3 Free Bagels- Today Only

Print this coupon and head to your nearest Bruegger's for 3 free bagels!


*please note- this doesn't include cream cheese*

House Hunting

Mr. SE and I are gearing up for another round of house hunting. Fingers crossed that our Nashville house sells sooner than later (send me an email if you know anyone who's looking). Denver has some great older houses with lots of charm, something that our first house just didn't have since it was built in 2005. Don't get me wrong, we loved living in new construction, but this time around we're looking for something a little different. Here's a preview of some of the cuties we'll be looking at:

Does anybody watch that show Property Brothers on HGTV? I'm addicted, and it even makes me wish (like 35%) that I lived in Toronto and could be on the show. I have dreams of buying a nasty (and cheap) old house in a great neighborhood and fixing it up. The only problem would be that I'm not a contractor, nor do I have experience in construction. However, I watch a TON of HGTV and my dad owns a construction business. Girl's gotta dream, right?

Le Sigh- making an old house have an open floorplan

Oh, just soaking in my antique claw foot tub

Packages Delivered

Good news, the Sorel boots and ThunderShirts arrived in the mail today. Stay posted for reviews on both!

My Favorite Super Bowl Commercial

USA via here

There were a lot of dogs, babies, and almost naked women in yesterday's gaggle of Super Bowl commercials. But my favorite to date was the "Halftime in America" commercial by Chrysler. It made my eyes tear up, which happened several times last night. It had a great message, and was a good "pump up" for the good ole USA. What did you think? Here's the transcript if you missed it...

It’s halftime. Both teams are in their locker room discussing what they can do to win this game in the second half.

It’s halftime in America, too. People are out of work and they’re hurting. And they’re all wondering what they’re going to do to make a comeback. And we’re all scared, because this isn’t a game.

The people of Detroit know a little something about this. They almost lost everything. But we all pulled together, now Motor City is fighting again.

I’ve seen a lot of tough eras, a lot of downturns in my life. And, times when we didn’t understand each other. It seems like we’ve lost our heart at times. When the fog of division, discord, and blame made it hard to see what lies ahead.

But after those trials, we all rallied around what was right, and acted as one. Because that’s what we do. We find a way through tough times, and if we can’t find a way, then we’ll make one.

All that matters now is what’s ahead. How do we come from behind? How do we come together? And, how do we win?

Detroit’s showing us it can be done. And, what’s true about them is true about all of us.

This country can’t be knocked out with one punch. We get right back up again and when we do the world is going to hear the roar of our engines. Yeah, it’s halftime America. And, our second half is about to begin.

bridesmaid dresses for the bride

Bridesmaid dresses have come a long way! From crinkly taffeta in horrible colors, to sleek, modern designs that your friends will be glad to wear after your big day. Another good use for bridesmaid dresses is for the bride herself! There are so many colors and styles to choose from, and a bridesmaid dress could be easily worn for an engagement party, luncheon, rehearsal dinner, or bridal shower. It'd be fun to sport your wedding colors in an event leading up to the wedding. That being said, if going with the same line as your bridesmaids, I'd keep away from wearing the same dress to maintain the suspense of their big wedding day look. Here's one of my favorites right now.

It's advertised solely as a bridesmaids dress, but I could totally see a bride wearing the blue to her rehearsal dinner, or the white to a bridal luncheon. What do you think about wearing a bridesmaids dress as the bride?

Super Bowl Sunday

While Mr. SE and I are neither Patriots or Giants fans, we're excited for the Super Bowl nonetheless. The commercials, the half time show, the delicious snacks are enough to get me going. Not to mention, I'm super excited about the premier of Smash (anybody else?)! It looks like Center Stage meets Glee meets Chicago-- and that sounds good to me!

Here's what I'm making for the big game--- Stuffed Pepper Soup from Skinny Taste. Lots of you already frequent Gina's site, but if you haven't before, definitely head over! Her recipes are healthy, but also incredibly delicious. You won't be disappointed!

What are your plans for the big game? Any go-to recipes that you're dying to share? Let us know!


**Update-- I just realized Smash isn't on until tomorrow. Bummer**

Pup Control

Our new condo building is super nice and new, and we love it here-- but there's one small problem. It seems like our new neighbors don't quite love our dogs. Since I've got some new followers, I'll recap our dog situation from the start.

I got my Westie, Duffie, in 2007 and raised her from when she was a puppy. Our Schnauzer, Lucy, was rescued by Ryan and I in 2010 when she was 5. I was able to really train Duffie well because I had her since infancy, but Lucy is a different story. She had somewhat of an interesting "childhood", peppered with neglect, abuse, and abandonment. Ryan and I were happy to give her a forever home at the age of 5, since most dogs normally aren't adopted at that age. It was perfect, since Duffie is only 6 months younger than her. She's the sweetest lovey girl and just wants to cuddle, but she's got one issue...she barks. A lot.

When we got Duffie in 2007

Mr. SE loves kisses from Duffie

From some reading that I've done, this seems to be common for Schnauzers, but I've got no idea how to fix it. Duffie is the first dog that I've owned, so I don't have much, if any, experience in training a dog. It seems like fixing an older dog's behavior is a lot harder than just teaching a puppy how to behave. She barks at other dogs, barks at people, barks at the door, etc. It wasn't as much of a problem when we had our own house because they dogs would play in the backyard together, and she'd only bark when someone rang the doorbell.

Snow pups last winter in Nashville

Fast forward to life now, and the door of our condo is right across from the parking garage door. Yep, you guessed it. The door opens and slams ALL DAY--which results in Lucy and Duffie (who loves to follow suit from her sister) barking all day. My dogs are my sweet babies, so on top of it annoying other residents (which I care about), I hate thinking about how anxious they are all day.

When we got Lucy

I've tried contacting our local Schnauzer in Denver to recommend a local trainer, but didn't receive a response. We've received several complaints from our management company and we're at our wits end. We've tried spray bottles, leaving them in our bedroom, crating Lucy, etc.

Yes, our lease is only 6 months, but we'd like to avoid getting evicted by then. Last night I decided to try something new and order them two Thundershirts. Does anybody have experience with these? I read a lot of reviews online and it looks like they could actually help. Any other tips?

February Photo Challenge

I'm one day late on this photo train, but I'm going to jump on anyways-- how fun!

Day 1.

It's the only photo I took yesterday, sorry it's random! (post to come about this casserole)

Our First Winter Storm in Denver

Oh boy, friends! While everyone else is excited about the possibility of an early spring and Pinning sundresses & sandals (although not according to Punxsutawney Phil), we're bracing for our first snowstorm of the season. So I guess the 6-8 incher during our move didn't count? This link was on my Yahoo homepage, so I guess it's national news now. Here's where I need your help, northern girls! Can you recommend some snow boots? What do all the cool snow bunnies wear?

Tofino by Sorel

These are my favorites so far, but it's solely based on looks. I'd love any recommendations!

Denver Tips: What I've Learned So Far

Well, we've been Denver residents for a little over three weeks now. The initial days and weeks were a sharp learning curve from life in Nashville, and I've compiled some tips to help you get along, should you vacation (or move) somewhere similar in the future.

Ultrasonic Digital Humidifier

I even bought this portable humidifier for my desk.
It has a regular outlet plug and a USB plug for use at work. Excellent!

Get a humidifier. Do it now. I researched this topic a lot, and Air-O-Swiss seems to be the brand of choice. They're a little pricey, but use a 20% coupon at Bed Bath & Beyond to take the edge off.

Bag Balm- use on lips, hands, face, dog noses

Jack Black Cool Moisture lotion for Mr. SE

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream. Use it on my face 2x daily

Stock up on lotion. Mr. SE and I joke that we have an "I just moved to Colorado" section of our bathroom counter-- it's covered in lotions and balms.

Dryer sheets-- they're great for static! I used them in Nashville, but now I've stashed them every place imaginable here in Denver. Keep one in your coat pocket to combat static from going between indoors and outdoors. Also of note, these are great for getting rid of the stink in your hockey bag.

Ride your bike! Denver is such an active, healthy city. Once it heats up a little, Mr. SE and I are both getting new bikes. We live 2.2 miles from work and have the option to drive, take the bus, or bike. We haven't taken the bus yet, but just might when we get our next snowstorm.

look at us, we're so healthy and fit!
*these are models*

Drink water. It's dry here, like really dry. I'm not much of a water drinker, I'm actually quite bad at it. But since we've been here I've made an effort to drink more and it's definitely paying off. There's a weird correlation between hunger and thirst, and my appetite definitely decreases when I'm hydrated.

And my last, for now, tip....have a four wheel drive. If you absolutely must drive in the inclement weather, make sure you're using an all wheel drive or four wheel drive. Yes, my car is a 4 wheel drive, and take a look at what happened on our first week here-- lesson learned. For good measure, I've added photos of my dream SUVs.


Do you have any tips for moving to a climate like Colorado? Maybe you're holed up in Nebraska or Montana and have some tips for this east coast girl? Please share!