AT: stereomood

i can't claim credit for finding this - i snagged it from Olympia - but Stereomood is awesome! you can pick from a variety of "moods" and it'll pull up a playlist for you. it's totally handy for boring times at work or at home or at a party or whenever...very cool.

hilarious video describing contemporary worship services

my brother sent me the link to this video and i literally laughed out loud as i watched it. if you've ever been to a contemporary worship service (as you probably all have), i think you'll definitely appreciate it :)

busy weekend!

alex and i just finished up a crazy weekend, so here are the highlights to fill you all in :)

bought a house - well a condo anyways :) that's right folks, we closed on friday, got our keys, and we are officially home owners. we love the place and we're so excited to start moving things in, which will happen gradually over the next few weeks, until alex moves in for good at the end of the month.

visited my old grammar school - from 3rd through 8th grade i went to a little grammar school that i just loved. i had wonderful teachers, good friends, and tons of amazing memories. well, the school has recently finished construction on a brand new building (yay!), which means it was time to say goodbye to the old building (sad). so saturday, alex and i went to the farewell event for alumni, wandered around the school reminiscing, and chatted with over half of my teachers. it was so fun, and really meaningful.

saw scott's final freshman 15 show - saturday night we trekked to northwestern for scott's final a cappella performance with his group, freshman 15. after 4 years, it's hard to believe it's coming to an end, but the group did a great job, and scott had two awesome solos - jon mclaughlin's "indiana" and michael buble's "just haven't met you yet". personally, i think he had the best two songs of the show and it reminded me of what an amazing performer he is! i was a very proud big sister that night :)

had a bridal shower - another very fun, really great event where we saw lots of wonderful friends and got some amazing gifts! our neighbors hosted, and they were simply incredible - delicious food, adorable handmade favors, and elegant decorations. some gift highlights included a wii fit, a keurig coffee maker, several sets of our dishes, a yellow stand mixer, and an original watercolor painting of the inside of Century Memorial Chapel where we will be married (from my mom). i have to say, i felt quite loved!

entertained lots of out of town guests - including 3 aunts, 2 uncles, and three cousins. it was busy, but again, very full of love. i was so grateful to everyone for making the trip to chicago for the shower/my brother's show. i gotta say, we've got a pretty great family.

cast your vote!

my boss is a part of a group called the House Republican Economic Recovery Working Group (long title, i know) and they've launched a new initiative called You Cut. You Cut encourages the public to vote on what spending cuts they'd like to see enacted in DC. every week there will be five choices, and the winner will be put to a vote on the House floor the following week. even if you don't agree with the policies or don't want to vote, i think it's still a cool use of technology to gather public opinion in a new way. if you do want to vote or want to learn more about it, check it out here. Virginia's own Eric Cantor is spear-heading the project.

AT: poor English translations

a coworker posted this as an away message and it made me laugh out loud - nothing like a few botched translations to brighten up an otherwise typical thursday :)

handmade at it's best

i recently made my first purchase from Etsy, a virtual marketplace for all things handmade. sellers from all over the world can post their products and you can even order custom items by directly contacting sellers - very cool! i ordered personalized cards to use as "thank you" notes for my upcoming bridal shower in illinois and i can't wait to see how they turn out. maybe the rest of you have already discovered this trendy new site, but if you haven't you should check it out!

we are approved!

i can't believe this day is finally here but i am proud to announce that we are approved on our condo! we had our home inspection this weekend, which went very well, just a few small things to take care of when we move in, and i have to say, it was so exciting to be back in the place after several weeks. we still love it, we're so excited to be there, and we can't wait to get in and start making it feel like our home!

i believe we're going to be closing may 13 - just 2 1/2 weeks away! alex is planning to move in at the end of may, and he'll get started on cleaning and painting and arranging. then after the wedding, it will be all set for me to join him :) can't wait to get settled so we can start entertaining out of town guests!