Get to Know Me!

Hi there! I’ve seen this on a few of my favorite blogs and think it’s a fun way for you to get to know me a bit better! Please take a few minutes to read this and maybe you’ll get a better understanding of me. Feel free to leave any comments below!

34 random questions & answers about me:

1. MORNING OR NIGHT PERSON: I am mostly a morning person by trade, parent here!! However, I do like nighttime because it’s really the only time that I get to myself or with my husband to feel like I’m more than “just” a mom. As much as I love that part of my life, it’s nice to feel “normal” every now and then.

2. ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: My birthday is in February, so I’m an Aquarius. I’m not sure how much I believe in these signs, but I do notice some similarities between what’s predicted and what’s actually true.

3. COFFEE OR TEA: I will choose coffee 9 out of 10 times. I just bought a cold brew coffee maker and can’t wait to use it throughout the warmer months of the year!

4. IF I COULD LIVE ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD IT BE? One of my favorite places on the planet (so far) is Hilton Head Island, SC. We have vacationed there several times and it’s just so beautiful and RELAXING. I know people actually live there, which is hard to believe because it has such a vacation vibe to it. I just love it & hope to live there one day!

5. FAVORITE TV SHOWS: This is hard for me. I’m a TV fanatic! It’s what I do at night to unwind. I’m a huge fan of The Office, Parks & Rec, This is Us, Game of Thrones, New Girl, Gilmore Girls, Life in Pieces, Grey’s Anatomy, The Punisher, Schitt’s Creek, Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and so much more. I just binged A Million Little Things highly recommend it for anyone who loves a good drama!

6. FAVORITE ICE CREAM: I am a sucker for anything caramel, coffee and vanilla flavored. BUT, I’m a Michigan girl, so one of my all-time favs is black cherry. YUM!

7. FAVORITE MOVIES: Again, this is a tough one for me. Some of my fave guilty pleasure movies (no particular order, either)

Dirty Dancing (80’s baby, here!!)
Sweet Home Alabama (90’s teen!!)
Pitch Perfect
The Heat (SO funny!!)
Pretty Woman
Julie & Julia

8. ONE MEAL FOR REST OF LIFE: This one is so hard. It would be easier to have seasonal meals. Like my dad’s meatballs with mashed potatoes in the winter, roasted salmon with pasta in the spring, grilled ANYTHING in the summer and roasted chicken in the fall. I’m all about comfort and those types of meals during those seasons, scream comfort to me!

9. FAVORITE HOLIDAY: Another tough one! I LOVE Christmas. We celebrate it from the weekend after Thanksgiving until the weekend after New Year’s. I have so many good childhood memories of the holiday season that I can’t help but feel like a kid again during that time of year. From the trees to the lights to the music to the cookies to the holiday feasts. I love it all. It truly is a magical time for us. I also LOVE Thanksgiving, because well…I love food. Duh!

My family’s favorite classic holiday movie!

10. DESCRIBE FAMILY IN ONE WORD: I’m breaking the rules again. I’m doing it in two words: Beautiful Chaos (and I wouldn’t have it any other way)

11. SCARIEST MOVIE I’VE EVER SEEN: The Strangers. It’s based on true events and it’s terrifying.

12. FOOD THAT I WON’T EAT: There aren’t many types of food that I won’t try at least once. My parents did a very good job of introducing many different types of cuisine to us growing up and I’m pretty open minded about it.

13. FAVORITE AUTHOR: My favorite author right now is Emily Giffin. Her books are just such easy reads which comes in handy when I’m kept busy by my kiddos. Her stories are good about catching my attention quickly which helps me stay with a book until I’ve finished it. I have started many books and just not finished them because life has a funny way of getting in the way sometimes.

14. FAVORITE FAMILY VACATION: My favorite family vacation was the one we took last summer. We took our kiddos to Hilton Head Island, SC. My husband and I have gone there several times, but this was the first time we went as a family. It was our daughter’s first time at the beach and oh my gosh, we had so much fun. She and I played in the sand while the boys swam in the waves. It was a vacation filled with warm sunshine, cold homemade ice cream, seafood, and so many memories. Take me back!!

15. MEAL WITH ANYONE LIVING OR DEAD: Throughout my whole life, food has always been something that brings everyone together. Most of my food memories carry a special meaning. So many of those memories were shared with family. If I could have a meal with anyone, I would choose my grandpa & grandma from my mother’s side. I miss them every day and I would give anything to hear them welcome me into their home with a “hey babe!” for dinner, just one more time.

16. COOKING DISASTERS?? Absolutely. I have a few that stick out, but I’ll try to keep this short. Many years ago when I first started cooking, my then boyfriend (now husband) & I thought it would be a great idea to make one of our favorite restaurant dishes, coconut shrimp. Well the recipe called for Chinese Five Spice and oh man, did we use it! We got the measurements all screwed up and there was more spice where there should have been coconut and more spice where there should have been flour and more spice where there should have been shrimp! Wow! It was the worst thing I have ever made. Ever. Ever. Ever. This was during the first year or so of our relationship. We’ve known one another for sixteen years this year, and I haven’t attempted coconut shrimp since. Maybe it’s time to give it another go?! (I’m still scared!)

17. PET PEEVES/ANNOYANCES: Attention people of the world (or the few people reading this!): You are not the only one in the world! When you’re out in the world, be aware of your surroundings! Make room for others! Share the space & do it politely! It drives me nuts when other people seem oblivious to their surroundings and seem to flat out not care that there are other people near them! I notice this habit specifically while out shopping. Make room for others! Please don’t block the aisles with your bodies or your carts and for goodness sake put those carts back where they go when you’re done! Please just share your space. It’s really that simple. I’m stepping off my soap box now….

18. BEEN TO THE HOSPITAL: Sure have. More times than I can really even count. I have Crohn’s Disease and was diagnosed as a teenager. I’ve had just about every gastro related procedure available (the dreaded colonoscopies included), a few surgeries, a few hospital stays and a c section when our daughter was born.

The day our Junebug joined our little family

19. WANT TO LEARN ANY LANGUAGES? Yes! I’d love to learn Spanish and Italian

20. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS: Happy endings for sure!

21. FAVORITE RESTURAUNT: My favorite restaurant is in Savannah, GA. Good friends of ours introduced us to it when my husband worked there several years ago. It’s an underground tapas restaurant called Jazz’d Tapas Bar. If you ever venture that way make sure to order the Flash Fried Calamari, Low Country Shrimp & Grits, and Black Bean Soup. Everything that we’ve tried there has been absolutely delicious. Just make sure to wash it all down with a few Mango Mojitos and thank me later!

Calamari + Baked Cheese Terra Cotta Plate + Hand Cut Truffle Fries = HEAVEN

22. WHERE DO I BUY MY JEANS: American Eagle. I’ve been buying my jeans from the same place since I was in high school…we won’t talk about how many years that’s been… They just fit me so well.

23. ANY SIBLINGS: I have two older sisters. I come from a blended family, where each of my parents were married once before. They each had a daughter and they are both seven years older than me. My parents did a great job of making sure that our home life was as comforting and normal as possible given the circumstances of our blended family. They are the role models that I have for my own little family. We put the kids first and our own issues second. It’s the best way for us to do it and I learned that from them! Thanks mom & dad!!

They will hate me for posting this. I don’t care. I think I was maybe 8, so well over 25 years ago. Babies.

24. FAVORITE HOLIDAY FAMILY TRADITION: My grandparents always used to host our Christmas Eve party each year. After my grandpa passed away and it became too much work for my grandma to host, I took on the holiday. With the acceptance of my family for the change up, we have started doing an ugly sweater theme on Christmas Eve to liven things up. The holiday just hasn’t felt the same since he passed in 2010 (she recently passed away in March 2018) and that little change helped bring some fun back to the holiday! Everyone participates and we have a blast!

25. DOGS OR CATS: Dogs. I have two dogs of my own. Taylor, who is feisty 13-year-old female chocolate lab. She barks at all the people and animals that walk by our house; I mean really, how dare they?! We also have our handsome 11-year-old gentle male golden retriever, Lennie. He thinks he’s really a chihuahua and prefers to sit ON someone verses sitting next to them. They are significant members of our family and we love them dearly.

Chocolate Lab: Taylor, 13 yrs old & Golden Retreiver: Lennie, 11 years old

26. IF I COULD SHOP FOR FREE AT ANY STORE WHERE WOULD IT BE: Target. No more words are needed here. You know why. It’s Target!

27. TRAVEL BUCKET LIST: So many places. Europe. All of it. Australia, Alaska, Hawaii, more of the States, Mexico, Jamaica. So many places.

28. FAVORITE DESSERT: Cherry pie, cherry cobbler, cherries. Anything with cherries.

All the cherries. (photo credit: Pixabay.com)

29. MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE I’VE BEEN TO: I’ve talked a lot about Hilton Head Island, SC, but this one has to go to Barbados. My husband & went on a cruise over ten years ago with our friends to the South Caribbean. Although every island that we visited was gorgeous, Barbados was my favorite. When we were there, we spent the whole day at the beach, surfing the massive waves and drinking local beer. It was absolutely breath taking and I hope to go back one day.

30. HAVE I READ THE HUNGER GAMES, HARRY POTTER OR TWILIGHT SERIES? Yes. I enjoyed both of them, but Harry Potter was my favorite.

31. FOOD THAT I USED TO HATE BUT NOW LOVE: Tomatoes. I remember not liking them as a child, but as I’ve grown up, I’ve learned the importance of eating them in season and appreciating just how sweet and delicious they can be.

32. FAVORITE DRINK: Nonalcoholic: probably water or coffee. Alcoholic: Vodka TONIC (NOT soda) with a lot of lime, a really good margarita with a heavily salted rim or a yummy beer. We rarely drink alcohol, but I order one of these on the occasional date night or girl’s night out.

Margaritas are great for much needed ladies’ nights!

33. FAVORITE CHILDHOOD TV SHOW: I watched a lot of PBS shows as a kid. My favorites were Sesame Street, Mr. Dressup, Fragile Rock and Under the Umbrella Tree. As I got older, I loved Saved by the Bell, Step by Step, 90210, Party of Five, Dawson’s Creek, and Felicity. I’m a late 80’s/90’s kid through and through!

34. FAVORITE BREAKFAST FOOD: My favorite type of breakfast is one that gives me all the food. I want eggs, bacon, toast, some kind of potato, some jam, juice and coffee! I want a little bit of everything. That is the perfect breakfast to me. Although most days my usual go to breakfast is a toasted english muffin with peanut butter and some kind of fruit.