Marching On!

We had a lovely week of snow days (well one snow day); working from home, snow cooking, traveling to visit friends and loving the 60 plus degree weather over the daylight savings time kickoff weekend. After this cold and dreary winter, we both spent as much time as possible outside Saturday and Sunday.

Heather prepares for a day of cooking

Dutch ovens want to play in the snow too!

Mmmm- nothing like chili on a chilly day

Kate's kitty Lola watches as the snow starts to stick.

Kate's backyard

3 days after the snow, springtime!

  
Heather, her Boo (yes, they call each other Boo-it is hilarious, well, they think it's hilarious) and our friend Ashley with beautiful baby Vivienne in tow enjoyed workouts at the park followed by outdoor snacking on the back deck and patio. It was perfect!

Kate and her hubby drove north for the weekends to visit our friends Jimmy and Sarah in Philadelphia. Jimmy's band was performing on Saturday, which was a great excuse for a visit, like they really need one. Aside from rocking out, we ate some great meals, explored Philly, and just hung out!

We didn't take a lof photos, BUT came across an awesome stash of US Weekly magazines from 1991.

Mary Catherine sorted the hundreds of photos of our baby shower craftiness that we bragged about last week. A few images can be found on our She’s Crafty! page. We really did rock that shower!

Instead of a happy hour at a bar/restaurant, this week, we tried a little something different. We hosted our own wine tasting with a couple of girlfriends at Kate's house. We had a specific new brand of wines we wanted to sample, and we are bummed to say we were all disappointed. On the positive side, we had a great time with our girlfriends and thankfully had good back-up wine and yummy charcuterie so the night was not a complete loss! We are not completely ready to throw in the towel on this brand (well, we are for the wine portion of the brand!) and are going to explore it bit more before dishing all our thoughts. More will follow in the coming weeks.

It's hard to believe that we are already upon St. Patrick's Day! We hope you have a safe and fun one!  Don't forget to wear something green and kiss someone Irish…just be sure they are cool with it first! 

Don’t forget all the great festivals this month! And in case you need information on things like St. Patty’s Day Etiquette, a beer guide, hangover cures, how to call out of work excuses, driving safe guidelines (don’t drive) and other fun stuff, check out this Richmond.com article.

Cheers,

K&H

March Madness!

March Madness Cocktails and Glitter style! 

 

We are now in the third month of the year as well as the third month of blogging.  We are getting a better hang of it each day and hope you are still enjoying what we are putting out there.  Any and all feedback is welcome.  If you haven’t already, be sure to “follow us” on Pinterest and “like us” on Facebook!  

In the month of March we will be…

• Adding more content to the blog, Pinterest and Facebook. 
• Loving having sunlight in the evenings, don’t forget to set your clocks for daylight savings this weekend!
• Increasing the frequency and intensity of workouts. Those pounds are going to drop!
• Making a couple of crafts, maybe we will finally get around to those wreaths we got snowed out of making in January!
• Having a big Happy Hour...maybe even two!
• Cheering on the RiverCity Rollergirls at our first ever roller derby, March 16^th.
• Treating ourselves to a spa day.
• Traveling and visiting friends.
• Celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day, March 17^th. 
  
• Celebrating the first day of Spring, March 20^th.
• Enjoying the unofficial kick off to the festival season, The Irish Festival, March 23-24^th.
• Rocking out at The National  to see Three Sheets to the Wind, March 29^th
• Celebrating Easter, Easter at Maymont, March 30^th and the Easter Parade on Monument Avenue, March 31^st.

And that is just what we know of right now! Pure madness, awesome fabulous madness, awaits us this March!

We started this month of madness by hosting, along with our friend Mary Catherine, a baby shower for our dear friend Meghan. The theme was Star Wars-chic and it was awesome! Our guest of honor and her husband are fans of Star Wars and based on the very cool gifts they received and the shower theme, apparently, all their friends and family are aware of this fact. The idea of the theme started off small with Mary Catherine designing the shower invitation with a baby Yoda and a couple of subtle Star Wars references. After a snowy coffee date to plan we had come up with a menu of  “grown up” kid foods such as peanut butter and jelly sushi, baked brie with Yoda stamped on it, tater tots, chic fil a chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese bites, cupcakes from Pearls and of course fruit and veggies. 

 

Kate used the coolest craft tool in the world, a Silhouette, to make a Star Wars mobile and a banner tying in the reference from the shower invitation.  As part of the mobile there are baby pictures of the parents-to-be at all stages of childhood. This was a neat touch and everyone loved looking at the photos. Each of these will be hanging in the baby’s nursery.  

Mary Catherine has a fabulous flair for the vintage and we were able to use her collection of antique cake stands, drink dispensers for cranberry-pineapple-almond punch (see Pinterest for the recipe) and family heirloom green depression glass plates. We were all very pleased with the way it all came together and have no problem saying it was very cool and not nerdy at all...well maybe a little nerdy but in a nerdy-chic kind of way!

 

Another personal touch we added was that we had each of the guests decorate a square building block. All the guests got very creative and the end result was special one-of-a-kind toy for the baby. Adding to the special-ness was that the blocks were handmade by the father-to-be’s own father. Keep this craft in mind for a baby gift or party favor. 

We will post pictures of everything before the week is up!

Cheers!

K&H

Running!

Hi everyone!

I (Kate) have been using the 5k trainer app since mid-January to help me  get off my butt and get in shape. I'm not a runner & never have been. I dreaded that day in PE class when we had to run a mile. And what's with the "runner's high" i keep hearing about? I think it's a myth. But I know it is a great way to burn calories quickly and get into better shape. So far I have been really good with my workouts- running using the program for at least 3 days a week, plus some walks squeezed in! What's even been more of a surprise, I haven't cheated! About half of my workouts have been at the gym, although I prefer running outside. For 4 and a half weeks I was kicking butt. Then last week happened.

I went out of town last weekend to visit my family for 3 days. I brought my running gear and had every intention to getting in a few runs.  Between giant meals and cold, wet snow, it just didn't happen. I did go to a Zumba class with my sister-in-law, and bought new running shoes, but missed 2 days of planned running. Once home, my schedule was crazy and I didn't get to the gym until Wednesday-6 days since my last run. It was tough. It was hot (not in the sexy way). I swear the gym keeps the thermostat set to 85 to trick you to believing that you're sweating buckets from your workout! Menopause is going to be so much fun (she said sarcastically!). I was breaking in new shoes. My earphones for some reason kept shocking me. I had all sorts of reasons to have a crappy workout and just throw in the towel. However I stuck with it and managed to do most of the running, with a bit of walking. Saturday morning I was back in the gym. My shoes still didn’t feel right, I was even more tired, and boy, was I hot (again, not in the sexy way). I was even more miserable than a few days before! I had been running 5 minute intervals now I could barely do 2. I came home feeling defeated.

The next day (Sunday) my buddy Ashley called, she was in need of some fresh air and exercise.  We ended up going to Three Lakes Nature Park with her 4 month old, Vivi, and her other child, Penny the highly energenic chocolate Lab.  After a good walking warm up, I decided to run with Penny. 5 minutes later- I felt okay. After a few minutes walking with Ashley and Vivi, Penny and I were off for 6 minutes. Then another 5 minutes. I'm not going to lie, the last 30 seconds of the last running interval was the longest 30 seconds of my life, but I did it, and I felt good about it…no, I felt great!  I pushed Vivi in the stroller while Ashley ran for about 5 minutes- something she hasn't done since being pregnant with Vivi! We celebrated with a cold (light) beer afterwards. I figure that's part of our training for the Hardywood Twilight 4 Miler in April!

I need to adjust my running to allow me to run outside. I enjoy it so much more and am so much more successful. Here's hoping the training keeps getting better!  Maybe I will find that “runners high” after all…HA! If you have any advice for a novice runner- please share in the comments. I can use all the advice (and encouragement) I can get!

Roscoe the cat joining us post walk- I think he wanted a beer too!

Cheers,
Kate

   

Hi- Heather here! This month I set a goal of 28 days of scrap booking, and I'm happy to say I've completed it! Check it out in She’s Crafty! Keep up the good work Kate- you are rocking it and it shows! 

We are both ready for some March Madness and we don’t mean basketball!  Crafts are in full swing, the workouts will get tougher and better; there will be a Happy Hour or two, Yea for Daylight Savings, The IrishFestival, Easter, Easter at Maymont, and the Easter Parade on Monument Avenue!  Just to name a few things March has to offer!

Cheers!

Heather

Heart Your Heart!

Heart Your Heart!

As you know February is Heart Health Awareness Month. It is so important to take care of every part of our bodies with good nutrition and exercise, especially your heart. What great motivation for all of us to get into better exercise routines! The two of us are meeting our exercise goals almost daily. We are starting to see results and are creating more challenges to continue toward a healthy life and a hot new body. Visit the American Heart Association website and learn all kinds of great tips on how to heart your heart! 

Kate and our friend Ann kicked butt in the Diet Bet. Way to go ladies! They had such success with losing weight and so much fun winning money they are joining an open bet with lots more players (therefore lots more money if they win)!

5K training is going strong. We were able to take advantage of a nice day and go for a walk/run around the lake at the MidlothianMines Park,  This is a beautiful park and a great walking path.  On the website they have information about the trails and paths so you can easily map out your workout.

After our great workout we treated ourselves to sushi and wine at Sushi O.  Service, Atmosphere, Deals, Restrooms all get a 2 martini rating for an 8 out of 10.  Heck lets make it a 10 out of 10 and say the massive Buddha and great service gave it the WOW!  Check out the  Happy Hour tab for a refresher on our Extremely Sophisticated HH Rating System.

Kate & her hubby finished another awesome house project. Not one but two book shelves where built, stenciled and filled with books! Check out the photos in Down & Dirty Nitty Gritty.


In other fun news, our friend Jami opened a new restaurant this week; The Savory Grain. Kate & Brian went on Valentine's Day, the first time they've braved the crowds on this "holiday". It was their first day being open for dinner (aside from their soft opening nights), and we were really impressed! The food was great, the beer selection was impressive, and the atmosphere was fantastic. We can't wait to go back!

Need something to do this weekend? Here are some suggestions!  Get your wine on at the Virginia Wine Expo held at the convention center. You can sample your heart out. Based on past experience, we recommend you go after eating, and plan on walking to a near by restaurant before driving! Mary Poppins takes the stage at the Landmark if you need something for your inner child!  Kate actually went last weekend with her family in Raleigh. Keep in mind that this is based on the books more so than the movie. While Kate enjoyed the show, her 7 year old niece was a bit disappointed. However they had a blast singing and dancing when we got home!

Thanks for checking in with us this week!

Cheers,

K&H

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Valentine’s Day seems to be for most a love it or leave it kind of “holiday.”  With some celebrating in grand over the top romantic ways or others feeling the world is ending without a romantic valentine to share the day. We are here to tell you it is just another day on the calendar. It is another day for you to be absolutely fabulous by celebrating yourself and being your own Valentine! If you are an over the top romantic type keep it up and have a wonderful time. If you are not, we want you to have a wonderful time too. If you find yourself without a significant other to celebrate with then be your own Valentine! Go over the top and send yourself flowers and candy, treat yourself to your favorite take out or gather up the girls for a ladies night.  Keep it simple and curl up with a nice glass of wine and watch a great old movie. It is funny to say, but the best Valentine’s Days for us have been those spent not getting all in a tizzy and just having fun with the girls.  Surprise your girlfriends with a fun little Valentine treat like Heather’s dear friend does each year. She sends a sweet note and candy just to say hi! Heck before Valentine’s Day even arrives this year, there is Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday to celebrate; you may be too partied out to even notice it is Valentine’s Day!

Valentine’s Day isn’t only about romantic celebration it is also an opportunity to celebrate all those in your life that you love. Take advantage of Valentine’s Day to tell all your people that you heart them. Tell them loud and proud how grateful you are they are part of your life. Tell them every day not just on “special” occasions. On that note we take this opportunity to tell our families, friends and husbands (aka our Valentines) WE LOVE YOU! Our lives are richer for having you in them and that is pretty awesome!

Happy Valentine’s Day or if you rather just Happy Day!

Cheers!

K&H

Yes Virginia, those are LOVE wine corks.

Happy February everyone!

We hope everyone has recovered from Superbowl Sunday (or Puppybowl Sunday if you're like Kate). Hopefully you all behaved yourselves- we really tried! Heather attended a Superbowl party and was pretty good. Kate's mom was in town for a visit, so missed the game (and junk food) entirely... aside from the big bag of homemade Chex mix she brought.

We both did well with workouts this week.  Both us us hit the gym, and we even managed to go outside for a walk/run together at a Bryan Park. We were happy to see new signage there, including a 5K course. Perfect for our training!  Heather's been wearing her pedometer everyday, and has exceeded her target daily step goal. Go Us!

The big blog news of the week is our new Pinterest page and Facebook page! 

The Facebook page is to help us get the blog out to a bigger audience, and make it easier for folks to follow us. We hope you'll "Like" us (you really really like us!). The Pinterest page is just a fun way to share more ideas that go beyond what we can add to the blog (recipes, cocktails, projects we'd like to do, etc). So please, Like, Follow and Comment away! We would love any and all feedback. Thanks for hanging out with us so far!


Cheers,

K&H

Hair!

Hair!

Heather cut her hair Tuesday and was able to donate 17 inches to Locks of Love! Another 2 to 3 inches were cut off in the styling process and as everyone has said, it is still long! Another cut may be in the very near future to have a more dramatic impact.  

Shout out to our new friend Dinah who did a wonderful job with the cutting and styling. She is awesome! She does business out of her home and sometimes is able to come to your home. Right now all her clients are from word of mouth. If you are interested in contacting her for your own major hair transformation or just a much needed trim, feel free leave us a comment, and we'll get put you in touch with her.


Here are the pictures of the transformation!

So so long!

No turning back

So so shortish!

Pretty Awesome!