valentine's day

doug's been in pennsylvania all week for work, but he still managed to surprise me with a dozen red valentine's day roses. they're blooming quite nicely! thanks doug!

so, i bet you're wondering what i did on valentine's day, all by myself. here are some of the more notable activities:

- made sugar cookies. threw away all but one.

- created a whitney houston playlist.

- watched an affair to remember... and gnomeo and juliet. hey, it was nominated for a golden globe! sue me!

engagementversary

just admiring my ring on the way home from doug proposing two years ago today.

living room makeover

i decided my living room was looking a little drab and in need of a bit of a makeover. so today while doug was at work, i decided to spice things up.

before:

after:

looks great, huh? i've put together a tutorial on how to achieve this look:

1. open the blinds.

2. answer the door when the delivery guys arrive with your new couch.

water

i've always had a hard time drinking the recommended amount of water. i've tried to consciously drink more of it in the past. like when i worked at campus craft & floral and we all got those little camelback water bottles. but then i didn't want to drink very much because i didn't like the taste of utah water. i eventually started filling it with kiwi strawberry propel. but then it would get warm and also not taste so good. even after doug and i go running, i'm never really in the mood for water. he has to remind me to drink it.

finally, a few weeks ago, i was watching the biggest loser and they did one of their dumb product-placement-type advertisements for the brita water bottle. so naturally i went right out and bought the thing.

i mean, what's not to love? it's purple. it's got a filter. and all i have to do is drink 3 bottles a day to get the recommended amount of water. of course i also entered the brita challenge in hopes of winning another contest. (i think biggest loser prizes will go perfect with my year supply of kettle chips.) surprisingly enough, i've drank more than 3 bottles a day for the past 2 weeks and i've never felt so alive! i wonder if they're hiring spokespeople...

kettle chips, anyone?

in the hustle and bustle of moving to ohio and christmas in idaho and painting my fingernails i forgot to mention... i won a year's supply of kettle chips!

i kind of thought they'd maybe give me coupons or something. but instead, they're sending me a huge box of 15 full-sized bags every month for the next year. that's a LOT of chips. doesn't really help out any new year's resolutions i've got goin' on, but at least they're kind of healthy as far as chips go. right?

don't worry, i gave a majority of the bags away to friends this month. i mean, who could say no to a kind chip gesture?

here is my rating of january's selection for future reference:

fully loaded baked potato: 8.5/10
it really does taste like a baked potato. and i'm from idaho. so i know these things. i get it.

organic country style bbq: 9/10
i've always really liked bbq flavor chips but this tastes even better. like i'm out in the country strumming on a banjo.

organic salt and fresh ground pepper: 7/10
not bad but not the best. i witnessed someone dipping them in ketchup though. that might be good. must be a midwest thing.

new york cheddar: 4/10
has a weird aftertaste. which i guess is ok if you really like the cheese flavoring. which i don't.

sour cream and onion: 8/10
can't really go wrong here. typical sour cream & onion flavor. although i just got a visual of spreading sour cream on an onion and eating it. i wonder if people do that. must be a midwest thing.

and while i'm reviewing things, i'm happy to report my yankee candle is still thriving. i've found that trimming the wick regularly is key. who knew?