Sidesmas 2013

Sidesmas 2013 was a huge success if I do say so myself (which I will!).

We cooked all day that Saturday and I think it was my most successful use of the oven yet. I made stuffed mushrooms, brussel sprouts, mashed potato pie and cranberry sauce. John made delicious macaroni and cheese (which is always so labor intensive and involves like eight different cheeses) and set up our entire house with all our rented tables and chairs.

We thought that this year we were going to have smaller tables and a buffet situation with the food, but I really do love the whole big table thing, so we stuck with that for another year!

This year I even got hostess gifts! It was a pretty exciting moment. Abbie got us a the best peppermint candle in the history of peppermint candles and Becca and Shannon got us this beautiful picture that Shannon took on our wedding day. Needless to say I burst into tears.

Dave wore this really awesome sweatshirt and Jared put all of our leftovers together as per usual. He seriously has a gift for tupperware and Ziploc bags!

And after dinner per Sidesmas/giving tradition, Brian hosted the Newlywed Game which Becca and I royally lost. Becca and Stephanie won, but we're all pretty sure there was some major cheating happening. Sorry guys, I said it.

How good does Brian look all dressed up for his hosting duties? He really came through, considering he was majorly sick and had nearly no voice. What a guy!

Did I mention it was snowing that night? Like really seriously snowing. We thought for the whole day that people were going to start calling one by one to tell us they weren't coming. But everyone came. Every last person walked up to our front door, came inside and took of their shoes. I think this pile is a pretty good visual representation of my happy place.

Until next year, Sidesgiving!

Happy Adoption Day, Mimosa Megan!

Dear Mimosa Megan Olsen,

Sunday is your Adoption Day! It is the anniversary of the day that Becca, Stephanie and I got in our car, drove to Bay Ridge and fell in love with you (see picture below for evidence).

 

When John and I decided we needed one more cat in our family and then we saw you online, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.

You ended up being so very much sicker than we thought (or anyone for that matter, even your foster Mom) thought you were. And this year has been a lot of vet visits, a lot of tears (on my part) and a lot of you getting weaker and now stronger. Do you have CH? We're not totally sure. Are you going to walk again? We can't quite tell. But we are sure that we will get you as well as your little body will let you get.

You are such a strong little baby girl and you have shown your Dad and I that we can do basically anything (including giving you baths and giving your oral steroids) as long as we are together.

You are also such a funny girl. You put up with my crazy and at my Bachelorette Party, you even wore my necklace! You let me sing to you and you hang out with Dilly and Dad at night when he plays video games and I am asleep.

And ohhhh Dilly. It took nearly six months, but she finally warmed up to you. Sometimes you push her to far and she smacks the heck out of you, but most times you just want to be near her and meow and meow until she comes to sit next to you or until me or your Dad put her next to you in the hopes that you stop meowing!

But generally you are a meow-ey cat! The first vet we took you too just told us you were "mouthy". But really, you're letting us know who the boss is. You meow and meow until we pick you up...in fact as I type this, you're laying on my chest knocked out like a light. John and I joke that we're going to get one of those baby slings to put you in, at least that way we could hold you and both our hands would be free.

We don't know what the next year will bring for you. But we know that we'll keep on loving you and spoiling you rotten until we can't anymore. And we'll keep thanking all of our friends and family who love you too (because they really are the best).

So happy first year as an Olsen, Mim! We love, love, love you!

Love,
Your crazy cat lady Mom

Oh Hey, 2014!

Guys. Its 2014? How is that possible? Do you remember when it was 2000 and we all thought the world was going to end? And then it didn't and now it is14 years later? How crazy is that?

Let's talk about some things to do in 2014! 

1. As always, it is my foremost goal to wear pants as little as possible. I think we're on year seven of this resolution and its seriously the best! No pants, no problems!

2. Read as much as possible and make a reading corner in our bedroom. In 2013 I read 60 books, but I think I'd like to aim for higher in 2014. Not 100, because in 2012 we found out how truly difficult that is. I think my reading game will be seriously upped if I have a cozy yet upright position to read in. Maybe with a side table and a pretty lamp!

3. Be present, slow down and enjoy the little things. Put my phone away, take a walk, experience what and who is around me.

4. Enjoy our first full year as a married couple. We have a lot of things we hope to do this year, and we're so excited to get to do them as Mr. and Mrs.

Happy New Year from our family to your's! 

Can I Leave Our Christmas Tree Up Until Easter?

Our Christmas Tree is a BEAUTY this year my friends!

First, I would like to say to all you real tree enthusiasts that I am sorry! When we get a real tree, Dilly eats it, it sheds needles all over my home and then you have to throw it out in the street and it literally feels like you are murdering Christmas. And so, this year I got us a fake tree that we will have for years and years and years (I hope? How long do these lights last?).

I like to think that I can leave our tree up until Valentine's day because it kind of gives off a pink light and also I don't want to put it back in its box.

Dilly and Mim especially love to sit on our ottoman and stare up at the lights. I think I might want two trees next year, but is that excessive? Can I put one in my kitchen? I need advice now you guys, because I think Christmas trees are on sale NOW. Advice please and GO!

Two Year Blogoversary!

Today marks two years since I've been writing in this space!

Time is such a crazy thing, isn't it? In October I realized that the anniversary was approaching and it felt like December was never going to get here...and now, here it is!

Writing this blog is one of the greatest lights in my life and its made even brighter when I hear from you! I love seeing people I haven't seen in a while and having them say to me "I read your blog every day!". I love it even more when I get emails or comments from those of you who I have never met!

If you're new to this Ummm Now What, welcome! If you've been here a while, thank you from the bottom of my heart and the ends of my blog typing fingers!

To commemorate this exciting day (hehe), here's some of my favorite posts from this year!

That time John and I swung on giant swings on the Upper East Side
Mim's Adoption Day
When John proved he knows me better than anyone in the world
When Holly and Alyssa moved to a Brooklyn for a week
A post on being grateful 
When I remembered Pop
When I cut of all my hair

See you on the flip side! 
xx,
Kate 

Sidesgiving Prep & Giving Your Cat a Bath

The weekend of November 9th is usually when John and I host Sidesgiving. This year though, we were getting married and so since last Sidesgiving everyone has been talking about when we would be hosting it this year. Maybe our reception should be Sidesgiving themed, people suggested! Perhaps we could do it the next day! Could we have it the weekend before?

No, friends. Our reception will not have cranberry sauce, I was exhausted the day after the wedding and the weekend before we were celebrating Aunt Lau's birthday. SO this weekend, John and I are hosting a revised version of Sidesgiving, Sidesmas!

Sidesmas prep has been fairly extensive this week with cleaning and list making and tonight, Stephanie is coming over to do some crafts with glitter paper (my favorite!). In addition to cleaning the house, on Tuesday night John and I gave Mim a bath in the bathroom sink (to make sure she is ready to see guests!). We usually do it in the bathtub, but she gets so upset when the water hits her, so instead we tried the sink. It was a h-u-g-e success. John held her, I sudsed her up with some Johnson's baby shampoo and in less than ten minutes, she was like a new kitty cat girl. We typically go as fast as possible when giving Mim a bath, but I had to take a picture of this face! Oh Mim!

Also for those of you who have been asking, Mim's diagnosis is not as terrible as we thought it might be. For now, she is on steroids and antibiotics for a little longer and John and I do physical therapy with her every day. She says thank you so much for all your thoughts, she loves you for loving her!

Photo Booths are My Favorite!

Let's talk about how much I love homemade photo booths, shall we? My house was expertly decorated for my Bachelorette Party, but perhaps my very, very favorite part of the decorations was the photo booth that the girls made on the sliding doors to our deck.

Apparently, Michael's sells entire rolls of sparkle paper in dozens of colors. Obviously they chose pink for the event an they hung streamers and it was just perfect!

And so I present to you: very many pictures from my Bachelorette photo booth!

Please note that props are essential!

And also there is some sort of iPhone App that takes four pictures at once. It is essential that whoever is taking the pictures yells when they are changing!

I have total drunk eyes in the second picture and am not sure why as this was taken on Sunday morning pre-Mimosas.

Photobooth post OVER!