The cutest little gold hoop earrings and a list of other jewelry that if I want I will have to get for myself.

Let's talk earrings for a minute, shall we? I just got the daintiest pair of  gold hoop earrings  and I wanted to share them with y'all.

Aren't they just the cutest? I shared the image of the model wearing them so you could see the scale. (Please note, I tried to take an attractive selfie of my ear but realized there aren't enough filters on the internet to fix my wrinkles, jowls, and overall awkwardness, so a stock photo of a beautiful model wearing the earrings it is!)

Once I settle on earrings that I like, I leave them in 24/7/365. I'm lazy that way. Because these are gold vermeil they won't turn so I don't ever need to take them out.  They are also so dainty and light that they don't bother my stretched-out piercing holes.  Sadly, the heavy over-sized hoops I wore in the eighties really did a number on my ear lobes.

I bought these for myself because they are pretty, practical, and priced-right. I also bought them for myself because Dan and I never exchange gifts.  We made that agreement years ago and it works great for us. (No stress, no pressure during the holiday season!)  But Valentine's Day is tomorrow so I thought I would share some other earrings I would not be mad about receiving from Dan if he decided to break our rule and give me something. :)

Look at these gorgeous gold hoops with diamonds.  So pretty! I'm sure they would be too heavy for me to wear all day, every day, but they would be perfect for a special occasion or even a date night.

These look like fun.  But am I too old for something that dangles like this? Since I wear glasses I tend to stay away from a larger  earring because a large earring paired with glasses seems like there's too much going on around my face.

Speaking of oversized hoops from the eighties that did a number on my piercings...

I'm definitely too old for something like this but aren't they pretty? Earrings like this make me miss my youth. I would have definitely rocked these back in college with my giant permed hair! Oh, those were the days!

These delicate pearl hoop earrings might be better for my current age and stage. They are a little more refined and would look great with any outfit.

Look at these stunning 3 carat diamond solitaire earrings? Large diamonds are definitely the way to my heart.  You know what they say about diamonds..."they never go out of style".  Or is it "the bigger, the better"?  Maybe it's both!

And last but not least,  these little beauties:

These are fun and actually kind of cute! I love that I could wear the helmet in my first piercings and then the little footballs in the second piercings.  If I had season tickets to the Patriots (and lived in Massachusetts), these would be in my jewelry box!

That's going to wrap up my little list of earrings I would love to receive. I hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day! Would you wear any of these hoop earrings? Do you  exchange Valentine's Day gifts with your significant other?  If so, what are you hoping for? 

 

This blog post was created in collaboration with Responsival.

 

 

Quick weekend recap....

Dan made it home on time on Thursday evening and one of the first things he said was, "What's going on here?" when he glanced at my new bird feeder and bird bath.  Sorry, dear.  I'm a crazy bird lady now.

 

The next morning, he said, "I see we've regressed in regards to the throw pillow situation."

And to this I could only laugh out loud.  Like any woman, I love a bunch of throw pillows on the bed. Like any man, Dan doesn't appreciate their beauty and thinks the only purpose they serve is to make it hard to get into the bed at night and make it hard to make up the bed in the morning.  Since he is the one who typically makes up the bed in the morning, I removed all the throw pillows to make him happy.  I did keep two pillows with shams on them so that at least the bed looked "finished".

Well, while he was in Ireland, I cleaned out the linen closet and found a throw pillow that I had forgotten about and placed it lovingly on our bed.   Dan, who doesn't typically notice things around the house, noticed it immediately.  But it's just one little old pillow so I'm hoping it doesn't cause him too much stress when he's making up the bed. :)

Peter came home for the weekend!  Apparently a lot of his friends were going home as well so he decided it was the perfect time for a visit since there wouldn't be anything going on.  We had a lovely time.

Friday night was very cold but he wanted a fire in the fire pit so we obliged.  On Saturday he and Dan and my brother ran some errands and got lunch together and then we went to Mass Saturday night. After Mass we tried a new burger joint in Winston, Heff's Burger Club. While it was good, it still doesn't beat our favorite, Nick's. 

On Sunday, we had lunch at mom's and my uncle was able to join us! We haven't seen him since before Christmas.  He was sick right after Christmas, and then my mom got sick, and next thing you know - it's February. It was good to see him and since Peter was home, the table felt full for a change! 

I made a delicious chocolate cake with chocolate frosting from scratch using the recipe on the back of the Hershey Cocoa box.  It was so good! 

It was easy to make and just as the  name suggests, it was perfectly chocolate!

That's it for now.  Check back later this week for more bird pictures... 

Bird feeders, Invisalign, Trader Joe's!

Just checking in from this dreary February 1st.  We've had a lot of rain lately but I'm just glad we haven't had any snow!

Dan's been in Ireland for the last two weeks and will be home tomorrow night! 

I know you've all been sitting on pins and needles wanting a bird update so here ya go...

I got another bird feeder in the hopes of enticing more cardinals.  I did a little research (aka Google search) and determined that cardinals need either a platform feeder, a hopper feeder, or a suet feeder. I immediately headed to Walmart and got them a platform feeder - which is basically a larger open dish. 

Here is a photo to illustrate:

 And it came with a "bird bath" which is essentially a less attractive bowl:

While I have yet to see any cardinals eating from it, the other birds are really enjoying the platform feeder.  Most mornings I will find the tufted titmouses (tufted titmice?) eating from the platform feeder and then heading to the original feeder up against the window.  I have even occasionally seen a couple of birds drinking from the bird bath.

So, it is officially official - your girl is a crazy bird lady.  I am contemplating getting one of these for the spring when my hummingbirds return:

Just kidding!  Although.......

In other news, I just started week 10 of wearing Invisalign. Which means I am 1/4 of the way done!  My teeth are definitely moving so that's promising.  I am supposed to keep them in between 20-22 hours per day.  I think I am averaging 21. I was hoping to be at 22 on a regular basis but since you can't have them in your mouth when drinking coffee that's not going to happen.  

The kids are doing well. Sarah was accepted into the Emerging Leaders Program at school.  Last semester she applied and interviewed and was accepted.  They had several mixers where they got to meet the other students in the program.  And this semester they are meeting once a week.  She will be listening to speakers, participating in workshops, learning about leadership opportunities on campus, and participating in community service and social events. Last weekend there was an overnight retreat off campus and she got to really get to know some of the other members, did team building activities and learned about different leadership styles.  

After the retreat, she booked it home and spent Saturday night here.  I like to think that she came home to see me but I know she really just came home to see Joe who happened to be home to see NC State play Wake Forest in Winston-Salem.  But I don't care why she came home, I just glad she did!

Here is a picture of Sarah and Joe. Aren't they the cutest???

 

Peter and his fraternity spent the weekend in Pigeon Forge.  They had a blast and among other things got to ride on the Smokey Mountain Alpine Coaster which is the longest one in the US!  

I got to go to lunch with Mom and Jennifer on Saturday afternoon.  It was a nice treat and I loved spending time with both of them.  We meant to get the waiter to take our picture but we forgot. :(

I had my yearly mammogram yesterday and as a treat to myself, I went to Trader Joe's afterwards.  I got some lovely tulips:

My main reason for going was to grab some Green Goddess seasoning.  I love that stuff!  While I was there I also picked up their Salmon Rub and used it last night.  I was not a fan.  I didn't think it had any flavor.  Either that or I didn't use enough but I wasn't impressed.

I also grabbed some Chile Spiced Pineapple Rings.  They were very chewy and very spicy.  A nice little treat but I think I would have preferred plain dried pineapple to the Chile spiced variety.  

I got some Brazil nuts as well.  I have heard that two Brazil nuts a day are good antioxidants and have a host of health benefits.  I'll be sure to let you know how healthy I am in a few weeks! :)

I also picked up some chocolate covered peanut butter filled pretzel bites, vegetable fried rice, and Kung Pao Chicken.  I haven't tried those yet, but I am hoping they are good.

Do you guys shop at Trader Joe's?  What are your favorite items?