the night in.

we're almost half way there!  my week has been full of meetings, documentation and running around trying to celebrate all of the end of April and early May birthday's (there are a ton)!

I absolutely cannot wait for the weekend because we have a special surprise that will be arriving on Saturday!  I can't wait to share it with everyone!

I used to be a lot more interesting on Instagram.

I promise.

Here are just a few of the things that I am currently obsessed with...!

Do you ever get into a funk where you feel like you have no friends?  I mean, of course you really do... but something feels off.



You text, message and constantly ask your friends to hang out, but they're too busy or fail to respond.

All of your best friends live in different states.  And you just found out that the one who does live nearby is probably moving away in two months.

Your fiance (who feels like your only friend, besides the cats) could potentially be gone for 6 months leaving you all by your lonesome.

And you're convinced that your house is haunted.  Maybe the ghost can be your friend?

You're friend needy and having a pity party about it.  Cue the world's smallest violin.

I have not "slept in" in over two weeks... I miss it.

Saturday morning we got up around 6:30 am to head out to Red Rock Canyon to do some hiking before it got too hot out.  We decided on the Calico Tanks trail which is listed as moderate on a scale of difficulty and was 2 hours, round trip.

I am not much of a hiker/outdoor person, so I didn't really know what to expect.  I was thinking that trail markers would be everywhere and it would be a nice straight path to our final destination.

I was wrong.  So so wrong.  At some points we were climbing up rocks, scaling ledges and squeezing through jagged rocks.  Here are some of the beautiful highlights of our hike...








And so another weekend flies by...

<a border="0" href="http://www.samisshenanigans.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/bN3GboQ.png"/></a>

During the entire 5 weeks I was in Korea, I think I had pizza twice.  Both were very different experiences.  The first was with my first host mom and host brother when they took me to a place called Mr. Pizza.

Mr. Pizza was located inside of a cupcake shop (sort of- you had to go through said cupcake shop to go upstairs to the pizza place)... yeah, I know.  Pretty much perfect, right?

The pizza options were mind blowing to me.  Instead of the standard pepperoni, mushroom and olives the selection consisted of what seemed like an entire dinner on top of pizza dough and cheese!  I was torn on what to try out...and really confused as to whether it would be good or not.

Anyway, we (or more so my host brother) decided on the omyRib pizza.  I didn't really remember the name... so I looked it up online *guilty*.  It was basically short ribs, potatoes, cheese, zucchini and broccoli with BBQ sauce drizzled all on top of it... don't forget the sweet potato stuffed crust.  I really tried to like it... but it just wasn't pizza!  It was dinner at a steakhouse, but not as good I guess.  I felt so bad because pizza is not the standard Friday night, can't find anything to eat in the house so let's order a pie type of deal.  It is more of a treat and it is EXPENSIVE.  A medium pizza could range from $25-$34 USD.  I think that is why my host brother was so excited to eat there.  He even ordered me the "salad bar" option and.... well, call me crazy but it was more of a yogurt and toppings bar more than anything!

I love the weekend.  The only obvious problem is that two days fly by way too fast and it seems that nothing ever gets done (even though some of it really does)!

Friday night I spent a good hour and a half moseying around Hobby Lobby.  I picked up some decor items for my office and the kitchen.  I also grabbed some items for a DIY project that will definitely be making an appearance on the blog once I get it all figured out!

We wrapped up the night with some Korean food (Nick's choice... he's obsessed with kimichi).  It was pretty tasty, minus the little dried fish that came as one of the side dishes.  It gave me horrific flashbacks to my second host mom trying to feed me some as a "snack" in Korea.  *shudder*

Saturday we woke up super bright and early to head to the DMV to change our addresses on each of our DL's.  I had to take a new photo for mine... luckily I was prepared and I hope the photo turned out okay.  We will see in 7-10 business days!

I am just now realizing that I should have taken photos on Saturday because we ended up doing a ton of stuff!  After the DMV, we headed to Lowes for plants and paint... followed by Starbucks to fuel up for the rest of the day.  We popped into Pier 1 and they seriously have some of the most awesome home items ever.  I am definitely going to have to save up and drop a lot of money there on house goodies soon!

I had really been wanting to go antiquing for awhile so we stopped into an antique mall... in the ghetto.  We got lost in there for about 2 hours.  They had super neat stuff, but a lot of it was overpriced.  The mall was our next stop because I needed to get two of my Tiffany's pieces cleaned.  Did you know that they charge $15/piece?  That is absolutely insane!  I ended up just buying a polishing cloth from them and doing it myself.  The results were fantastic and I can continue to use it.

And we did pop into a few other stores before going to "linner" at our favorite Italian restaurant.  So delicious!  Then finally... after eating way too many carbs, we joined a gym!  It's pretty much essential that Nick stays in shape for his future, possible, job.  I hate the gym, but I'm sure I'll learn to love it once I start seeing the results.  We ended up going for a session that night and getting back into the swing of things is rough...


That brings us to Sunday!  We woke up early again (so much for sleeping in on weekends) and went to the gym for 1.5 hours!  I was dead tired afterward... not even the coffee, fruit and eggs we had for breakfast helped.  I have been in a tired, sore haze all day.  I've caught up on this season of The Secret Life of the American Teenager (I hope the shows writers know that teens don't really live like that...) and then I left the house to do a little summer shopping (I only ended up with a new dress, cardigan and sports bra).

Now it's time for Sunday night TV shows (Game of Thrones, Amazing Race and Mad Men).  Again, sorry for the lack of photos... I'll try harder next weekend!

Never in my wildest dreams would I think that I'd have to guts to meet someone on Craigslist to buy/sell an item!  I have always been a fan of second hand clothing stores like Plato's Closet and Buffalo Exchange.  But, buying other used items just seemed kind of gross (and it actually sometimes is, but more on that later).  Reality set in when Nick and I were moving into our new house a few weeks ago.  We had nothing.

One shopping trip to Walmart and $400 later... we had some things, but not anything that would take up space and make the house look like people spent time in other places than just our room.  We decided we needed a couch and time was running out.  Or so we thought... in retrospect we could have waited to buy a better couch than the one we went with (but again, more on that later)!  So, we found a sectional on Craigslist and I texted the seller and offered $200.  He gladly agreed and we went to look at it that night.  With our first Craigslist experience, we made many mistakes:

1. We walked into a strangers house at night to look at the couch.  Probably not the best idea, but the people were very friendly and not killers (lucky us!).
2. We didn't really feel like we had the right to say no after we saw it.
3. We paid half of the cash up front, not providing us with enough time to really think about our purchase.
4. We didn't look at it very well.  Or smell it.

I have been thinking a lot about my travels to S. Korea almost 2 years ago... maybe it's because of the current events going on over there, or maybe it was my recent guest blog post here.

While I was in Korea, I tried my best to document my memories and take video.  But, the whole process what just so overwhelming and I really wanted to be in the moment while I was there.  So, every week, I want to try to recall a memory or two from the trip.

Our first moments in Korea were... humid.  From the moment we stepped off the plane and looked outside, I just knew that the rainy weather + heat would not be a joke!  I was so nervous going through customs because it was my first time entering a foreign country.  But, seriously- they didn't even ask me anything!  My passport was stamped and I was sent on my way to the luggage area.  Now let me tell you... I may have over packed.  FYI- a 5 week trip to Korea does not call for two medium suitcases, a massive duffle bag, a purse AND a backpack.  I think I forgot that I was the one who would be responsible for carrying it all on my own.  So, I found my bags, strapped them on/dragged them behind me and my new friends and I headed to the currency exchange booth.  This was confusing, because even after all of my research I still did not quite understand the rate of USD vs. WON.  But, I exchanged all of my cash and saved my American change because I thought it might be nifty while I was there.


We had no idea who would be meeting us and were just hopeful that once we got out of the baggage area, someone would recognize the herd of American kids and come fetch us.  And they did!  Of course they simply recognized us from the photos we had sent over previously (we just looked about 10x frizzier and really tired in person).

I subscribed to Glossybox again after taking a few months off.  Here is what I got in my box this month...

Moving into our first home and starting from scratch meant that we had to try really hard to make this house a home.  I started with something simple and just bought a wall decal to go above our couch.  I think it looks pretty darn cute, but there was still so much more space to fill.

The empty wall in our dining room was practically glaring at me!  So, I decided to put our engagement photos to good use and make a wall collage.

Things you will need:

• Unfinished Wood Frames in various sizes (I chose to do 9 frames- 3 4x6, 3 5x7, 3 8x10)
• Paint Samples (I went to Lowes and found the pre-mixed Valspar paint samples, but you can ask them to mix you a sample in any of the normal colors as well.)
• Paint Brushes (I purchased a 2" brush for base color and then a variety pack from Hobby Lobby)
• Newspaper
• Wood Filler (Optional)
• Sand Paper (Optional)
• Photos to go in frames and any other items that will be a part of the collage!
• Picture Hanging Supplies

The project is pretty simple and the time it takes to complete depends on how you want everything to look.

1. Start by laying out enough newspaper on the floor to cover your work space and opening windows for proper airflow while painting.



2. If your frames don't seem unfinished enough, take a little bit of sandpaper to rough them up.  Luckily, mine were pretty unfinished and did not need any at all.

3. Add wood filler to any spaces on the frames.  This will allow the paint to go on smoothly without any gaps (unless you are going for that look, of course).  Let it dry.  This could take anywhere between a few minutes to an hour depending on the amount used.



4. Now it's time to paint your frames!  I did 2-3 base coats on each one.  Remember to allow them to dry between each coat.  I also decided to do designs on my 8x10 frames to balance the two colors.






6. Hang your photos up and enjoy! (We broke the "N" while trying to put a picture hanging kit on it, so I will have to buy and paint a new one...keep in mind how delicate wood is when doing this project.)