When The Universe Speaks, I Listen...

...eventually. This time it has been a nagging feeling inside of me for about a month telling me to go blog. I kept ignoring it. But here it is, June 8, 2015 and I am listening and I already feel better about the feeling going away. Funny how that works.

There is lots going on in our life. Apparently we go big or go home when it comes to life changes. These are exciting changes. Still changes. But they are exciting.

1. Baby Warren is on the way and due October 11. We don't know if we are having a boy or girl which is exciting, strange, makes me think in circles, goes back to being exciting, goes back to being strange..it's interesting to think there is a baby inside of me and I have no idea what it is...none. And honestly, I am scared to have a boy and scared to have a girl, so either way it's still scary.

The baby, that is inside me right now, that is either a boy or girl....you have a 50/50 chance of being correct.

This is not a great picture (at all...) but this is a real blog so I have to show you the not so great moments too. I made Gregg take it last Sunday morning. Let me set the stage for you...I slept too late, was frantically throwing on clothes and make up as he was getting ready to go to work and I was running out the door quickly trying not to miss church...then I decided oh, you are here to take a picture during daylight, I should maybe document today. So there you have it, just a glimpse into what I refer to as "real life marriage." The caption reads "Week 22: Sorry your Mom is still not more creative!" I am also going to start apologizing to my child now that its Mom is so uncreative. Sorry child. Hopefully I will rock it in other areas of your life. 

2. We are buying a house. Or attempting to buy a house. Pretty sure we are buying it but my gosh, who knew buying a house was such an emotional roller coaster and full of punches to the gut out of nowhere. Hopefully next month at this time I am blogging from our new house.

3.  Kristina is getting married this summer. I helped plan the engagement last summer. I then spent the next 10 months helping to plan the wedding. I can't believe we are nearly to the finish line of this and am really excited about my future brother-in-law. He's perfect for her and perfect for our family. As a big sister who was overly protective of my sister in the dating world and overly protective of my family's dynamic, this is a blessing in so many ways.

The future Mr and Mrs Cobb

April and May got a little crazy because of d) all of the above.  It's going to be a fun summer, an exciting Fall and a special end to 2015. I missed blogging, got too busy and honestly couldn't find a creative ounce inside of me to write about my life. But like all things in life, when something nags at you enough and you keep ignoring it and pushing it aside and pushing it aside, you eventually realize that nagging feeling isn't happening just because...it is happening because the universe is trying to send you a message. In my case it was, get back to writing witty commentary about your life...regardless of if anyone is reading it, you miss it. XOXO

Has the universe sent you any messages via nagging your subconscius lately? 

Easter Candy

I love Easter candy. Every year at this time, I become incredibly picky and selective preferring certain types of candy to others...and when I say certain types, trust me that I get verrrrry specific. It's my thing. The Easter Bunny typically knows this already but this year since I am not heading home for Easter, I realized yesterday I may be on my own for stocking up on my candy necessities. Thanks to a trip to Target I realized this thought and was immediately able to fix it.

Number 1:

Photo courtesy of Marshmallow Peeps

Peeps are the most polarizing candy in the world. I happen to fall on the side of the aisle that loves them. And I do mean loves them. Gregg doesn't even share my affinity and that's completely fine, more for me. Why do I love them?

• They are light and fluffy and after inhaling 4 of them, I do not feel like I just stuffed my face with candy
• Something about them is very nostalgic with my childhood. When else can a 30 year old get this excited about a marshmallow chick.
• I do believe the chicks are better than the bunnies or any other character they have come out with that year. Like I said above, I am very specific on my Easter candy preferences.
• They can cause people to roll their eyes in disgust or completely share in your love. There is no in between when it comes to people loving or hating Peeps.
• Here are 6 fun facts about marshmallow Peeps

Number 2:

Photo courtesy of Hersheys

• Now this candy has been known to start arguments between my Mom and me- to the point that she now refuses to buy it and tells me to buy my own. This is not the first time I have gotten into a family argument over something dessert related...
• They can't be individually wrapped. They have to be a bag full of candy coated milk chocolate eggs. They can't be another brand. They have to be Hershey's. It is what it is and it is what makes them delicious.
• Try one, I guarantee you will love them like I do. Be warned they are hard to find but they are there. They are always there, even when your Mom says she couldn't find them.... 

Number 3:

Photo courtesy of Candy Central

• There is only one other candy that overpowers my nostagia on Easter morning- Reese's peanut butter eggs. Kristina and I would open our Easter baskets and these eggs would be our breakfast when we were kids. It was the best. It still continues today.
• They are a giant Reese's cup but inside of a chocolate covered egg. It's delicious. It is peanut butter-chocolate deliciousness. 
• These are a staple every year in our family house. I think they started out as Dad's favorite but the tradition has continued on to the rest of us. 

Don't get me wrong, I will eat lots of other Easter candy this time of year. But there is one that I cannot get into and believe me I have tried-

Cadbury Eggs

• I have tried and tried with this candy. I don't enjoy it. But my real question is who does? Please tell me if you do and why because I really need to know what is good about this.

Do you like any of these types of Easter candy? Do you have any favorites? Have you ever been particular about a specific kind of candy preference? 

Just Dance

I love dancing. Like really love dancing. I love to dance and I love to watch dance performances so it is no surprise that I love a good dance movie. I do mean love. The highlight of my December trip to NYC with Gregg was getting to visit Lincoln Center where none other than Center Stage was filmed. Sorry to be cheesy but it was seriously like a lifelong dream come true for me.

Standing on the infamous Plaza where Charlie and Jodie Sawyer share their ending kiss. 

Gregg in the entry floor where Maureen infamously quit the ballet to her mother. 

Overlooking the inside area. 

The stage where it all happened. 

Speechless. 

Time for the Nutcracker. Gregg's favorite event of the year....

Then I stumbled across this amazing article: The 30 Best Dance Movies of All Time and started flipping through. The best part is that not only are movies listed but they also show the trailers...watching some of these old favorites in their trailer form makes me want to curl up with a big blanket of nostalgia. It's also amazing to see older versions of movie trailers.

Have you ever seen the trailer for Dirty Dancing?

Sure I have seen Grease 1 million trillion times but I've never seen the trailer for it. So nostalgic.

Confession: I have never seen Saturday Night Fever even though I am obsessed with every single song in this trailer not to mention disco itself. I should probably force my husband to watch this with me ASAP.

I can't watch this trailer for A Chorus Line without thinking of Songfest in college. I am pretty sure Hayley will agree. Seen it- danced it- can't watch it anymore.

Can you believe this is Carrie Bradshaw the younger years in Girls Just Want to Have Fun. I think I've seen pieces of this one but probably need to add it to my list.

And then of course who can forget my all time favorite mentioned above. Makes me want to go watch the movie asap.

Do you have any favorites on the list? Have you ever seen Saturday Night Fever? What do you think of these old school trailers? 

Addicted to Say Yes to the Dress

Can someone tell me what it is about Say Yes To The Dress that is so freaking addicting? I don't know but here I am Sunday morning putting it on while I eat my breakfast and next thing I know I've watched three episodes. Then I start cleaning the apartment but keep getting distracted needing to know if the girl found a dress. I don't even know. But regardless this is me:

Not really, I am not wandering around my apartment in a wedding dress but I am dying to know what it is that makes it so addictive. Having just gone through this with my own sister the Bride to Be, I have a couple observations:

• In some cases I am so in shock by how opinionated the family members are to the point of being borderline rude. 
• In some cases I am in shock by how much brides want to be wearing practically lingerie as a wedding dress. It's a wedding dress. 
• Once you meet the brides and their families, you're committed, you're in it and you've gotta see this through.
• I always wonder if they won't be able to make them happy in the end. But alas, Randy always knows. He always knows. But how does he know?
• Do you think they have to take a test to learn all the dresses? Where is the giant warehouse they trudge through to get the dresses?
• In the end, I secretly get excited knowing they have found their wedding dress and watching the connection between trying on the dress and deciding it is the one. 
• I am sucker for a happy ending. 

Who knows what it is, but I may or may not need a support group. I am addicted. 

I Don't Do New Year's Resolutions

I am not a fan of New Year's Resolutions. I love new calendars and I love planning for the year but resolutions? Not my thing.

Why? Because honestly I don't believe you have to wait until the New Year to change something. If you decide on October 7 that you want to go to the gym more- start going to the gym more that day. If you decide December 5 that you want to read the bible everyday- start reading the bible everyday that day. You see how the list goes on...

But one thing I did start doing which doesn't really have much to do with the New Year, except the fact that I finally have some free time, is reading more. I kind of forget how much I enjoy reading until I take the time to sit down and read a book. I am kind of a bad reader though because I get so involved with a book, enjoying the characters, that when it ends I sit there thinking how will I ever fall that in love with a book and the characters again....and then the cycle starts over.

I think the other tough part for me is that I like to read as an escape. I don't like reading anything too complicated or that may be depressing. Sometimes I just want to be entertained. I just want to immerse myself into a different world. And I want it to wrap itself up at the end and not leave me feeling depressed....maybe that will change but it's where I am at now with my taste in books.

Two fun things I have done that I recommend- I joined this online community called Goodreads. It's pretty great because I have a kindle but the tough part about a kindle is the lack of going to a book store and trying to find books...sometimes I get overwhelmed trying to figure out which books I would like or should try. Goodreads allows you to import your kindle books into the account, rate them and then gives you recommendations based on what you like. So far their recommendations have been dead on and I am really loving the site.

What have I read recently and loved?

I really enjoyed this book. I also really love Dan Harris. I may try out meditating as a result of this. That's another post for another day.

I know, I do love my GMA anchors. I saw this book at my Mother in Law's house over New Year's and picked it up and started reading it. It's a great story. Robin Roberts has been through so much. The biggest takeaway "make your mess your message." Life is messy, mine especially- wouldn't it be great if we were all more open about the messy?

Yes, I read this book. Do not judge me- you know I love The Bachelor. And I mean at the end of the day, I need to be more grateful for the positives in my life instead of focusing on the negatives....did I love it? Ehh, it was okay.

Loved this book. I want to read more by this author. It's a sweet story of sisters, love, Texas and NYC. I never would've heard of it if it weren't for Goodreads. 

Loved this book too. I read it because I had heard such great things about this author because of this book which I haven't read yet. It all revolved around a road trip. I've still been thinking about it since it ended. It was also another Goodreads recommendation. 

Have you read anything good recently I need to read? Want to follow me on Goodreads. I can't guarantee you anything mentally stimulating but I can guarantee you some "fun-take a break from life" reads. 

I'm Dreaming of a Dreamy Thanksgiving

Even though I am traveling and not hosting Thanksgiving this year, I imagine some day Kristina and I will dabble in this effort together. I envision a very chaotic day of sweat pants, wine and lots of food...and fighting.

For instance...here is a little glimpse into one of our Thanksgiving gatherings circa 2009:

Starting a live auction of items in the fridge in an attempt to get all the leftovers into the fridge. Kristina is on the phone with an anonymous bidder.

Who wants creamer?

The bidding starts getting competitive over a bottle of Grey Goose.

I am getting yelled at for my choice of Tupperware containers.

It all finally fits- Success!

Now if that doesn't scream a non-dreamy-unorganized-unPinterest-Thanksgiving I don't know what does.

However, right now we are in my dream world and there Thanksgiving looks like a Pinterest ad. Here are my dreamy Thanksgiving finds in case you too would like to dream of a festive-organized-Pinterest looking Thanksgiving or maybe actually can execute this...or maybe you are just looking for distractions to avoid talking to relatives...whatever the case may be, hopefully I can help!

1. Dreamy Decor: 
Thanksgiving Decor courtesy of Ivanka Trump's new website which I also love. I also love her shoes. I am a major fan.

2. Dreamy Food: 
Rachel Ray's essential Thanksgiving recipes courtesy of The Skimm which I also love. If you don't read The Skimm you are missing out. It's the only way I can figure out what is going on in the world.

3. Dreamy Apparel:
While everyone else is sitting around watching football or napping, I intend to be getting my pre-Black Friday pre-Cyber Monday online shopping game face on and figuring out what is on sale where. So far all I've got is JCrew Factory but that alone is enough to stock my closet. 50% off every.single.thing. Boom.

4. Dreamy Cocktails:
I usually have zero patience for mixing up a cocktail at home and stick to wine. Pop the cork, pour, done. However, in dream land I would mix up all kinds of cocktails and this list would be where I would start.

5. Dreamy Day Overall:
And to sum it all up, here is a Modern Guide to Thanksgiving Etiquette that I can only wish to achieve every aspect someday.

Wishing all my friends and family a Happy Thanksgiving! So thankful you are in my life!

It's Game Day- Get Your Monogram On!

I feel like I am late to the party on the monogram. I grew up having things like my dance bag, sweatshirts or bags monogrammed but then I just kind of stopped. I think it grew harder to find a place to do monograms and then at some point in college, I had in the back of my mind that I would eventually get married and my initials would change...so I just stopped.

Then I did get married and my initials changed and I went through some sort of identity crisis. It is really hard to change your name. It's really hard to all of a sudden not have the same last name as your family or your sister. Four years later I feel I am finally settled into being AGW.

A few weeks ago Kristina told me to enter a blog contest she saw where Marley Lilly was going to send a few bloggers an item to blog about...so I entered. They asked me to describe my blog and I was a bit stumped....so I said I write about my life sarcastically. This blog is basically an exercise in not taking myself too seriously.

May I also point out that it is really sweet how my sister is thinking of me as she trolls her instagram. 

So I entered. And guess what....last Saturday I had a notification that we had a package and Gregg arrived upstairs with a box that had this inside:

A creme colored scarf with my initials in a dark brown. AGW. That's me! 

Coincidentally I was also getting dressed/more like prepared to freeze at the Texas A&M game that evening before we drove to College Station that day. I thought hmm...this goes perfectly with my outfit, it is really cute, I think this will be the ultimate test of this scarf. It is SEC game worthy with its southern monogram style...but will it keep me warm....stay tuned for the verdict...

My new scarf packed in my bag to head to College Station with my A&M gloves courtesy of Forever 21. A neck scarf for my Grandpa. Beanie hats. You get the picture. It was basically like we were moving to College Station for the day and trying to stay warm.

Let me tell you what would have made for a cuter bag though:

Monogrammed Large Jute Bag 

It has a zipper, it is lined and in black it would work very well sitting in the stands. It is the perfect "throw around and throw everything in" bag. You know what I am talking about...everyone needs one and you really need one with a zipper. Instead I took a big purse that I shouldn't have taken and was not super durable in the elements and well...I think it is going to recover but the poor bag was never intended for such use.

Back to my story...finally made it to College Station. Gregg and I headed to see some friends briefly before Kristina arrived with Papa. They were driving up on the A&M bus from San Antonio.

Wearing my scarf. Staying warm. 

One final picture in front of what is the soon to no longer exist side of Kyle Field. Look how cute my AGW scarf looks.  I know they appreciate me renaming it my AGW scarf.

Can I also point out that it is really fun to wander around your old college campus drinking beer? Luckily the tailgate I went to was giving out some free koozies. But I think a fun stocking stuffer or addition to a gift for a friend who loves a tailgate would be a monogrammed koozie. It would also be the perfect gift if you had a friend who just got engaged or a friend who just had a baby...since everyone I know seems to fall into one of these groups recently, this seems appropriate. The newly engaged friend would appreciate seeing her new initials and the new mom would appreciate you thinking of her return to the land of beer and wine. She'd probably also appreciate a cute monogrammed onesie for the baby. Onesie inside of the koozie. Boom. Done. Someone is getting that soon.

You could do blue if your friend is a new boy mom, pink if they are a new girl mom. any color if they are a new fiancé. I could come up with tons of reasons to buy this koozie. 

It's also really cute that you could choose to put the monogram on the bottom instead. 

Post-beer....Kristina arrived with Papa.

These two. The hilarious duo. 

The second she got off the bus she was showing me the mini wine bottles she had stolen from Dad...she had one left. And you know what...she could've used a koozie too...granted she wasn't drinking a water bottle... but I think this size would've worked best

It is a water bottle "koolie" but considering the size of Kristina's mini wine bottle, I think this has multiple purposes. I also think I need one of these for summer. I may also be getting her one for her  upcoming summer honeymoon.

After wandering around and hitting up another tailgate with Papa we finally were ready to head into the game.

See those smiles? Approximately 5 minutes after this picture it started drizzling, then raining. Do these look like the faces of people prepared for freezing temps AND rain. 

We all could've used a rain jacket over the tons of layers of clothing we already had on...the irony is I was sitting there thinking I wish I had a rain jacket like I had when I was in college that said Pi Beta Phi and lo and behold this is the same thing but I could get it with my initials. Granted, I would love to still sport my sorority letters everywhere I go but I may need to update.  

Sigh. To be dry.

Don't be fooled by the smiles. We are FROZEN.

I tried getting the monogram portion of the scarf in a large amount of 'stand selfies' Kristina and I were taking because we were losing and frozen. It wasn't working out so well and this is the best one. But I was as warm as I could be given the elements. 

The verdict: This scarf did its job keeping me warm and looking as cute as possible given the weather. 

Let's be honest, we look pretty rough. We left at halftime and found warmer and drier temperatures across the street at the MSC where we finished watching the game. There's my AGW scarf. Still keeping me warm.

The only that would've been better is this sweatshirt....which I think I need for winter. It's cute enough that I can wear it indoors lounging or running errands and look like I got dressed even though I didn't. That is my favorite kind of weekend outfit, fyi.

It comes in a lot of colors but duh, I want it in purple. This neon is amazing though. It gives the  sweatshirt such pizzazz! 

There are approximately 5,000 other things I could've used to stay warm at the game. I was already wearing leggings, jeans, cowboy boots, wool socks, and two shirts and a jacket and a hat but clearly that wasn't enough for or any of us. 

Maybe a fleece vest would've made the difference...or a fleece...or who am I kidding we were never going to make it out of there warm or dry. The other people in the stands that dressed in full on hunting camo gear with wind jackets and pants though clearly came more prepared...similar to the guy next to us in the stands who brought a cardboard box to shield himself from the rain. We have so much to learn.

Crazy game days of being crammed into Aggie football games with these people- they are some of my most cherished memories. We won't have these exact season tickets or seats next year but it's been a fun ride full of wonderful memories with Papa, class of '47.

Hope you enjoyed my game day recap combined Marley Lilly post! 

Go get your monogram on!