Adventure Planning: 2018

Thinking about how much fun we had on our first trip of the year last weekend (here's the link to the blog post recap, if you missed it!), I thought it was time to start planning the rest of our year!  We love traveling and have some ideas for the rest of 2018:

In terms of our baseball bucket list, we are one-third of the way there!  Our remaining MLB cities (East to West) are: Boston (we've been separately to Fenway but have to check it off together!), NYC (Mets), Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami, Tampa, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Detroit, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Houston, Phoenix, San Diego, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Seattle.  Yeah, that's a lot, but we will make it happen...eventually!  Any suggestions where we should hit first?

Our friends are all getting married this year (and Mike will be the Best Man twice!) - April, June, and October in Boston and August in New York City.  Would you believe that none are when the Red Sox or Mets are home?!  Seriously, friends, plan better - haha!

It didn't take much convincing to get Mike to agree to go to London this fall - the Eagles are playing the Jags!  We don't know exactly when yet, but we will be there in October for it.  I need all of your recommendations for the cutest spots for afternoon tea, the best views of the city, the most colorful Notting Hill homes (#doitfortheinsta), and the most delicious food!

Emily gave me a link to an awesome cruise from Tampa to Key West to Cuba.  I'm not sure if it'll happen this year, but if there's any place I want to visit more than anything, it's Havana!

And, of course, we will be making our annual pilgrimage to Cooperstown, New York this summer for the National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction.  This will be #30 for me!

It's Okay! A Valentine's Giveaway! KitchenAid Mixer!

See my excitement?  Oh yeah... there's a lot of it. First the important stuff, then onto more stuff that's okay.

Alright, so, because my last giveaway was such a success [Congrats again to Ashley!!], I thought it would be fun to join in on an AWESOME group giveaway.

To celebrate Valentine's Day, Newlywed Moments is teaming up with 30 other bloggers to give away a KitchenAid Mixer!!

One lucky reader will win this white-colored KitchenAid Classic Series 4.5 Quart Tilt- Head Stand Mixer, valued at $229.99! The winner will be announced on Valentine's Day.

Rules & Information:

-- Giveaway is open to U.S. readers only.

-- The winner will be verified, so please enter honestly.

-- The winner will be notified by email on 2/14/13 and will have 24 hours to respond.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I haven't linked up for a long time, but this week, I just found myself asking "what are you doing?!?" and I had to ensure myself that...

It's okay...

- that for 4 of the last 8 nights I've eaten Rice Krispies, and I'm not even close to sick of them yet. [The only part I hate is when the cereal cuts the roof of your mouth - has that ever happened to you?]

- that I despise/have a fear of soggy cereal.

- to hope for a snow day tomorrow!

- to really, really want a KitchenAid.

- that I have no voice and have to teach 5 classes of elementary kiddos today.

- that I'm way too excited for two days with nothing planned this weekend!

- to still have writer's block.

- to be WAY too excited about our new trash can!  It's motion activated so all you have to do is wave your hand over it and voilà! 

Me waving and it opening - and of course it closes itself too!

so i did a bad thing...

... i went window shopping.  this never ends well. 

maybe it's because my current kitchen is the only room in my house i am not obsessed with, or maybe it's because i love cooking, baking, and every kitchen gadget ever, but in either case, i always imagine my dream kitchen.

i had a little time to spare before work today, so i stopped at kohl's.  they have my favorite selection of kitchen stuff!  what i REALLY want is a kitchenaid stand mixer, but i don't want to get one until i know the color of my future kitchen - silly, right? but there are so many colors, so i'll wait a couple more years to get the perfect one :)

here are a few photos from my trip to kohl's:

cake pop makers, donut makers, waffle stick makers, pancake makers, cupcake makers galore!!

OBSESSED.

and i love keurigs almost as much as kitchenaids

as you can tell from these appliances and the paint in our current house, we love color!!! 

so, after much deliberation, i think i want an aqua sky stand mixer (second one on the page).  

now here are a few photos of my dream kitchen based on that lovely kitchenaid:

i really like the layout and style of this first kitchen.  i love the kitchen island with seating, stainless appliances, and desk on the side (that i would use for cupcake decorating).  

via

i would just want to add some of these turquoise accents to it, maybe turquoise island seating, turquoise plates or mugs in see-through storage, a turquoise backsplash or paint accents, and of course my dream stand-mixer [with another possible appliance to match -- this is my dream, right?].

via

now i have even more reason to save money to make this happen in my next fixer-upper.  maybe i'll take some tips from gabbi over at retro ranch reno who made my dream a reality!