1st Annual VC Girls Reunion

The first job I had out of college built some amazing coworker camaraderie, for a variety of reasons not worth going into. Suffice to say, those friendships carried on long past our quitting dates and I am ever-so-grateful for those ladies.

When Jordan and I were living in Sioux Falls, those friendships meant couple date nights, game nights, coffee dates, weekly lunch dates...and I really, really missed all of that with these friends when we moved to KC.

With Omaha as the middle ground between KC and SF (and three mommies eager to have a girls' weekend), it was easy to persuade them!

We didn't take pictures of the room, but we stayed in a suite at the Hampton Inn in Omaha - best. idea. ever. They have a fabulous free breakfast, where we enjoyed a little coffee with our creamer in the morning, waffles hot off the press, an oatmeal bar, cereal, eggs, bacon, bagels, toast...the list goes on. Delicious. And the suite was perfect for 4 of us - it had a little mini fridge, a couch, and LOTS of open space. We didn't feel crammed in the room when we were there, which was really nice. We were also able to relax in the hotel's hot tub and pool. Yes, please.

We enjoyed two dinners out - one at The Twisted Fork and the other at Cheddar's. The Twisted Fork gets props for adding avocado to my BLT for free. Cheddar's I'd definitely visit again - affordable, delicious, and lot of options. (Also a quick lunch at Subway, and who can forget the homemade ice cream at Ted & Wally's?)

Me & Jess! These drinks were only $3.75!

Shalaine & DeeDee!

We saw a movie (Gravity, which I've heard that astronauts have said is the closest they've ever seen to an accurate depiction of what space is actually like) and relaxed in these bad boys - all for no extra charge! - at Majestic Cinema of Omaha.

Shopped till we dropped at Just for Her Expo, and also enjoyed 10-minute chair massages, so nice after a night of sleeping in an unfamiliar bed.

I got this cute owl for the kitchen wall and also a couple Christmas gifts.

And all in all I came out around $250 for the whole trip! (And it could have been even cheaper!)
$80 - hotel
$25 - gas
$45 - food
$95 - Christmas gifts and wall decoration
$6 - chair massage

What sort of trips do you go on with your friends? How else are you intentional with your friendships?

I'm So Frugal I...

It's pretty common knowledge that I'm pretty darn frugal. Other people know that Jordan and I managed to pay off $88,000 of undergrad debt in 3.5 years. I get asked "How do you do it???" a lot.

So here's some of "how I do it":

At the grocery store, I buy only off the weekly sales ads. (With the exception of the "staples"...but even for staples, milk is the only thing I [generally] pay full price for. I watch for sales on bread, butter, cereal, hamburger, chicken, cheese etc and then stock up.) (I just looked in my freezer and I have 8lbs of butter that I paid around $1.76/lb for!)

I only buy milk from a certain Walgreens (39th and Broadway, KC peeps), where I can get a gallon of 2% milk for $3.69+tax. The same brand at my HyVee is $4.38+tax. WHAT.

My other grocery store "rule" is that it must be $1.99 or less. I pretty much always hit this "rule", with a few exceptions (milk being one). 

I cook everything from scratch. No "pre-made" frozen meal stuff in this apartment. (Frozen pizza. But only if they're $1.99 or less.)

I wash ziploc bags. (Within reason, people! No gross raw-meat baggies or moldy cheese baggies...yuck.)

I seriously contemplate my "larger" purchases. (To clarify: "larger" to me means $30-50+) Example: After 2.5years of wanting a green bedskirt to match the quilt mom made Jordan and I as a wedding gift, I finally bought one. Until a few month ago, my most recent jean purchase was 6 years ago. I only bought a new pair because the current ones bit the dust (aka, I wore them so thin my fingernail poked a hole in them, haha).

On the very rare occasions that I buy new clothes, I try to always buy off the sale rack and then I leave them in the shopping bag, with the tags on, for a week or two. If I haven't "had" to wear it within two weeks, I obviously don't need/want it, so I return it.

I'm not much of a couponer. That's not to say I don't use them; if I have a coupon, I check to make sure the generic brand isn't still cheaper than the coupon brand (and, generally, generic is the best-priced option).

I have relatively long hair...that I only wash twice a week (Monday and Thursday). Shampoo/conditioner is spendy and this makes it last much longer.

I rarely eat lunch out. The more lunches I can bring from home, the better. We also rarely eat dinner out (I know it looks like we eat out quite a bit...but it's generally with a Groupon, where we can get a pretty good deal). If we do eat out, I always bring home the leftovers.

Getting "fancy" coffee rarely happens - only if I'm meeting up with friends at a coffeeshop; so maybe once every other month. Same goes for going out for drinks. (Which in my case is always A drink...why waste money on more than one!?)

Jordan drinks coffee every day. The man can't function without it. And no Folger's either. We always do the World Market coffee deal. (Scroll down in that post to the "coffee" section.)

I just asked Jordan what "weird frugal things I do" and this is the list he gave me:

• I use a spatula on everything. Not one ounce of food is wasted. I even scrape out the PB jar and the ketchup bottle.
• When my shampoo and/or conditioner is gone, I keep it in the shower for one more washing (okay, maybe 2 or 3) and then add water and shake it up. 
• Long after Jordan has deemed the toothpaste tube to be empty, I'm still squeezing it out. I scrape whatevers in there to the front, and then when that doesn't work anymore, I cut it open and scrape it out with my toothbrush. 
• My parents gave Jordan Netflix for Christmas, because of that, I rarely want a to get a Redbox movie. Okay, I rarely think we need to get a Redbox movie...we have all of Netflix to choose from!
• I buy generic everything. He's probably right about this. 

I'm sure there's more, but that's what comes to mind right now. What do you do to save money?

Wedding Flashback: The Shoe Game

To say I had a total blast at our wedding might even be an understatement. At our reception, I wanted to make sure that our guests could see where we were and also that they were entertained. I'd seen the shoe game at some other wedding receptions and knew I wanted to have that at ours. Mom took care of planning all the games and explaining them to the DJ and we were definitely not disappointed. 

For the shoe game, the bride and groom each have one of each other's shoe and their own. Then they answer questions by holding up the appropriate shoe. Here were the questions they asked at our wedding: 

I tried to match them up with the photos below...but I'm pretty sure the DJ asked them in a different order than this. So, enjoy the questions, then enjoy our reactions.

Who is the biggest flirt? 

Who made the first move?

Who’s the better cook?

Who said I love you first?

Who has the wackiest family?

Who’s the best driver?

Who’s the fastest driver?

Who spends the most time in front of the mirror?

Who spends the most time in the bathroom getting ready to go?

Who is in control of the checkbook?

Who is most likely to eat dessert for breakfast?

Who wears the pants in the family?

Who is in charge of the remote?

Who’s the better kisser?

Who will be the 1st to fall asleep tonight?

Who has the smelliest feet?

Who do you think will  love the covers more?

Who popped the question?

Who says I love you most in a day?

Who talks more?

Who’s mostly likely to get lost?

Who’s most likely to ask directions?

Who’s the 1st on to make up after a fight?

Who’s most likely to be grumpy in the morning?

Who’s most likely to be running late?

Who spends more money?

Last, who do you love the most in the whole world?

This was easily one of my fave things from our wedding...I enjoyed it (I mean, I know you can't tell from the pictures, but I really did), Jordan enjoyed it (he'll tell you that our levels of reaction in these photos is completely telltale to our entire relationship) and the guests enjoyed it. A win for everyone.

If you're married, what was one of your fave things from your wedding? 

A(nother) Season of Change

There's been a lot of changes going on again in our lives, and on the outside edges of our lives. I've been struggling to come up with something to write about because even with all the change, life just seems constant(ly boring, lol). Work, weekend, work, weekend...I'm sure you've fallen into that slump before, just feeling like life is all the same. (And I've been listening to a Chuck Swindoll radio series in the morning on the way to work about Ecclesiastes, which is kinda of along those same lines.)

The biggest change for us right now is that Jordan decided not to continue on with medical school. He'd been wrestling with this decision since January, and we made it final in July. It was a variety of reasons: the time investment, money investment, work-life balance (or lack thereof), culture, future of medicine...the list goes on. He's started at UMKC and will graduate with his master's in Bioinformatics (bascially, computer programming for medical things) in August 2015. It's been a good change, and I think he feels at peace with his decision.

At work, I've been wrestling with purpose...I want to be making a positive impact in people's lives, and I don't know that this job does that. I think that "purpose" is something a lot of people in my generation struggle with: wanting to make a difference. I'm continuing to refocus myself and know that this is God's purpose for this time in my life, and that I am making a positive impact where I'm at just by loving Jesus and putting Him at the center of everything I do (or at least trying to!).

We went home a few weekends ago for quite the juxtaposition of events: a bachelorette party and a funeral. One of my friends from college was married this past Friday and I went home a few weeks ago to celebrate with her at the bachelorette party. It was low-key and, really, just my style. Eight of us went out for dinner and then back to the bride's home to open gifts and paint canvases. I'm so excited for my friend and this new chapter in her life. Marriage is such a blessing, and it really shapes us into new people as we grow closer as a couple. I'm praying for them that they continue to bring out the best in each other and learn to love each other more each day.

The funeral was for one of my nanny kids. I spent summer 2007 with her and her two little brothers...I always tell people that my two summers of nannying were the best "jobs" I ever had. I loved loving on the kids, planning fun days for them, blessing their parents by keeping their kids happy and occupied, while at the same time taking some stress off them by keeping the house picked up and getting dinner on the table. I still really, really love my two families. Jess was a vibrant, fun-loving 18-year-old...and she decided to take her own life. There's only questions in situations like this and my heart continues to break for their family. I can't imagine having to go forward in a "new normal" like this, and I think about them each day and how hard it must be to wake up with that realization that it isn't a horrible dream, but reality. I'm just praying that they cling to each other and to Jesus, that they love on their boys, who are still young and need a lot of leadership and shaping as they're growing up (as all young men do).

With the decision to quit med school and start at UMKC, we're planning on staying in KC long-term (unless God has another plan) so we've started trying to intentionally invest more in our church (now that we have time to invest as a couple) and building new friendships with people there and outside the med student circle. We've had dinner with a few couples, which has been lovely, and we've started a class at church and signed up for the membership class, too, which starts here at the end of the month.

Those are just a few of the "changes" going on in/around our lives lately. Are you in a season of change? What sorts of things are you wrestling with?

A Family Weekend: Enjoying Hidden KC Gems

You may remember that these two cuties got married in June:

Bro-in-law and seester!!!

Even better than getting married, they CAME TO VISIT US!!! (Okay, so that probably wasn't better than getting married. Not better at all. But still pretty awesome to have your little sister and NEW hubs visit for the weekend!)

While they were here, we discovered a few hidden gems in KC that we'd never experienced before!

The Orchid Cave
This is literally what it is. A man owns an orchid shop, in a cave. It's pretty freaking awesome. I took a billion pictures, but just so you can get the effect, here's a collage:

Yes, there seriously were that many orchids. Here's the $1000 one. Not kidding.

Christopher Elbow Chocolate on Friday Fridays
So, if you're not from KC, Christopher Elbow Chocolates don't mean anything to you...but they're awesome. And expensive. Christopher Elbow creates artisan chocolates right here in KC. And they're expensive, did I mention that? $1.75 for one piece of chocolate. BUT. On First Fridays, chocolates are $1 each! You can bet that we spoiled ourselves with a few. (And you can bet that it's on my calendar and in the budget until infinity to continue spoiling myself each month.)

Me with our chocolates. Pretty excited.

Close-up of these "works of art"...guess I could have taken them out of the bag for a better picture...but whatever.

Tasty Thai Friday Night Seafood Special
Kay and Luke wanted to try some type of food they'd never had before, so Thai it was! We have a great little hole-in-the-wall Thai place 5mins from our apartment that we've enjoyed, so we went there...only to learn that they have a Friday night special of no $5 up-charge for seafood...what?! That was pretty fantastic. And delicious. If you haven't tried Tasty Thai, go immediately.

City Market
While we've definitely already enjoyed this time and again in KC, we're sure to always bring our visitors here b/c it's really something to see. Kay and Luke got a great haul for $12!

West Bottoms Antiquing 
How I haven't enjoyed this until now is beyond me. Kay and I went for 3hrs and then we only stopped b/c our bodies said no more! We went in store after store and floor after floor that were jam-packed and filled to the rafters with antiques. We were so enthralled we didn't take any pictures. It was pretty awesome though. If you're into antiques, this is the place to be. This is also on my calendar until kingdom come.

Swope Park Frisbee Golfing 
While us girls enjoyed antiques, the men headed over to Swope Park for some excellent frisbee golfing, or so we were told. Then they also enjoyed bbq, which is a must if you're in KC.

All too quickly it was Sunday morning and Kay and Luke had to head back to SF for their jobs. We loooooved having them and are SO SAD that they're moving to Rapid City...which makes them 12hrs away from us now. They'll be moving again in December/January after Luke graduates and gets a job. We've been letting them know that there's lots of positions for mechanical engineers here, so if you all could do the same, that'd be great. There's nothing I'd like more than having my sis in the same city as me!

Relaxing, Romantic Weekend Getaway

After buying a Groupon in March and making reservations in April, our (extremely late) anniversary weekend was here ("here" as in, the last weekend of July...)!

We spent our weekend at Circle S Ranch, near Lawrence, KS (about an hour from KC) in their Celestial Room:

Double whirlpool tub! I want one of these in our "someday" house...

This room is usually $250 a night on Friday and Saturday night, so we were feeling pretty good about our $279 Groupon deal. After checking in, we each enjoyed an hour-long massage (normally $80, but included with our Groupon!) and then spent our evening walking around the grounds, playing card games, and relaxing. 

On both Saturday and Sunday morning we woke to a delicious country-style breakfast buffet with bacon or sausage, french toast or pancakes, fresh fruit, eggs, juice and more. 

We start our Saturday off with a 2hr "hike" on their pasture trail.

There's a donkey in this picture. I can't even see him anymore though.

Yay! Hike!

Jordan trying to coax the donkey closer.

Me. Farmer style.

Longhorn cattle that I was sure Jordan was going to be speared by. "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear." applies to pictures as well.

After our hike we went back to the ranch to pick up our picnic lunch (normally $25/person, included in our Groupon):

That's a bbq brisket sandwich, cheesy pasta with tomatoes, chips, fresh tomatoes, and brownies. 

Me eating tomatoes "dad-style" - fresh with only salt and pepper. They were pretty good, if I do say so myself.

Saturday afternoon we heading into Lawrence where Jordan enjoyed some Kansas Free State Beer samples and I got a mocha java coffee from an eclectic coffeehouse. It even had a cereal bar: 

Note old-skool b&w TVs playing retro cartoons.

After exploring some shops, we ventured out to Davenport Winery for a free wine tasting and then headed back to the ranch for their Tomato Festival (cost also included in our Groupon). The food was great and the music was fun:

Sunday morning we packed up, enjoyed our breakfast and then headed back to KC (after making a pitstop at Holy Field Winery for another free wine tasting).

It was a wonderful weekend, and we're hoping to keep making it a priority to take little trips like this together in the future. And after adding it up and realizing that a weekend like this would normally cost just under $800 - we were even MORE thankful for our $279 Groupon (which we used wedding money to pay for...so to those of you who gave us $$ as a wedding gift, thanks for the romantic weekend getaway!!). 

What sorts of special things do you do to keep your relationship from falling into the same ol' same ol' routine?