Fab Friday Faves 1.29.16

Happy Friday Darlings!  This week was literally the quietest week ever.  We were snowed in Friday, Saturday and Sunday and this whole not having anything in walking distance and not having a vehicle most of the time will take some getting used to!  I had some major USPS issues this week... they didn't deliver from Friday Until Thursday!  I had a box that I mailed to myself two day priority The day before I left Florida and still hadn't gotten it Wednesday night, so I called the post office yesterday morning, got them to pull it (and two other less important Amazon boxes) and I went down yesterday morning and got them.  Pretty sad.  Apparently the roads were too bad, but all of the roads have been fine since Monday.  Grr!   After that debacle, Nicole and I went out and she showed me the area and we had a great afternoon.  Everyone have a fantastic weekend and we will see you next week!

1. Josh and I went to get a few things at Target and found all of these different pickles.  They are all delicious!  Highly recommend (the Bloody Mary ones are obviously awesome in a Bloody Mary!) and they are on Target Cartwheel right now.

2. I had been avoiding this Boom Chicka Pop all holiday season because I just didn't need it.  I really wanted to try it but I was having willpower.  In walks Nicole with a box of goodies for me on my firsts day here and she had a bag of it in the box.  I obviously had to try it right away, and OMG so amazing!  I was really sad that it was all off the shelves at the grocery stores (and $12 a bag on Amazon!) until Nicole and I went to Big Lots yesterday and they had at least a dozen bags.  We stocked up so I should be happy for at least a week.  

3. Anyone that reads my blog regularly knows that I finally have the apartment all set up and am settled in.  Check out that blog here.

4. Walmart is carrying a bunch of the "Pioneer Woman" line of goodies.  If you don't know the Pioneer Woman, Google her.  I have been using her recipes for  ages and now she has a line of adorable country style kitchen items.  I had to have this utensil holder for $11!

5. I had to put Smudge on here.  She has been such a trooper the last few months, moving around and living in chaos.  She really is the most amazingly adaptable, sweetest well behaved little princess.


Today I'm linking up with:

Jennie @ The Diary of A Real Housewife
Erika @ A Little Bit of Everything
Tif @ Bright On A Budget
Amy @ The Farmer's Wife
April @ A. Liz Adventures

On The Road Again (Our New Place)

Well here we are, back on the road again!  I know I mentioned that I got here right before the snow storm of the decade, but thats about all I have mentioned.  We are now in St. Charles, Maryland for at least a year for Josh's latest project ad we will be traveling back and forth to the house in Florida as often as possible.  St. Charles is Southern Maryland, about 45 minutes south of Washington DC.  A great location with lots of history and things to do in every direction. 

I have had several people ask for pictures of our apartment, so here they are, after finally getting all our stuff out of storage and getting set up.  The apartment itself is brand new, we are the first people to ever live in our suite which is really nice.  I don't think that I have never lived anywhere that was brand new before.  Our last few apartments have been pretty dirty and grimy when we moved in, so it was nice to have a new place with no long black hair and grease all over.  Not everything is where it will always be but it's a start and it's nice to have it feeling a bit more homey, especially since I already really miss our real home.  The balcony is a nice change that I am super excited to use soon too!

We also have a great fitness center in our complex as well as an outdoor pool to enjoy when the weather warms up.   We are right on a golf course and tennis courts and a small park with some walking trails so once it warms up a bit there will be lots to do to keep us active.  

As always, everyone is invited to come visit.  You'll have an air mattress in the dining room again but there is lots to do around here!

 

Snowzilla 2016

When I was getting ready to leave hot and sunny Florida earlier in the week, the weather forecast for the DC area didn't really have me worried too much.  Last year in New Jersey we had at least three occasions when we when we were supposed to get "Snowmageddon" or "Snowpocalypse" and really nothing, or pretty much nothing came of any of them.  When I saw we were supposed to get 30 inches, I really wanted to change my ticket and stay in Florida an extra week. BUT I didn't.  I hadn't seen snow since April, or a below freezing temperature, and about 30 minutes after I landed in DC it started to snow!   

Thursday night, we went out to Safeway to get some groceries, since we hadn't had a chance the night before.  this is what the bread and water aisles looked like.  Apparently no one here (much like NJ) keeps enough food in their home to last two days.  Gets me every time.

Anyway, when the forecast for Friday didn't change, and didn't change,  I started to wonder if this time is wasn't just an empty threat.  We were slated to get the worst of it starting around noon on Friday, and it started like clockwork at about 12:15.  

2:14PM:

9PM:

Saturday 5AM:

10:30 AM:

There seemed to be a bit of a lull in around lunchtime and we were bored so we decided to take a walk to the Dash-In gas station down the road.  The road was actually pretty decently plowed, but there was almost no one out, and the people that were, were all going to the same place we were.  We were the only ones out walking though!

I thought I needed a picture in a snowbank.  By this time we had had a bit over a foot.

When we were back inside and cozy, I decided that i should see if Miss "I constantly want to go outside" felt the same with 6 inches of snow on the balcony.  Nope.

So we just cuddled.

4:30PM:

6PM:

I took this video at about 6:30 when things were at their peak.

Waking up to a calm, lovely winter wonderland. In total we ended up getting about two feet of snow. Pretty impressive!  There are some 4-5 foot drifts from it blowing so much, especially near the end.

We went out for a drive at around noon today, they actually did a really good job getting the roads plowed off, and the sun melted off where they had plowed.  We also stopped at Target for a few things and it was the best Target experience ever, there were like six people in the whole store and no lines!

Our parking lot.  At one point I swear half the people in our building were out at the same time digging their cars out.

We didn't get the most snow in the end, I think some places in New Jersey got about 30 inches, but it was a pretty impressive storm I much say!  Being from Saskatchewan I am used to blizzards but it is so different here.  Usually in SK there is just a few inches of snow and it blows like crazy across the prairie with nothing to stop it, so I have probably never seen this much snow fall in 30 hours!  Also the amount of people is a whole other level, thank god most people stay home because a few million people out driving would be crazy!

I know there were some deaths and injuries in the storm, so my thoughts are with all affected.  We were lucky to keep power and stay safe and actually have a couple quiet, relaxing days.

Fab Friday Faves 1.22.16

Happy Friday Everyone!  So Smudge and I made it to Maryland on Wednesday after spending the last few days enjoying and preparing the house.  It was nice to get here and start getting settled in, but  my timing was not ideal.  First of all it is colder right now than I have felt since probably April, maybe even March, and a massive blizzard is set to hit the DC area later this afternoon with like 30 inches of snow!  Josh and I went out to get some produce at the store last night and this is what the bread (and water) aisles looked like!

Anyway, Wish us luck that this storm won't end up being quite as bad as they say, and PLEASE everyone be careful and stay safe!  I know we are far enough south that this does not happen that often and people forget how to drive and behave, so just stay calm and stay home!

Everyone that is not in the middle of this Snowpocalypse area, have an awesome weekend and enjoy the nice weather!

1. Like I said, Smudge and I made it to Maryland.  It is always an adventure traveling with a pet but I could not have asked for a better behaved kitty!  We were in the airport for about 1.5 hours, had a 2 hour flight, then about another 1.5 hours to get my bag and get home, so it was about the shortest day of travel we have ever had!  We shared a cheese string on the plane in honor of National Cheese Day and then she just slept while I read.  The first thing we saw when we pulled out of the airport was the Washington Monument, which was cool, and the sunrise from the apartment the next morning was beautiful, just too cold!

2. I had been working a little bit on my mantle at the house before I left.  It is nowhere near done, but I did get my vintage window all painted up and then of course resanded to make it look old again haha.  I'm not totally sure if I am going to make it a picture frame or leave it how it is and decorate the mantle around it.  I also ordered this whale from Pier 1.  I guess I should have checked the measurements, because I assumed it was like a foot long and was going to also put it on the mantle, but it is almost 3 feet long.  So for now he will just sit in front of the fireplace until I figure out where his home is.  He is so cute though!

3.  this Egret just made me laugh one day walking home from the store.  It was crazy windy (We had some massive storms in Florida on the weekend) and I think he was trying to just stay in the shelter of this wall but when I walked by him he stopped walking, turned away and totally did the "I'm a statue" thing.  Poor guy but it was so cute!

 4. I picked this amazing vintage, porcelain Octopus up at Antiques and Uniques on Sunday.  He fits the decor perfectly and I have been obsessed with the retro octopus pattern lately so I was really excited!



5. I went to the post office on the weekend because I sent all of my stamps ahead to Maryland with Josh and of course I ended up needing to mail a couple letters.  I was delighted to see the Harry Potter special edition set!  I love Harry Potter and I love stamps so I really was more excited than the average person.  Anyway they are a beautiful set, and there are even a couple with Professor Snape. RIP Alan Rickman!


Today I am linking up with:

Jenny @ The Diary of A Real Housewife
Erika @ A Little Bit of Everything
Lauren @ Style Elixir
Katie @ A Cup of Tea
April @ A. Liz Adventures
Amy @ The Farmer's Wife

Monkey Mania at The Suncoast Primate Sanctuary

Another exciting outing when my family was here visiting was going to the Suncoast Primate Sanctuary. My mom and I love monkeys, and it made it even more exciting that it is a rescue.  The Sanctuary has been around for 50 years and is totally run by volunteers and donations.  They house over 100 animals, mostly primates but also birds, lizards, goats, reptiles and more.  The animals, like I said are all rescues, some from laboratories where they were experimented on (a large amount were given diabetes and then tested on),  retired from the film industry, pets that the owners could no longer take care of, or retired from the circus. 

We took some fruit for donation and had a good chat with the volunteer working at the front desk when we walked in.  She told us about this little sweetie that was a badly abused pet that had recently been rescued.  She is the tiniest, cutest little thing, how anyone could hurt her is beyond me.  She recently had a hernia surgery and was getting some special attention until she is all healed up.  

Like I said, they have animals other than primates.  these turtles are quite common in this area and these are ones that have been injured or are unable to be returned to the wild.

The sanctuary has a ton of tropical birds.  Beautiful parrots (some who can talk) and many other gorgeous birds that were mostly turned in from people who couldn't look after them anymore.

I fell in love with this tortoise.  I could tell he was used to getting treats and followed me around until I stopped and petted him through the fence, then he kept following me until I would stop and love him some more.  I figure he would love our back yard with all the sun and the pool.  I think he wanted to come home with me.  

Cute little gator!

This is Pongo the Orangutan.  He was a personal pet, and obviously, he got too big to be looked after by a person that did not know how to properly care for him.  He is the sweetest guy and likes to roll barrels around ask for treats.  We were lucky enough to have an 8 year volunteer walking around with us.  The Primates love her and we got to meet a lot of them closer up because of her.  So fun!

The goats, as usual are quite the characters.  Spot is in the back.

Duck and Canada Goose.

Capuchins CoCo and Jeremy.

The following cuties are some of the guys that were given diabetes so that they could be tested on.  They were handed over the the sanctuary and live very normal lives thanks to volunteers eve though they require a lot of care!

Alfie seemed to love playing with and cleaning his feet.  

A cage of Ring Tailed Lemurs, so cute!  I love these guys!  They have the most inquisitive eyes.

Scotty is a 23 year old Baboon that really likes to show off.  He is one of the newest residents to the sanctuary.  He has the most beautiful hair I have ever seen.

This little girl was obsessed with her baby snake, she let us know everything about him and carried him around the whole time we were there.  I love when I see children that have appreciation for nature and animals even if they aren't cute and cuddly.

Another Gator, Mary, this gal is a little bit bigger! 

Valentino is a little Gibbon that loves to sing.  There are more gibbons here as well.

There are a few other Orangutans.  The one swinging in the back is Jewel, she is 47 years old!  There are also Maggie, Magillan and Julie.

There are several amazingly smart Chimps at the rescue.  The oldest, Sheila is 67!  Shawn and Lucy are pictured here and are just beautiful.  The chimps also do some amazing artwork that you can check out here.

You could tell this guy is a rescue from film or a circus.  He was dancing like crazy for us and then got all bashful when we cheered and clapped.  Pretty much the cutest thing ever.

This poor bearded dragon was found roaming around in a yard.  It is obvious that he is a pet because he loves people and was not finding food himself.  He is very picky, and when we visited they were still trying to figure out what foods he likes.  No one has come forward to claim him, which is sad because he is beautiful and very friendly.

This is seriously an amazing place, ran by some insanely dedicated and loving people.  If you would like to visit or make a much needed donation visit their website Suncoast Primate Sanctuary.