back of the cupboard and discovered I had all the ingredients for a mug brownie.  Now, I have tried the 3 minutes mug brownie recipe before and wasn't so thrilled with it. It was sort of gelatinous and not very chocolatey.  So I did a little google search and came up with a

MUCH better recipe.

Ingredients:
4 Tablespoons Flour
4 Tablespoons Sugar
2 Tablespoons Cocoa powder (Note: don't use cocoa mix or quik, it shouldn't have any sugar)
2 Tablepsoons Vegetable Oil (Don't use one with a strong flavor, eg olive, sesame, etc)
2 Tablespoons Water
Dash of salt
Mug
Microwave

 

Add the sugar, flour, cocoa, and salt to the mug and mix. Then add the oil and water and mix the dry and wet ingredients together. Be sure to be thorough, there's a tendency for clumps of the dry ingredients to form. Microwave for 1 minute. Enjoy! 

Mc's A-Z

 Found this on Katie's Pencil Box today and thought it would be fun.  I also didn't have any other ideas for a post today :) So here is the alphabet of me:

A. Age: 25

B. Bed size: Full
C. Chore that you hate: Putting my clean laundry away
D. Dogs: Grew up with cocker spaniels. Really want a chocolate lab in the future.
E. Essential start to your day: Quiet time. Im not a morning person.
F. Favorite color: red-orange
G. Gold or Silver: silver...though gold is growing on me.
H. Height: 5'7"
I. Instruments you play: None, unfortunately. Played the sax for about 4 weeks in 4th grade.
J. Job title: Art Teacher
K. Kids:Someday
L. Live: Madison, WI
M. Mother’s name: Nancy
N. Nicknames:Mc (here), Kid (Dad), Emmy (the nickname my friend Jenny started calling me after I complained about not having a nickname)
O. Overnight hospital stays: Nope
P. Pet peeves: People who can't keep a constant speed on the highway and time left on the microwave.
Q. Quote from a movie: "It's about a fever that only strikes on Saturday nights." (From The 10th Kingdom...just one of the many movies my cousin Maren and I quote endlessly)
R. Right or left handed: right
S. Siblings: 1 younger sister
U. Underwear: I have to say I go for comfort over cuteness most of the time.
V. Vegetable you hate: cooked carrots...but I like raw carrots.
W. What makes you run late: wasting time online
X. X-Rays you’ve had: My teeth at the dentist and my back when I was in a car accident at 16.
Y. Yummy food that you make: banana bread...easy but I take pride in baking it from scratch and always getting at least one compliment on it.
Z. Zoo animal: the giraffes and the otters

If you are lucky I may get Fisch to answer these questions next week :)

Wordless Wednesday: Jenny and Steve's Wedding

I Love Thrift Shopping

I love thrifting. I take pride in the fact that approx. 75% of my wardrobe is thrifted and the other 25% is most likely from the sales clearance rack. I love the thrill of the hunt.  Not knowing what treasures I may find when I go into a thrift store.

On Saturday morning I decided to go and do a little shopping to celebrate my first pay check from my new job.  I only made it to two places, the Savers by West Towne Mall and Platos Closet West, but oh boy did I hit the jackpot!

For $171.38 I got:

(P.S. I don't think I have ever spent that much in one shopping trip in my life. It was a little shocking...but like I said, I was celebrating.)

(From Left to Right)

1. American Eagle High Waisted Skirt (with pockets!)

2. Hindsight Skirt Brand New w/ Tags(originally priced $58)

3. Floral Old Navy Chiffon Sundress

4. Ann Taylor Loft Jersey Dress w/ Crocheted Neckline

5. Aeropostale Light Winter Jacket

6. Forever 21 Long Belted Trench Coat

And the best find of the whole morning...

North Face Long, Down Filled, Winter Jacket 

in Fantastic Condition 

for... $70!

I have to say this may be one of my best find EVER.  I found a comparable jacket on The North Face website for $299 (eeek!). 

Bring on winter!

...ok not yet...just super excited about my new coats :)

Over the Weekend We...

 Went to our first shrimp boil...delicious!

 Had a picnic of sushi and played an intense game of 

cribbage in the park.

And went to the Henry Vilas Zoo.  

The giraffe was our favorite. 

(Notice Fisch eating a leaf along with Mr. Giraffe in the 4th picture.)

Hope your weekend was a good one!

Always Remember

Sophomore year of high school, I sat in first hour English class wearing my Lifehouse T-shirt I bought from their concert the night before, when the principal came on the loud speaker and told us that a plane hit one of the Twin Towers. I didn't understand the importance of the news until I realized it wasn't an accident.  In second hour World History Class we watched history in the making as the towers collapsed. When we heard news of the Pentagon being hit I immediately feared for my family in DC. My cousin would later tell me she was able to see smoke from the Pentagon at her school just a couple miles away.

All those who were lost and who lost loved ones 10 years ago are in my thoughts today.

Wordless(ish) Wednesday: The Photo Booth Soap Opera

 

Our friends, Jenny and Steve, had a photo booth at their wedding a couple weekends ago.  Since I was a bridesmaid, Fisch was our friend Brye's date for the evening.  The funny thing was that the people we didn't know thought Brye and Fisch were together and were really confused when they saw Fisch and me smoochin'. We had fun acting out the "drama" in front of the camera.

Our Labor Day Weekend

Now that I have a full time job I think I'm going to appreciate weekends a whole lot more.  I knew the weekend was going to be a good one when I saw a rainbow on my way to work.

On Friday night Fisch and I had a rather cultural experience attending the State Champion Cow Chip Throw in Sauk City...yes cow chips are poop.  They literally throw poo. 

 

 

Afterwards, Fisch and I decided to spend the night trying local(ish) beers and watching a little Big Bang Theory.

On Saturday we met a few friends downtown for Taste of Madison.  What a wonderful concept...blocks and blocks of delicious food samples all for under $4! I for one was in heaven...though by the end my stomach was not.  We had everything from fried pickles to reuben roll ups to cheesecake. So yummy!

Sunday, our anniversary, was spent at a party for a friend who was in town from Atlanta, hiking Aztalan State Park, and going to see Larry Crowne at the budget theater.

 And Monday was spent lounging around the house, getting some much needed cleaning done and a little crafting.  Getting into the Autumn spirit I make a fall wreth for our front door.

I am enjoying this much needed break in the hot, humid weather.  Makes for a much more comfortable classroom.

Week 2 here we go!