Because, shamefully, there have been no pictures this week.

Vampires, Hogwarts, and other trendalicious items.

When it comes to trends, you could say I don't exactly jump out on the cutting edge - or you could consider being totally honest and say that I am lightyears behind. I usually like to wallflower around for a bit until the hype dies down, and then make a decision from there. Here are a few trends I'm going to throw my two cents in on (with apologies to the grammar police for the sentence ending in GASP! double prepositions):

Twilight: Read it. Loved it. The movies are OK, but nowhere near as great as the books.

True Blood: Tried it. Did not love it. Maybe I need to give it another chance? I like a lot of HBO shows, but I just couldn't get into this one.

Harry Potter: Once I figured out that there is no secret language in these books (yep, I'm a total idiot, and all the Potter kids are throwing things at the computer now), I started reading them. I really loved the books, but after the third one I found out I was carrying a little bun in the oven, at which time all reading was restricted solely to pregnancy and baby reading, with the occasional trashy celeb magazine thrown in for good measure (and to keep up the notion that I am "in the know," of course.) SO, I have not seen the movies, as I refuse to watch anything that I want to read, since the book is nearly always a billion-zillion-kajillion times better than what the silver screen comes up with (excepting specifically The Notebook, which I adored in both forums). That said, I still have plans to someday read the HP series, and then of course see the movies. Maybe. Someday.

Glee: Still watching the first season. So far, so good, but obviously this does not qualify me for gleek status. Le sigh.

Lady Gaga: Trend of all trends. At first I did not get it. I still don't completely get it. But, I must admit that she is growing on me, and I can't help but attempt to sing along/make ridiculous "ohh laa blah blah Gaga" sounds when Bad Romance comes on.

Shellac.

Where my nails are concered, I'm an ex-acrylic lover now struggling to keep my nails looking nice and neat in the midst of an otherwise chaotic life. I had acrylics forEVER, then got them taken off, put back on, off, on again while pregnant (hey, some part of me needed to look nice and put together, even if my hands were the size of a NFL linebacker's.) Sidenote: do NFL linebackers have big hands? I'm just making an assumption there.

Anywhoo, after my sweet girl came into the world and three months later, we went back into the "real world" otherwise known as life after maternity leave, it became apparent I had neither the time nor patience to spend sitting in a chair away from my darling girl. Of course, my nails were the poor victims of this decision. So when I heard about Shellac, it piqued my interest. Nail color that would not come off, but did not have to be kept up like acrylics? Tell me more, tell me more!

So after many months of thinking that seemed interesting but never making time to actually make an appointment for a little hand-TLC, I finally found an occasion worth enough (a beach vacation, of course) to have said manicure. It was, in short, fabulous. My nails did not chip for - get this - 18 DAYS. That's a lifetime in manicures. The bad news? This stuff would NOT come off. I tried 100% acetone and everything. Wow! So maybe it requires a bit more upkeep than I thought, but I definitely looked better longer than acrylics ever did.

And at the end of the day, I was forced to get a manicure before anniversary fun day could commence. All in all, I'd say this story had a happy ending.

Have you Shellac'ed? If not, you should!

The M Word.

If you know my darling daughter, you know she's a chatterbox. She started vowel sounds and hasn't looked back. Her vocabulary is definitely still in that only-her-parents-and-a-few-highly-trained-ears-can-distinguish-words stage, but it getting larger all the time: hi, bye, woah, uh oh, NO (her personal favorite), yeah, dada, and...

The M word. Mama. Sometimes Mommy, but usually Mama. It is music to my ears. She has said mama and dada for many months now (dada first, but I'm just going to glaze right over that), but now those sounds are directed towards one of us when Delaney wants our attention, wants to point us out, or wants to go around naming us!

There are a lot of things that warm my heart about being a mom, but hearing Mama! Mama! when I come to rescue Delaney out of her luxurious wooden prison (relax, its also known as a crib, for the kid-police set out there) is a pretty fabulous start to the today. And coming in to pick her up and hearing that little voice is the best too. Especially because it isn't followed by "I want..." not yet, that is. Not yet.

The Classics.

Are there any movies you'll sit and watch over and over? Not just the Blu-Ray, DVD, or VHS (if you even own one of those anymore) (we don't) (who does?), but also every.single.time it comes on TV? Clipped for time, edited for content, made into a mere ghost of the original fabulous flick, but you tune in anyway, giddy that your movie has made it onto the small screen?
Am I all alone in this feeling? (Chirp, chirp...)
Here are some movies I tune in to every time:

What movies do you love?

T.G.I.F.

Happy Friday, Everyone! I've been looking forward to this weekend and our anniversary celebration! Some of our plans include:

{1, 2, 3}

Hope you have a great weekend as well!

Four is for lovers.

Four years ago today, I married the man that I loved. As the journey of our lives brings us through changes, additions, adventures, and misadventures, I love him more every day. Thanks for making my life wonderful and making all my dreams come true, babe! You're my lobster!

Food Network finally got to me.

We watch the Food Network pretty much every single night of our lives on a fairly regular basis. My hubs is a cooking fool, and there is just something entertaining about watching people make/eat/showcase delicious food.

Our Top 5 FN Shows:
1. Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives
2. Next Food Network Star (my personal fave)
3. Worst Cooks in America
4. Iron Chef America
5. Dinner: Impossible

Of all the things that Andrew & I have in common, love of food is a big one. But although I love to bake, cooking is not my forte. However, in my current effort to be more domestic and crafty, I figured I might as well get crafty in the kitchen too. So I enrolled in what I'm affectionately referring to as the Andrew Klahn Culinary Institute.

Turns out, its actually pretty fun to cook when you have a witty teacher, lots of time and no small person hanging on your leg wanting to play. Not sure how this is going to help in the dinner department, but I do see some leisurely late night time in the kitchen with my sweetie!

Beach Bunny Baby.

This month, we took Delaney on her first beach vacation! We rented a condo along with our good friends The Vansickles and their son Gavin (two weeks older than Delaney). In summary, it was a total blast! The kids had a great time playing together, and Delaney is a beach lover already. Fortunate for her, since we are headed back again later this year!

living the beach life

being silly with Daddy

serious sand play

having a ball

our family

cozy baby seat made by Daddy

first steps in the sand

playing in our condo with Gavin

not a bad car rider (for at least half of the eight hours each way...)

Want-A-Holic.

I love to shop. (Cue shocked expressions and loud GASP here.)

Lately, most of my shopping consists of online purchases, mainly for Delaney or our new projects around our home (more on that later). Why don't I buy for myself? Sometimes I do, but I seem to have a knack for finding myself things that are, ahem, not seen on the clearance rack - which, let's be totally honest here - is where I get the most delight out of buying things.

What am I putting my pennies in my piggy bank for now?

Pippa Medium Grab

Ray Ban RX5227

What's on your wish list?

Daddy's Girls.

In an effort to be just like Mommy (hopefully only in the most positive ways), Delaney has decided to become a Daddy's girl. She loves everyone in our family so much, but there is definitely a special bond between Daddy and Delaney that is so beautiful to me. Like me, Delaney is blessed with a wonderful, kind, generous, and loving Daddy. I can't wait to see all the fun and mischief these two will get into for the rest of our lives!

And I'd be remiss in my Father's Day posting if I didn't talk about my very own Daddy and the special relationship that we have. My dad is one of my best friends, my advisor, my boss, and the first great love of my life. And I'm a clone of his brain, a sounding board, his little girl, and hopefully someone he can always be proud of. I love you, Dad!

Breaking up is hard to do...so will you take me back?

Darling Ladies:

...and Gentleman (which, let's face it, is only my husband once in a blue moon and possibly my dad when my mom shows this to him)

Please forgive me. I've done it yet again. I'm like the ex that you keep believing will change, but they never really do - or so I've heard, as I have only one ex who wasn't much of a boyfriend in the first place, and I managed to hang on to that next boyfriend for the past nine ohmygod has it actually been that long already?!? years.

But back to my apology. If I promise this time to blog more often, be more interesting, and show more pictures of my cute kid, would you come back and stay awhile? Pretty please?

There is so much to discuss!