Why I love Card.com

So I recently noticed that my bank has started charging a monthly fee of $7.95 a month for using their

 services. Last year my bank was bought out by a new bank and there were rumors of this happening,

but like most people, I never checked my monthly statements that closely. When I saw the fee in

black and white my mouth dropped. I've been a customer for over 7 years and NOW I'm getting

charged?! This just didn't sit well with me. Since this has become an extra account, I don't use it as

 much and I definitely don't keep as much money in there. However,  that's $95.40 a year that we are

wasting. That's when I heard about  www.CARD.com. There are no overdraft fees, interest rates or

APR.. Your account can never go negative which in turn saves you from any pesky overdraft fees

that may occur. You have instant approval and do not need a credit check to qualify. Which is

wonderful for those who may have disrupted their credit score in their younger days. Your card can

be used anywhere a Visa is accepted and at over 22,000 ATM's. It's free to order, activate and load.

 You can even do card to card transfers or direct deposits from your employer.  It could not be any

more simple. The first thirty days are free and then there is a $5.95 charge IF your balance is under

$800. However, that is waived if you have a minimum balance of $800 dollars in your account.

This is a great "starter" card for a High School or college student just starting out. You control how

much goes onto the card without the risk of overdraft fees and high interest rates. They also offer

24/7 assistance and fraud protection. You can even use the card as credit or debit.

So how easy is it? I tried it to find out. I went online and filled out my application, Once I was

approved I had to pick a debit card number and select a cover for my card. BINGO, I knew there was

 a caveat somewhere. How could I choose just one of these cute covers?! They seriously have the

cutest choices of any company out there. Here are a few

of my top choices...

 


Ok so all of these were cute, The Care bears, LAX, The Designer cards and The Breast Cancer

Awareness card and about thirty more. You can even chose your home state, country or sports

teams.  I finally decided to choose the Autism Awareness card.

 

I used my card at an array of different stores from Goodwill and Salvation Army to Target. I used

 

both the debit and credit options with ease. My card came on time within the one week period as they

 

 promised in a snazzy white envelope.  All in all card.com has been an easy and great experience and

 

 I couldn't recommend it more highly!

 

~Lauren\

 

*This has been a sponsored post, but all opinions are mine*

Midweek Confessions, Wrong Pronunciation and Shoe Size

It's that time again!  I can't believe it's already Wednesday.  So without further ado, let's hook up with Elizabeth and get to confessing! 

What to say

With E being all of 5 years old, he sometimes says certain words wrong.  Being the adult, It's my job to correct this.   Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.   Don't judge me.   I have a measurement scale of appropriateness.  If it's cute and I know he will only be using the word at home, you can bet I'm not correcting him.  For instance "handcups", do you know how stinkin cute it is to hear his little voice say that he's going to put the "handcups" on his teenage mutant ninja turtle?  Why must I ruin my fun so soon? It's not like the word handcuffs is used in everyday conversation.  However, the other day when he was telling me all about the planet "Cupiter" I knew I had to intervene.

 

What to wear

I've finally taken my yoga pants out for a spin in the past few weeks and I noticed a funny thing was occurring.  I was getting some blisters. L ike  bleeding through my socks, into my shoes blisters.  To the point that John wouldn't even take a pic of it and said that it was disgusting.  Now if there's one thing to know in regards to me and tennis shoes, it's that I don't wear them.  I can count on my hands how many times I've worn them in the past ten years, until the past month that is.  And I am now proudly a convert.  So I finally looked at my running shoes and realized they were a size 9.  Gulp, at 5'9 1/2 I wear a size 9.5 to 10 on a regular basis.  So I went and got my feet sized for running shoes.  I am supposed to be in a TEN AND A HALF! That's a huge difference! They didn't have either of the shoes that I wanted in that size, so I did the obv.   I bought matching shoes to John's.  I've been in love with his new ones since he brought them home, but was looking for them in the ladies pink version. However, the ladies version seemed so much bulkier,  not a good look.  Esp. when you have sasquatch sized feet, so my boo and I will be rocking matching shoes.  How lame are we.  What's even more lame, he didn't even seem to care.  Love that man.

I'm "Squirrely"?! 7 things that make me quirky

Mrs.Teeh just graced me with the, " I'm so

squirrely" award, now while I do love the little

 grey squirrels in my area, I've never been called

"squirrely.   I hope this is a compliment

lol.   According to Mrs.Teeh it means that I'm

quirky.   Well aint nobody gonna argue that.

 

So now I must list 7 quirky things about myself, only 7?!  Here goes...

 

1) I am a total germ-a- phobe when it comes to cooking with meat and eggs. I wash my hands and the

 

counter at least thirty times.  Watching John cook any of these items is pure torture to me and I nag

 

 him to wash his hands.

 

2) I have an obsession with fountain sodas and can tell you which places have the "good" coke or

 

 pepsi's and who has the "bad" ones and I choose accordingly.

 

3) I was a vegetarian for 5 years and finally started eating chicken in a McDonalds parking lot;

 

crying over a chicken nugget. My mom begged me to, she thought that I was too skinny at the time

 

 and wasn't getting enough protein. Oh to be in that position again :p

 

4) I became  full fledged meat eater one year later at my dad's, father's (my granddaddy's) wake

 

over a roast beef and muenster sandwich. It looked so good and I thought to myself, "Fuck it, life is

 

too damn short. I'm eating the roast beef." True story.

 

5)I crack a lot of my bones. Most people crack their knuckles. I crack my neck, wrists, ankles,

 

shoulders and back.

 

6) Just like Meg I am super picky about eating chicken, fish and meat. The slightest hint of pink or the

 

appearance of a (ugh I hate even typing this ) vein I cut around it. Can't eat it. Grosses me out.

 

7) I love seeing my hometown in movies. I get super excited every time a movie is filmed in

 

Pittsburgh.  I point out every landmark throughout the film, which is not annoying at all. Now that

 

I've lived in VA for 7 years I get excited seeing DC in films too, last nights

 

Hostages anyone?!

 

So now I tag a few fellow bloggers, ready, set , go

 

Melanie @ Mommy Mentionables

Mandy @ A Sorta Fairy Tale

Brandi @ Don't Disturb This Groove

Beth @ Structure in an Unstructured Life

Karen@ Karen's Soiree

Lizzie @ Multi Purpose Mama

 

Halloween Wreath

I first set my eyes on a rag wreath a few months ago and it seemed like such an easy and cute craft.

 

From that moment, I knew I needed one. I made my first wreath a few weeks ago and thought it was

 

so adorable that I decided to make another one for my favorite holiday, Halloween. I found black and

 

white polka dotted fabric and orange and white dotted/stripped fabric at Joann's and went to town. I

 

actually found it to be kind of relaxing cutting and tearing the fabric into strips and tying all of those

 

 little knots. Since we already have a Harvest sign on our front door, I decided to spruce up the

 

shabby chic shelf in our living room. Once I put it up there It looked a little bland, so I added a   

 

"BOO"

 

banner with some burlap and orange and white polka dotted ribbon. Simple , easy and brings a

 

 smile to my face.

 

 

up close of the fabric

What do you think ? What's on your front door?

~Lauren


Linking up with these great blogs:

The Friday Five, Bethenny, Mio, Banners, Burlap and scalloped potatoes!

 

 

1)MIO

Obsessed , cant get enough. fruit punch is my

faaaavorite.

2)Bethenny

"calling all my girls" her  theme song will not get out of

my head

Now If we are being honest I  didn't initially love her on RHONYC, my then roommate at the time,

still 1 of my fav girls ever (hi Jess) adored her and then like a light switch I got it. She made me laugh

and made the show fun. Then she left and I watched her new shows and thought ok, she's a little

mean to Jason, but she's real and she's still hilarious. Then I saw that ad for her talk show and

whoever did that promo...gold, you sold me in a 15 min. clip. I was yours. Now I DVR that skinny

B*TCH (her cocktail line )like it's my job.

Bethenny

3)Banners

don't stop, wont stop, can't stop making them

4)Burlap

I'm in love. who knew there was an entire aisle at JoAnns dedicated to just burlap!? Burlap with

 designs, burlap with polka dots, burlap all over my floor....

Pumpkin Burlap!

5)Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

EASY PEASY YUMMY DINNER. and the pickiest eater in all of VA  ate it. success. I probably gained

10 lbs eating it, but success. Found this pin on pinterest, I eliminated the corn, added shredded

cheddar and threw it in the oven instead of the crockpot.

Midweek Confessions, Cleaning Edition

I am a bad cleaner.

There, it's out there in the blogosphere. I sometimes try to play games with myself like, "pretend this

isn't your house and you're really just cleaning someone else's home" or ,"pretend you're on Devious

 Maids and this is your job" but it never works. Probably because I eventually remember that this is

my job and I hate cleaning. I'm always tempted to call in a cleaning service and then sit back and

take credit for how great the house looks. Well,  how gorgeous it looks for all of ten minutes, I should

say. But, in those blissful ten minutes before a diet coke can or stray sock is thrown into the

middle  of it and finger prints are all over my table the house looks heavenly. Then the clutter unveils

 itself. I can never wrap my head around all of the clutter. How does it never wind up where it is

supposed to go and how do we own so many socks?!

 I get so distracted when cleaning, I start one thing and wind up doing another, It takes me HOURS

to finish.  So I guess it's not that I'm a bad cleaner, I'm just an unmotivated ADHD cleaner. I know

it's all going to come tumbling back down on me in a matter of minutes and I'm the only one who

keeps it up. It's a 24/7 job and it's a pain. And once I get going I want it to be perfect. I want the base

 boards clean in between the faucet crevices to sparkle. Last night while cleaning I noticed the front

door had a little something on it, then I noticed the backdoor "track" was dirty while letting the dog

out. I hadn't even made it to the upstairs or completed the downstairs and I was worried about that?!

Don't worry I stopped in the middle of all it to make some cole slaw, no jk, and chicken salad at

10pm.

Oh and the cats, the cats are against me. The minute I clean their litter box, they jump in and toss

litter out onto the floor. I literally can't keep up with the cats. I have swept the outside "welcome

mat" area of the litter box up to 4x in one day once and every time I walked in...messy. It's a no win

situation with them, I'm outnumbered and I give up.

Please send help in the form of  someone to corral my cleaning skills, a cat whisperer or a fork to

come help me eat this yummy coke slaw!


oh and head on over to E's blog to read more confessions!

A whole lotta whine, not enough wine

This weekend sucked. Quite frankly there is no other adjective to describe said weekend but,

sucked. It started out sprinkled with some hope and that was quickly dashed away. For anyone

that's been reading this blog, you know I've been weaning myself off of some medicine. Friday

 started a no dose day after over 2 weeks of weaning and the "brain zaps" began. As weird as a

term as that may be, it's pretty accurate, you actually feel these little zaps of dizziness. I had been

feeling sick since Tuesday and kept blowing it off as the medicine. Tuesday brought an awful

migraine and Wednesday the same both mixed with nausea. So I immediately thought I was

pregnant, obv. (I will not confirm that I may or may not be a hypochondriac.) So back to Friday, I

 ran some errands and cleaned up the kitchen, I even went out for a run and a 3 mile walk. I got

caught up on some mindless tv and then the migraine got really bad. I got zero sleep Friday night.

 Sat at 630am I left to pick up John at the airport and came back and realized that I could no

longer move my neck. The entire right side of my head and neck were killing me ( obv. I now had

meningitis) I laid down and tossed and turned for hours. Sunday I took a shower and we went to

the ER. I should have seen it coming, the dreaded IV and blood drawing. I'm not ashamed to

admit I bawled like a baby. Then they loaded me up with pain meds over and over again. Nothing

dented it and the anti nausea meds made me so itchy that I needed Benadryl. So there I am crying

over pain, itching from head to toe and pulling at the tape on the IV. That's when they gave me

morphine. The pain STILL did not go away but when they came to take me for my cats can I forgot

 which way was my left an told the nice worker of this and how great my screw back earrings were

holding on, ooops I've been tightening them , give me another min. Even in my state I still

remembered righty tighty, just forgot which way was right. After 5 hours in the ER I was told it

was a virus. I still can barely move my neck and head. But on the bright side, My cat scan is clear

and I know now never to take Zofran again. Oh and if you ever wondered if it's hard to take an IV

 out, it's not once the tape comes off it slips right out, luckily I didn't learn this until we were just

about to leave., allergic or not, glad I had the anti- nausea medicine.

Ask Away Friday

 

I have linked up with the fabulously talented Meg from The Patchwork Paisley for a series

called Ask Away Friday. If you're wondering, "who the heck is meg" well you need to stop

right there and go check her out. Literally like top to bottom check out her blog. Meg, has been

featured on Blogher for her amazing budget friendly nursery and has DIY-ed her cabinets

from ah to ahhhhmazing.  Oh and she's an art teacher in her spare time, but if crafts and art

aren't your thing, just look at her pics of her baby girls they are gerber baby cute :p

 

So here are the ten questions that she came up with for me..... (my ten for her are featured HERE)

 

 

 

1- What are 3 random facts about you?

1. I did not have sugar until I was 5 1/2 years old. I am also the biggest sugar addict anyone has

 

EVER met.

 

2. I taught myself how to float and swim in my 20s.

 

3. I can bear getting a shot, but having my blood drawn is one of the worst things you can do to me,

 

other than an IV. I would rather be put under than have an IV.

 

2- I hear the you have a unique perspective on weddings. Care to share?

 

I want to be married, but I'm terrified of the wedding. I want gorgeous pictures but I don't want the

 

 hassle of the "big day".  I also don't want pictures with brown paneled walls in a courthouse.  Or a

 

curse to be put on me if I elope by my grandmother. If it were up to me I'd snap my fingers and we'd

 

already be married and it would be done with.

 

3- Who is your celebrity crush?

 

Josh Duhamel is up there in the top 3. He's tall and handsome..2 of my requirements.

 

4- Take a pic or describe one of you most cherished possessions. Why is it so special?

 

I have a set of porcelain ducks that I gave my grandpa when I was younger. I had purchased them at

 

our elementary school's santa shoppe when I was pretty young. we had a thing for ducks, he and I.

 

 When I went away to college he wrote me a letter and gave me the big duck, but kept the little duck.

 

 When he got sick he kept that little duck next to his bedside for months. After he passed that was the

 

 one thing that I NEEDED to have with me and it sits in my jewelry box.

 

5- Finish this sentence: The last time I laughed until I cried...

 

I often laugh until my eyes water. I think the most recent was last night. I've been re- watching all of

 

the episodes of Arrested Development (one of the few shows that make me literally, laugh out loud)

 

 and John has never seen it. I was re-enacting a scene for him and he just wasn't laughing so I kept

 

doing it and the more I acted out the RIDICULOUS line the harder I laughed. He never did laugh

 

, but he cracked a smile.

 

6- If you could afford one luxury item to splurge on, what would it be?

 

A personal masseur to be on my beck and call 24/7. I am constantly cracking my neck and stretching.

 

 It would be heavenly to have massages on demand.

 

 

7- If you could trade lives with anyone for one day, who would it be?

 

My cat, I'd like to know what the hell she is thinking. To quote John, "She's a cat only a mother

 

could love."  she has even been on an unsuccessful round of antidepressants, Minnie has a mood

 

disorder we think.

 

8- How would you describe your style?

 

 I either look like I just got back from the gym ( I probably didn't) or I'm in a sundress or some sort of

 

 

 scarf and jeans ensemble.

 

9- Do you have any traditions? (holiday, family, friends etc.) 

 

So, so many. My family is deeply rooted in tradition and I've passed that on to my family.  We have

 

always read "The Night Before Christmas" on Christmas Eve, we have 3 holiday movies that we

 

 HAVE to watch every season, thanksgiving morning is supposed to be spent watching the Macy's

 

 parade and drinking hot cocoa (I've lapsed the last few years) Lots of specific special foods &

 

cookies  for each holiday and the list goes on for each holiday and birthday .....

 

10- What is your favorite blog post?

Hmm my favorite post ever is not my greatest. It's not one where I shared something I was proud that

 I made or cooked. It didn't get the most hits and I don't even know if it contained a picture to be

honest with you. It was very early on in my first month of blogging and visually it looks pretty worse

for wear. But it was from my heart and it was a sweet memory of a typical day with E. It showcased

his sweet side and our friendship. I talked about how life with a then 4 year old can be hard and the

questions that they ask can sometimes be daunting but you answer them with honesty and to the best

of your ability. And yet, they can also hit YOU like a ton of bricks. . I don't know if I touched upon it

 per se in the small little space but at the time of the convo we were having about heaven, E had no

idea my Grandpa was sick and he began talking to me about how when we die our new home is in

heaven. I know right, he was four!?!? HIS words somehow helped me a few weeks later as I sat in a

funeral home and tried to choke back a eulogy. To me, that's some pretty heavy stuff.

Thank you to Meg for letting me play along!

~Lauren

 

Kermit The Frog was wrong.....

 

It's Easy Being Green

In an effort to be more "green", literally, I picked up these green  polka dotted napkins a few

 

 

weeks ago at a barn sale. Can, I point out that I love that I just typed the phrase barn sale into a

 

 

 

post?!  It truly was a sale in a barn, the cutest little thing. My mind started working over time on all

 

 

 

of the adorable events that I would host if I owned said barn. But truth be told, I'd probably just fill it

 

 

 with more "treasures" and bug John about why we still can't have a silkie chicken or more cats, I

 

 

 mean we'd have enough space.  Anyways, I love pulling out my napkins for dinner instead of paper

 

 

products.  Every little bit helps,  right?!

What are some things you've done to go green?

Liebster Award Nominee..ME?!?!

So in blogland there is this thing called the Liebster Award, it is in recognition of 

 

 new bloggers and is German for "Dearest".  The Liebster award goes a little something like this, a

 

blogger gets nominated by their fellow blogger and has to answer a series of 11 questions that the

 

 nominator choses.  Once the nominee answers them, he/she then nominates 11 more bloggers and

 

asks 11 more questions (and of course go to the new nominees page and let them now of their

 

nomination )! The only requirement is that it is for NEW bloggers only, under 200

 

subscribed followers and they have to link back to the person who nominated them. Well little ole me,

 

 just got nominated by this lovely lady, Suzie, who  writes at Dorothy Sue and Millie B's too! Do you

 

 know what this means?!?! I have at least ONE awesome follower reading this blog! I'm over the

 

moon ecstatic at the thought that anyone reads, let alone likes my little hobby enough to nominate me

 

for anything other than a mute button when I'm singing!!! 

 

Without further ado, my 11 questions brought to you by Suzie.....

 

 

 

   1)What do you constantly think about that makes you happy?

Crafting, decorating, upcycling, reading, shopping, getting a good deal and convincing John to let

 

me get just one more kitten.

 

 

   2)If you could retire tomorrow, what would you do?

 

First things first, I'd move down south to the beach.  Then I would craft and DIY to my heart's

content. I'd love to have a barn full of furniture to re-do, an amazing craft room and style other

people's homes and events.
 

  3)What famous person do people tell you that you most   resemble  and why?

 

I've been told Sarah Chalke from Scrubs a time or two.
 

  4)What type of music do you listen to? (Genre, artists, songs?)

 

I love country music and sing it with a little twang, then I switch over to rap and r&b. It's an

interesting car ride with me.

 

  5)What do you do if you can’t sleep at night?

 

Browse blogs, read, watch bad reality tv, have a snack, check pinterest, start a craft, the usual.

 

 6) Are you a creature of habit? Explain

 

Well, my initial response was no. But then I thought of a recent shopping trip with a friend. I go to

the store quite often and always go to the right to start out, she went to the left. I felt like my entire

shopping trip was discombobulated by this minor detail. So the more that I ponder this question, the

more I realize that I while I have some free spirited tendencies, I actually am very rooted in my

habits.

 

 

7) Where is the best place you've ever been to?

The beach is my happy place. I search the water for shells and love taking naps on the sand. But I'm

not going to lie, Craft stores are pretty amazing too.  Oh and I'm still talking about my trip to

Alligator Adventure in Myrtle Beach from like 5 years ago coolest place ever.

 

8) What's inspiring you most these days?

Other bloggers and crafters, their talent inspires me to want to do more and be better.

 

9) What cheers you up?

Minnie my cat. She's not only a cuddler but a wonderful hide and seek player, you don't often find

that combo in a cat.

 

 10)If your life was a movie, what would it be called? 

State Zitti

Shutup in Italian. I grew up hearing it in both languages in many ways, but this translations is my

personal favorite. 

 

11)Why do you blog?

 

I thoroughly enjoy having a place to call mine. I love sharing  my creative side in whichever way

 

shape or form I chose and with other people who inspire me. I love this community of people that I

 

 have met. I enjoy reading about what everyone else is up to and finding new bloggers.

 

 

 

I would like to nominate the following Blogs:

 

Twinkling Trees 

 

Joy Comes In The Morning 

 

Refresh & Renew

 

Our Life On A Budget

 

Born Free Northern Virginia

 

 A Stylish Interior 

 

 Home Coming

 

 Big Bows and Baseballs

 

Starting Over At The Dirty 30

 

 A Bump And A Lump

 

It's A Lovely Day Tomorrow

 

 

Here are my 11 Questions for you lovely ladies:

 

 

1)What is the best advice that you would give to a blogger?

 

2)Why do you blog?

 

3)What is your best decorating tip?

 

4) What is your favorite DIY/ craft that you've ever done/ made?

 

5)Do you have a nickname?

 

6) What is your guilty pleasure?

 

7)If you could do anything career wise, what would it be?

 

8)What is your "blue ribbon" recipe?

 

9)What is one thing you do to save money?

 

10)Where do you craft/ DIY/write in your home?

 

11)What perfume do you wear? (I'm in the market for a new one and need some suggestions hahaha)

 

 

 

Estate Sale Oval Mirror Redo!

Remember the Oval Mirror I bought a few weeks ago at an estate sale?  Well the end result far

 

 

 

exceeded my expectations.   So much so, that my original thoughts of selling it, are now gone : )

 

 

  Much to John's delight (that's sarcasm there folks) we are keeping this little lady.  After cleaning,

 

 

priming, painting and sanding I am pleased to show you my new love.

 

 

Top Side Detail

 

 

 

Do you love her as much as me?!  So glad you guys talked me out of making her

 

 into a chalkboard like I originally intended to!!!  What do you think?

 

~Lauren

 

Linking up with these fabulous ladies :