Blonde Highlights

    I've just joined Yvonne's contest at Half Past Wonderful and I think you should, too. Check out her blog while you're there!

    Annnnd, I've linked up with Erin at Every Branch because it's:




    (click the button to link up!)

    (1)  "No (name), Miss Kelly does NOT want to touch your hang down!!". haha Gotta love high school freshmen!

    (2) I'm from Ohio so occasionally students will make comments about how I have an accent (although, I think these Wisconsinites and their weird pronunciation of O's are the ones with the accents!) I was completely caught off guard when this 8th grade boy asked if I was from Australia. Really? This kid needs some cultural education.

    Now to address the title of this post. Yesterday I got a full foil to lighten my hair. Naturally, I'm a pretty dark brunette and about 5 months ago I got a little red put in. Think copper, not fire engine. When I told JD that I had scheduled another hair appointment, I asked him what he would like to see and he said "blonde" :-P We both compromised a bit and I got highlights. Here are some before and after pictures for you:
     How does it look?? The foiling process took FOREVER because I have so much hair. I'm fairly certain the hairdresser I got was hating her life. Oh well, she's a student (I went to Regency Beauty Institute) so I gave her a learning opportunity!

    Happy Thursday!
    Sarah

Blonde Highlights

    I've just joined Yvonne's contest at Half Past Wonderful and I think you should, too. Check out her blog while you're there!

    Annnnd, I've linked up with Erin at Every Branch because it's:




    (click the button to link up!)

    (1)  "No (name), Miss Kelly does NOT want to touch your hang down!!". haha Gotta love high school freshmen!

    (2) I'm from Ohio so occasionally students will make comments about how I have an accent (although, I think these Wisconsinites and their weird pronunciation of O's are the ones with the accents!) I was completely caught off guard when this 8th grade boy asked if I was from Australia. Really? This kid needs some cultural education.

    Now to address the title of this post. Yesterday I got a full foil to lighten my hair. Naturally, I'm a pretty dark brunette and about 5 months ago I got a little red put in. Think copper, not fire engine. When I told JD that I had scheduled another hair appointment, I asked him what he would like to see and he said "blonde" :-P We both compromised a bit and I got highlights. Here are some before and after pictures for you:
     How does it look?? The foiling process took FOREVER because I have so much hair. I'm fairly certain the hairdresser I got was hating her life. Oh well, she's a student (I went to Regency Beauty Institute) so I gave her a learning opportunity!

    Happy Thursday!
    Sarah

Me on the Map.....in Madison, WI


    click on the button to link-up!

    MADISON, WISCONSIN
    JD and I moved to Madison last July and have had a great time exploring the city. Here are just a few of our favorite things about Badgerland...
    The Henry Villas Zoo is free. Let me say that again...it's FREE. They have a good amount of animals and the animal cages/spaces are very close to the spectators, so you can get good pictures...like these:
    Wisconsinites are very outdoorsy and they take advantage of the wonderful summer weather (because winters can be not-so-fun, as I'll get to later). JD and I went to the zoo 3 times in the first 2 months we lived here. And we've visited Olbrich's Botanical Garden 3 times also. The Garden has a Thai Pavilion and Garden that was given to the University of Wisconsin-Madison from the Thai Government and the Thai Chapter of the Wisconsin Alumni Association. It's covered in gold leaf, so spectators aren't allowed to touch it, as some of the gold is already chipping off due to weather.
    There are so many different kinds of plants, and I'm not a green thumb type of person (example: I'm pretty much giving my wedding florist free range to do whatever he wants)...so instead of naming them, I'll just show you some nice pictures I took :)

    Next, I'll share a list of my favorite places to go out to eat/drink. Essen Haus is a German restaurant that serves very German food. They also serve beer in glass boots, which is more fun that it originally sounds. The boot gets passed around the table ...and there are rules.
    1) The boot must never touch the table.
    2) You must drink from the boot toe-up.
    3) You must flick the boot before and after you drink from it.
    4) You do not want to be the last person to NOT finish the boot.
    (picture from http://essen-haus.com/)
    I don't like beer...nor do I like drinking after a bunch of people, so I don't participate (party pooper, I know). But you can only imagine how seriously groups of twenty-somethings take this "game". With boots being passed around and live polka music in the background, this place is a hoppin' good time!

    The next place we heard about and just had to visit was...


    We have yet to get ice cream from here, but we have sat down to each lunch a couple times.
    "[It] offers a whimsical atmosphere filled with animated figures; homemade originals by the owner, various employees, and local artists in the Madison community.

    The animations include jugglers, flying supermen, castles, and decorations that are either moving back and forth on wires overheard or popping out of trap doors in the ceiling. Many tables have glass tops with detailed scenes or moveable parts inside."
    The last time we went there, our glass table had pages from Where's Waldo inside, so that kept JD and I entertained through the entire meal! Ella's has it's own carousel right outsider the diner, which of course I made JD ride with me :)

     I was having a grand time ^
     JD, not so much :-P

    I'll wrap this up with one more thing we love and one thing we weren't too pleased with from 2010 in Madison. We LOVE Concerts on the Square. The Madison Chamber Orchestra sets up outside the capitol building every Wednesday early-evening and plays free-of-charge. A large crowd usually shows up to listen to different themed music every week. Our favorite last summer was the Beatles theme. There are food vendors and beer vendors or you could bring your own picnic and set up camp on the capitol lawn. Such fun!

    Now for the "dark days" (literally, it gets dark at 4:30pm in the winter) of Madison. I actually don't think this past winter was that bad in comparison to previous ones, but JD and I have never experienced previous ones so we had a right to complain :) The first snow of the year wasn't until after Thanksgiving (thank goodness!), but it started off with a bang. Blizzard conditions! I drove in it (dumb), but that's neither here nor there. Anyway, here's a picture from either December or January right outside our apartment:

     The snow was up to my mid-thigh, which is impressive considering I'm 5'10" and have long legs. Luckily, the snow has melted off (only a little is left from the HUGE piles that were made from plowing) and we are looking forward to another beautiful summer.
     The capitol building.
    Fun Fact: The downtown area of Madison is a land bridge between two large lakes. This is the view of Lake Monona as we were driving towards downtown.
    Fun Fact #2: Wisconsin is home of the 2010 Superbowl Champions- The GREEN BAY PACKERS!!! I will admit, I wasn't a huge Packers fan before I moved here. But, this year, a guy I went to high school with joined the team- Tom Crabtree, #83! He got playing time in 5 or 6 games and made Bloom-Carroll High School (Carroll, Ohio) very proud :) 
    If you live in the Madison area, I would love tips on where to eat, things to do, etc. If you aren't from Wisconsin, but are ever passing by, take the time to stop and check it out...during the summer!
     

Me on the Map.....in Madison, WI


    click on the button to link-up!

    MADISON, WISCONSIN
    JD and I moved to Madison last July and have had a great time exploring the city. Here are just a few of our favorite things about Badgerland...
    The Henry Villas Zoo is free. Let me say that again...it's FREE. They have a good amount of animals and the animal cages/spaces are very close to the spectators, so you can get good pictures...like these:
    Wisconsinites are very outdoorsy and they take advantage of the wonderful summer weather (because winters can be not-so-fun, as I'll get to later). JD and I went to the zoo 3 times in the first 2 months we lived here. And we've visited Olbrich's Botanical Garden 3 times also. The Garden has a Thai Pavilion and Garden that was given to the University of Wisconsin-Madison from the Thai Government and the Thai Chapter of the Wisconsin Alumni Association. It's covered in gold leaf, so spectators aren't allowed to touch it, as some of the gold is already chipping off due to weather.
    There are so many different kinds of plants, and I'm not a green thumb type of person (example: I'm pretty much giving my wedding florist free range to do whatever he wants)...so instead of naming them, I'll just show you some nice pictures I took :)

    Next, I'll share a list of my favorite places to go out to eat/drink. Essen Haus is a German restaurant that serves very German food. They also serve beer in glass boots, which is more fun that it originally sounds. The boot gets passed around the table ...and there are rules.
    1) The boot must never touch the table.
    2) You must drink from the boot toe-up.
    3) You must flick the boot before and after you drink from it.
    4) You do not want to be the last person to NOT finish the boot.
    (picture from http://essen-haus.com/)
    I don't like beer...nor do I like drinking after a bunch of people, so I don't participate (party pooper, I know). But you can only imagine how seriously groups of twenty-somethings take this "game". With boots being passed around and live polka music in the background, this place is a hoppin' good time!

    The next place we heard about and just had to visit was...


    We have yet to get ice cream from here, but we have sat down to each lunch a couple times.
    "[It] offers a whimsical atmosphere filled with animated figures; homemade originals by the owner, various employees, and local artists in the Madison community.

    The animations include jugglers, flying supermen, castles, and decorations that are either moving back and forth on wires overheard or popping out of trap doors in the ceiling. Many tables have glass tops with detailed scenes or moveable parts inside."
    The last time we went there, our glass table had pages from Where's Waldo inside, so that kept JD and I entertained through the entire meal! Ella's has it's own carousel right outsider the diner, which of course I made JD ride with me :)

     I was having a grand time ^
     JD, not so much :-P

    I'll wrap this up with one more thing we love and one thing we weren't too pleased with from 2010 in Madison. We LOVE Concerts on the Square. The Madison Chamber Orchestra sets up outside the capitol building every Wednesday early-evening and plays free-of-charge. A large crowd usually shows up to listen to different themed music every week. Our favorite last summer was the Beatles theme. There are food vendors and beer vendors or you could bring your own picnic and set up camp on the capitol lawn. Such fun!

    Now for the "dark days" (literally, it gets dark at 4:30pm in the winter) of Madison. I actually don't think this past winter was that bad in comparison to previous ones, but JD and I have never experienced previous ones so we had a right to complain :) The first snow of the year wasn't until after Thanksgiving (thank goodness!), but it started off with a bang. Blizzard conditions! I drove in it (dumb), but that's neither here nor there. Anyway, here's a picture from either December or January right outside our apartment:

     The snow was up to my mid-thigh, which is impressive considering I'm 5'10" and have long legs. Luckily, the snow has melted off (only a little is left from the HUGE piles that were made from plowing) and we are looking forward to another beautiful summer.
     The capitol building.
    Fun Fact: The downtown area of Madison is a land bridge between two large lakes. This is the view of Lake Monona as we were driving towards downtown.
    Fun Fact #2: Wisconsin is home of the 2010 Superbowl Champions- The GREEN BAY PACKERS!!! I will admit, I wasn't a huge Packers fan before I moved here. But, this year, a guy I went to high school with joined the team- Tom Crabtree, #83! He got playing time in 5 or 6 games and made Bloom-Carroll High School (Carroll, Ohio) very proud :) 
    If you live in the Madison area, I would love tips on where to eat, things to do, etc. If you aren't from Wisconsin, but are ever passing by, take the time to stop and check it out...during the summer!
     

Wish I Was Here Wednesday

     


    I just love link-ups! Hopefully I'll be able to resist the urge to join each one I find, but right now it looks like I may have one in every single post! Today, I've linked to "Wish I Was Here Wednesday" with Olivia at For Me. I've been researching honeymoon destinations, so this is the perfect place to share not only where I want to be for a future vacation, but where I'd like to be hanging out right about now....
    This=major fun. The only two stipulations I have for my honeymoon are: beach and SWIM UP BAR. The fact that it's tiki-style and has a slide next to it only add to it's awesome-ness. Hold on to your hats, because this next picture will blow your mind (well, maybe not, but it sure got me excited)...
    Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that IS a swim up BARBEQUE.
    Both of these pictures are from Arizona Falls in Las Vegas, which unfortunately is not a resort but a company that designs and builds these backyard oases!
    So, let me specify, I do NOT want to be in these peoples' backyards, but I would like an Arizona Falls creation of my own :)

Wish I Was Here Wednesday

     


    I just love link-ups! Hopefully I'll be able to resist the urge to join each one I find, but right now it looks like I may have one in every single post! Today, I've linked to "Wish I Was Here Wednesday" with Olivia at For Me. I've been researching honeymoon destinations, so this is the perfect place to share not only where I want to be for a future vacation, but where I'd like to be hanging out right about now....
    This=major fun. The only two stipulations I have for my honeymoon are: beach and SWIM UP BAR. The fact that it's tiki-style and has a slide next to it only add to it's awesome-ness. Hold on to your hats, because this next picture will blow your mind (well, maybe not, but it sure got me excited)...
    Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that IS a swim up BARBEQUE.
    Both of these pictures are from Arizona Falls in Las Vegas, which unfortunately is not a resort but a company that designs and builds these backyard oases!
    So, let me specify, I do NOT want to be in these peoples' backyards, but I would like an Arizona Falls creation of my own :)

I now have a button!

    With the help of Oikology 101, I have created my very own blogger button :)








    The design will probably change; I just wanted to whip up something quick and add it to my page. I love all these blogging elements that I didn't know about before I joined the blog world!

I now have a button!

    With the help of Oikology 101, I have created my very own blogger button :)








    The design will probably change; I just wanted to whip up something quick and add it to my page. I love all these blogging elements that I didn't know about before I joined the blog world!

101 Things in 1001 Days

    I finally finished my 101 Things in 1001 Days goal list and wanted to share it ASAP. Click on the "Day Zero" tab above to view my list and check on my progress.

    *DISCLAIMER: Not ALL the goals on the list are mine. I collaborated with JD and goals that are solely his (about 7 or 8) are marked as so. I wanted to work together on this project for a few reasons:

    (1) So that he was aware of all the things I wanted to do. We can  accompany each other on most of the adventures. (JD refuses to ride in a hot air balloon, so it looks like I'll be doing that solo!)
    (2) In order to get JD to participate. He would not have enough goals to make a list on his own (or he would not have enough motivation....)
    (3) We can support each other and keep each other accountable for actually finishing this and not forgetting about in a couple months!

    I just joined SO WHAT! Wendesday at Life After I Dew! Here's what I'm saying "So what!" to this Wednesday....
    SO WHAT....
    ...if all the goals on my 101 Things in 1001 Days list aren't mine. It's a team effort :)
    ...if I've had my goal weight posted on my refrigerator for months and have yet to actually attempt to lose anything.
    ...if I stayed in my PJ's until 3pm yesterday...and would do the same today if I didn't have a hair appointment.
    ...if I really love Pretty Little Liars. They suck you in with all the unanswered questions!
    ...if I may be making a huge mistake by going super light brunette today. I can go right back to the salon tomorrow to correct it if needed!
    ...if I'm considering ignoring my Bachelor's degree and pursuing a totally different career path. I don't what to look back and say "What if...?" (which would be a really good idea for a link up- hint hint to those of you who have enough followers to start one!)

    Happy Hump Day!
    Sarah

101 Things in 1001 Days

    I finally finished my 101 Things in 1001 Days goal list and wanted to share it ASAP. Click on the "Day Zero" tab above to view my list and check on my progress.

    *DISCLAIMER: Not ALL the goals on the list are mine. I collaborated with JD and goals that are solely his (about 7 or 8) are marked as so. I wanted to work together on this project for a few reasons:

    (1) So that he was aware of all the things I wanted to do. We can  accompany each other on most of the adventures. (JD refuses to ride in a hot air balloon, so it looks like I'll be doing that solo!)
    (2) In order to get JD to participate. He would not have enough goals to make a list on his own (or he would not have enough motivation....)
    (3) We can support each other and keep each other accountable for actually finishing this and not forgetting about in a couple months!

    I just joined SO WHAT! Wendesday at Life After I Dew! Here's what I'm saying "So what!" to this Wednesday....
    SO WHAT....
    ...if all the goals on my 101 Things in 1001 Days list aren't mine. It's a team effort :)
    ...if I've had my goal weight posted on my refrigerator for months and have yet to actually attempt to lose anything.
    ...if I stayed in my PJ's until 3pm yesterday...and would do the same today if I didn't have a hair appointment.
    ...if I really love Pretty Little Liars. They suck you in with all the unanswered questions!
    ...if I may be making a huge mistake by going super light brunette today. I can go right back to the salon tomorrow to correct it if needed!
    ...if I'm considering ignoring my Bachelor's degree and pursuing a totally different career path. I don't what to look back and say "What if...?" (which would be a really good idea for a link up- hint hint to those of you who have enough followers to start one!)

    Happy Hump Day!
    Sarah

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