first snow

Last night we had our first snow (okay, our first snowfall that actually kept through the night!). It is GORGEOUS!

If I'm not driving in the snow, I'm happy. I just hate driving in the stuff, it's like mass thinking, everyone goes crazy and suddenly doesn't know how to drive! AH. Anyway, last night after work Alex and I ran around to the various Asian Bazaars so we could make some Nabe. Which is just water flavored with Dashi, and some giant seaweed thing which reminded me of the organic fruit roll ups my mother use to shove in my "lunch sack" when I was little *gag*, there is also asian cabbage, sprouts, mushrooms, tofu, and of course, UDON! We ate it with rice, and it was so warm and amazing on a cold night.

Today is a big day...

So today we submitted the application for the program we would LOVE to be a part of. The program is located in Japan, and it is something that I think about EVERYDAY. Of course I had to ask the post man to take a picture of us to capture this amazing moment!

It's a very blurry picture, and his thumb is in the way, BUT IT'S OKAY IT'S THE MOMENT THAT MATTERS. Or is it..how you capture the moment is what matters? Mentally, of course. hehe. Anyway please keep us in your thoughts and prayers because this is something that we really hope God has in His will for us.

Moosey

Another thing I am thankful for is my husbands family dog, Moose. I know I have written about Sweetie (the only dog I ever had) in this blog before. Sweetie was the best dog ever, and I love Moose because he reminds me of her, also, he would totally be her husband if she was still alive. I want a dog for our little family we have now, but if we go to Japan it would be hard to take it, so I don't want to commit to more responsibility. So, Moose is the closest dog I have to latch onto until we leave for Japan. :3

HE. IS. SO. HANDSOME.

TEAse

I had to post again tonight because we finally used our little tea pot that we received from my uncles girlfriend as a wedding gift. My uncles girlfriend is awesome! She knows how to knit really well, I hope one day I will be able to knit like that. I adore this little pot, and even though we have been using the cups and saucers we have not used the pot. So I decided to take a bunch of pictures because I didn't know how to express my excitement in any other way, haha :).

There it is! :3

I set up our little Christmas-themed figurines we received as a gift from Grandpa Potter as well.

A week of thanks.

It's almost Thanksgiving! Whoo! I suddenly became super excited last night when my good friend Chelsea reminded me that she is about to devour some HAWAIIAN ROLLS, and I realized the only time of the year I ever eat them is on Thanksgiving! I keep dreaming about the amazing food and company we will be having this next week. More importantly, it is a national day of being thankful for what God has given us. It is something I try to do everyday, but sometimes it is very hard. This week I will be writing about things I am thankful for.
The first thing I am thankful for is God giving me my husband, and that we have had the amazing opportunity this year to start our own little family of just him and I. Yes, I do consider just him and I a start of our own family, a new generation. Marriage is something that isn't for everyone, but I am so blessed to be able to be wed to my husband. Another is my amazing friends! I adore my friends and their positive energy, they help me get through the day and God has blessed me with beautiful, talented, and smart friends.
Last night I was able to be surrounded by them! It was a good time, we went to watch a parade and the lighting of a local Christmas tree. It really got us in the spirit, in fact, we started singing "The Who Song" from How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It made me so happy! Especially because we each have unique voices yet they went so well together. Okay, enough being cheesy. Time for pictures!

Nicole, Chelsea, and me. <3

In front of the tree :3.

The Capitol :).

30 seconds from tuesday

ugh, what an awful title. I try to be clever with titles, but it sometimes (usually) never works, h'oh well! So, ze husband and I are going to be VERY busy up until March, so I will try to update this blog as much as possible. Between school, work, filling out the application, the holidays, the Dominican Republic, then interviews, I will be updating my blogs, diaries, journals as much as possible to document every moment. Yes, I have many different forms of documentation, I have two different journals I update quite often on my computer, a diary which is like a mini scrap book, and two blogs! I haven't EVEN started scrap booking yet, I'm sort of dreading that day. I can't believe it will be Thanksgiving next week! It has gone by so fast. I'm so excited for Christmas, Alex and I love Christmas. Yes, we are the people that shop at 5 am and get everything out of the way that day. I'm glad to say that we do draw the line at camping out in front of stores, that is something we definitely WON'T do, but more power to ya if you're one of those. I hear that this year some stores will be opening at 10 pm Thanksgiving day! That is just plain mean, I feel so bad for the people that work there, let them spend some time with their families! Speaking of Christmas coming up, ever have a crap ton of mittens and scarves and you have no idea what to do with them? If not, you're lucky! If so, I made my own little way to organize them which helps a lot!

I know, it's sort of a gross picture. But this isn't really for looks, but I'm sure you could make it cute. ALSO, another winter theme which goes along with this entry is the soup I made today! It was super easy. 1 can of black beans, 1 can of pinto beans, 1 can of corn, dice up green chilies, tomatoes, and yellow onion, add 3 cups of water and bam you have some black bean soup. I put it in the crock-pot for an hour on high, I served it with sour cream and sliced avocado on top, I wish I took a picture of that. My husband also makes the best corn tortilla chips, so we will have to add some of those for tomorrow.

Right now the husband is studying diligently, wishing for his last semester to be over with. Poor guy!

FINALLY Grandma (Gwandmawh!) Potter showed me this picture the other day and it made me smile.

My cousin Kate and I, dancing <3.

busy busy bee

I haven't updated in a couple days, and a lot has happened since then. Yesterday I went to a big mall an hour away from where I live, then I went to a prayer rally with my husband and my sister in law. I love my sister in law, she's basically my sister. After that, we watched Puss n' boots with my parents in their area, and spent the night at my parents house because it is a little bit of a drive. I was exhausted this morning! After going on a cleaning spree kick, I became too hyper listening to Selena Gomez and Michael Buble, so now I am trying to wind down before a bon fire tonight! Here are some pictures from this weekend.

This is the outfit I bought from H&M, I adore wide-leg high waist pants, so I decided why not. FYI I'm only 5'4 so I'm pretty short.

some cupcakes we wanted, but made a group decision not to get them because we didn't need anymore sugar for the day. I'm totally regretting that decision.

Some yummy spicy salmon, and udon with shrimp tempura!! There is a place an hour away from us which has the highest Japanese population in Michigan, and we make a trip out there once a month because it is the closest thing we can come to Japan in the U.S.

almost there

today was hectic, I'm so glad it's almost over. To wind down I made some tea. My father is from Ireland, and mothers side is German/Russian, so of course I grew up drinking tea every single day! I decided to wind down with a nice cup of British tea, a.k.a milk and sugar, but I substituted regular milk with soy milk. I also adore Anna's little cookies, when I was younger I use to eat the ginger and chocolate (of course) thins while enjoying tea.

Yummy. So here is my little set up to help me relax tonight:

Work Clothes

I need some new work clothes. I adore work clothes because you can switch tops up with some skinny jeans and you have a cute outfit for the weekend. I decided to post a little style book I made.

work clothes

switch the blazer out with the pink one, and you have the perfect work outfit!

Blazers by Lauren Conrad
Pumps by Manolo Blahnik

gone with the wind

Alex and I earlier today, playing with the giant leaf blower, which helps clean 1.5 acres of land. It's actually always fun to rake and clean the 1.5 acres of land. We let the dogs out, Moose runs through the huge piles of leaves, ends up goin' crazy.

Haha! I love this picture because all you can see is Mooses paw sticking out from the giant pile of leaves while my husband is burying him! God is good.

I love winter..........fashion.

I'm sitting here, wishing I had a cup of hot chocolate, but I decided to have some good old fashioned H2O instead. While sipping on my water I decided to create a little look I very much adore!

Winter look

White pea coat, creame pussybow blouse tucked into the equestrian flowy skirt. A simple outfit complimented by...

Mid-length Skirts by Asos
Boots by Lucky Brand

Curry Party!

Whoo! Alex and I are celebrating being married for Two months!! So we decided to make some Japanese Curry! Nothin' else gets us going like Japanese Curry does. Japanese Curry (going to say it a million times in this entry) is very different from Indian Curry most people know and love, it is very thick, and served with sticky rice, and usually a side of Tonkatsu! I loveeee Tonkatsu! But, since we tried to cut a little bit of meat out of our diet, we didn't eat Tonkatsu tonight </3. Here is a picture of the lovely dish!

Mine is the little one, Alex has the big daddy size! (#^.^#)

Novemburrrr

I can't believe it is already November. I also can't believe that the application we have to turn in for a program in Japan is due in one month! Ah! Exciting!! Everything is going by so fast. Life is going by so fast. I'm gettin' sentimental <3. Today, one of Alex's regulars passed, and everyone is very upset. I never met him, but Alex said he was a good man. Our time on this earth is so short, we have to make the most of it!

I sort of had a relaxed look for today, well, for half of the day. :). I'm wearing Roxy boots which I bought from Macy's, and of course, my Bebe jeans, and a Nike sweatshirt. This is Alex's family dog, Moose. I love Moose, mainly because I think if my childhood dog sweetie, was still alive, they would be married. Moose is also amazing! He cracks me up, he is so weird. Moose is getting old though, his leg hurts him from time to time, and he runs with a gimp. He is turning 9 soon, which is pretty old for a larger dog like him. I love having a photo-op with Moose, I am definitely the accessory in pictures with him!

Look how handsome he is!

Oh Moose, if only Sweetie was still around. I would totally have a little ceremony and wed you two. I know people ALWAYS say this, but my dog really was the best. dog. ever. She was hilarious, she rarely barked, she just enjoyed being in your company, she never licked your face, and she knew tons of tricks! Really, the only "bad" thing she would do, is occasionally run away. But now when I remember those memories, my dad wouldn't put a leash and her, and then he would wonder why a half beagle would chase after a squirrel and have us running on a wild goose chase for 2 hours through our neighborhood. HAHA, ohhh, memories, I love them.