Snoop's Guide to Grad Gifts Part 1

Tis the season... for graduations!  Confirmations!  All sorts of -ations!

Buying gifts for people is by far one of my favorite things to do.  So in case anyone is struggling to come up with a graduation gift idea this time of year and mostly because I just love gift-giving, I thought I'd start sharing some of my ideas over a couple of posts.  Here are my personal rules of thumb for all types of -ation gifts.

1. Personalization.  Being a southern gal, there are few things I love as much as a good monogram. 

2. Classic.  The person should be able to use your gift for years to come.  Which means it shouldn't go out of style and should be well made.

2. Utility.  In my opinion, a graduation gift should be something that you can also actually use.  No young person needs things that are just going to sit on the shelf.

I'm going to have to do several posts because I'm that crazy.  All of which involve monogramming, so prepare yourself. 

My first favorite, go-to graduation/confirmation/general -ation gift is....

-The Little Bag- 

Perfect for High School/College/Confirmation.  And for guys or girls.  Monogramed, of course.  Everyone can use a little bag for makeup, accessories, toiletries, odd n ends, etc.  It could go in your purse, bathroom, for travel...

I love the idea of ordering or monogramming a bag in college colors for the high school or college graduate.  Here are some of my favorites:

 Pic is from here

The Jon Hart Grande or the Jon Hart Mini Makeup.  Jon Hart is a Texas designer and his stuff is SO well made.  It lasts forever.  You can monogram the leather patch in the middle and it looks great.  Plus the bags come in a ton of colors.   

This terry Pottery Barn bag is such a good deal.  Right now it's on sale for only $14.  Wowsa.  Looks great with a monogram, and the inside is lined with plastic for spills.  This is a go-to gift for me. 
 

pic is from here

For a guy, a shave/dop kit is always a great gift.  They'll use it forever.  My parents got Mr. Snoop one for his college graduation and he loves it.  This Jon Hart is always a good option.

I also love these West Elm bags.  They have great, more under-stated patterns and designs for someone who is not as flamboyant as I am others might be.

For the designer-conscious gal, a little Kate Spade, Coach, or Tory bag like this one would be a cute gift.  I love the colors on this Tory Burch.  With a little bag like this you get the designer wow effect for a more reasonable price point.


Coming up next: Girl-specific gifts! 

What We've Been Up To

- After a month of spring-like weather, it is cold again up here.  So cold that the heat is on and there is a freeze warning for the next three nights.  Yeah, it's almost May.  They say that in the Great White North you should not plant anything in your yard before Mother's Day.  Last weekend, Mr. Snoop and I took a risk and did yardwork all day Saturday.  We're such rebels.  Pray for my impatiens. 

- If I do say so myself, I am a bit of an expert when it comes to digging up and dividing hostas.  I did a ton last spring, so I got back to work this past Saturday.  See evidence...  little girl with a big hosta.

Sorry about the crazy eyes, that thing was heavy.

- I got Mr. Snoop a compost tumbler for his birthday last year.  This past weekend, he mixed in his first "batch."  Warning: Mr. Snoop sans shirt.  Meow.

- Aside from being yardwork geeks, what else are we up to?  Well, Mr. Snoop has started his pediatric rotation, which is his last rotation of 3rd year.  Yikes, that went fast.  He likes that he does not have to wear his nemesis, the white coat.  And he's broken out all the "fun" ties with critters on them.  Jcrew addict, much?

- Is it weird that I am SO excited that Giuliana and Bill Rancic are going to have a baby?  I am just thrilled for them. 

- I finally started reading the Hunger Games.  Yes, I work with middle and high schoolers.  No, I hadn't read it till now.  I started the first book Wednesday and now am almost done.  So good and so addictive.  Now I can't wait to see the movie.

- Did I ever talk about the book Columbine?  This one by Dave Cullen.  I read it a couple of months ago and it was a great book.  Sort of In Cold Blood-esque.  The author did an incredible, painstaking job with his research.  Mr. Snoop is reading it now.

- Our TV show du jour is Game of Thrones.  Anyone else like this one?  It is pretty addicting.  Almost as much as the Hunger Games. 

- Have a great weekend, everyone!

That Sucked

I've been thinking about writing this for a few months.  Typically I like to write about happy things like diet cherry limeade and cats and things that are pink, because that is what I choose to focus on.  Now I'm going to talk about the time I had a miscarriage. 

Yep.  I sure did.  It sucked. 

It's not really me to share something so personal on the interwebs.  Actually, it scares the snot out of me.  But when I had my miscarriage, it really helped Mr. Snoop and I to hear from other people who went through the same thing.  Not because I would ever in a million years wish that on anyone else, but because the experience is so incredibly common.  So even though it scares the bejesus out of me, I'm coming out of the closet with this because if any of the few readers of this teeny blog ever go through the same thing (or have a friend who does), I want you to know you aren't alone.  This crapola experience happens in 1 out of 5 pregnancies.  So here goes.

Back in February, I was a little over 10 weeks pregnant when I went to my obgyn for a routine appointment.  Via ultrasound, we found out that there was no heartbeat and that the baby was measuring weeks behind.  Previously, at my 7 week appointment, Mr. Snoop and I had seen the little blinking heartbeat and everything looked good.  By 10 weeks, something had gone wrong.  I was given the choice to a) wait it out and let it happen naturally, b) take medication to induce the actual process of the miscarriage, or c) have a surgical procedure called a D&C.   

After much debate, Mr. Snoop and I decided to go with the D&C.  Why?  My body was not registering that something had gone wrong with the pregnancy, so I would have had to wait weeks for the natural route.  This was confirmed after the D&C, when the levels of pregnancy hormone in my body stayed elevated for over a month, which is not normal.  The medical route would have involved heavy bleeding and painful cramping.  With the D&C, I was put to sleep for 30 minutes, the procedure lasted 10 minutes, and I woke up with it all being over.  It was definitely the best choice for me.  And not even the $800 medical bill could convince me otherwise.

So now that I'm on the other end of this experience, I guess it feels ok to tell about it.  Here's what I've learned:

- This happens.  I was terrified of having a miscarriage.  Then I did.  Lots of people do.  And I'm still here. 1 out of 5 pregnancies end in miscarriage... that we know of. 

- A miscarriage is hard on your husband/partner. My ob told me this. I guess I was stereotyping, but I didn't believe her. I was wrong.

- Choose your obgyn wisely.  They may have to tell you really horrible news.  You need to be able to completely trust them in case scary shit goes down.  My Dr. D is the best and I feel so thankful for her.

- Forget about control. Y'all know I am a crazy control freak. I was insanely careful when I was pregnant.  But when it comes to pregnancy, it is out of your hands. You can do everything perfectly and still have a miscarriage. And it sucks. But you have to relinquish control.

- Not many people knew I was pregnant in the first place, but we wound up being open about the miscarriage.  People will say the wrong thing.  That's ok.  They're trying and that's all that matters.

- On the topic of where God is in a mess like this, a smarty pants friend of mine says that God shows up in the midst of the shit.  Well, that's true.  God showed up in my obgyn's kindness throughout the whole experience... exemplified in holding my hand as I nervously got put under on the operating table for the D&C.  In the amazing, sympathetic nurses and staff at my ob's office and in the hospital.  In my sweet friend who brought over nail polish that I had pinned and cookies to decorate.  When my mom came up to help out and distract me.  When family members and family friends sent notes.  And the list goes on...

So, anyway, that happened.  And it sucked.  But while my body gets back to nomal, I'm enjoying wine, coffee, raw cookie dough, having energy, and not gagging every 10 minutes.

The Dark & Heathen Land Of No Sonic

Y'all.  This weekend I brought the Mountain to Mohammed. 

... Or the Diet Cherry Limeade to the Southerner.  Whatever.

One of the most tragic things about the Great White North is that there is no Sonic.  It is truly heartbreaking and I don't really know how civilization has survived up here without it.  Or maybe, on the other hand, the lack of Sonics might explain some things about certain deplorable yankee behaviors.  Hmmm.... I feel a thesis comin' on.

Anyway, when the temperature gets above 80, as it did here recently, I tend to have an overwhelming need for a diet cherry limeade from Sonic.  This most recent surge in temperatures over the weekend was accompanied by my very own reguarly scheduled monthly hormonal fluctuations, if you will, so I needed a diet cherry limeade or someone might just die.  You girls know how that is.  Sorry, guys. 

So I turned to my best girl, Pinterest, for the solution.  Love her.  And then I went to our brand spankin new super Stop & Shop right down the street and got these...

And made this....



And thanks to my intrepid and pioneer-like spirit (too far?), everything was all better.  It really is the wilderness up here, y'all.   



If any of you poor souls also live in The Dark & Heathen Land Of No Sonic and you want the recipe, I used this one on Pinterest.  It was the simplest one I found.  Simple syrup?  No thanks.  I upped the lime juice to a full cup because I like things lime-y.  Here ya go:

2 liters lemon-lime soda
1 cup lime juice (I used the bottled stuff above and it was awesome, but if you're fancy I guess you could squeeze your own?  Yikes.)
1/4 cup grenadine
limes for slicing (If you want.  You probably do want.)

Mix together in a pitcher and enjoy with a slice of lime.

I have not sampled this idea just yet, but I imagine this would be crazy delicious spiked with a little Tito's vodka if you happen to be feeling naughty.  Just a suggestion.

The Busiest Time of the Year

Since I work in a church, you'd think that Advent and Christmas would be my most frantic time of year.  Not the case.  Sure, Advent can be a little nutty, but Christmas and New Years is actually quite relaxing--there is no Sunday School or Youth Group when the kids are on winter break!

We are now entering my busy season.  When I first took my job, my co-worker told me that first winter that January and February draaaaaaaggggg on, but that once March hits, it is a super fast downhill slide til summer.  And it is so true.  I keep dating things starting with a "3."  I honestly don't know where March went, and here we are halfway through April.  I guess I thought that once I was out of school, the springtime graduation month(s) would be less chaotic.  Wrong.  Maybe since I work with school-age children, the months of April - June are still insanely busy, which I do love.  It makes summertime that much sweeter.  Ya'll know summer is two months in the Great White North, right?  July and August.

So I was putting things on Mr. Snoop's and my wall calendar at home (you know me, I must be surrounded by calendars at all times.  I type with my paws on the keyboard and my forearms on my Erin Condren.  I wish I were kidding about that) and anyway, we swiftly realized that we have ONE free weekend from here til July.  One, y'all.  Not that there are all huge events every weekend--some are--but we already have something going on every single weekend, already. 

Are April - June like this for everyone else? 

To sum up this totally random splat of words on a page (thanks for reading if you made it this far!), here is a picture of Mr. Snoop holding our friends' baby.  Those of you who know Mr. Snoop in person are aware that hell froze over the moment this event occurred.  That's right, Mr. Snoop managed to make it nearly 27 years without ever holding a newborn.  He approached the hand off like it was brain surgery, or better yet, a rocket launch.  Even though all 8 lbs of baby K was totally konked out, you can see the panic in Mr. Snoop's eyes...

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Easter in ATX

Warning: Long post with lots of pictures!

Mr. Snoop and I spent a long weekend in Austin for Easter.  It was marvelous.  We were so thankful to get there since flying down was a total fiasco.  American canceled our flight at midnight Thursday morning when we had planned to fly out Thursday afternoon.  Thanks, American.  We rebooked on United/Continental, and sweet friends drove us to the airport since we had to fly out of a different airport than we were scheduled to come in to.  And of course United was delayed so we missed our connection. 

And this is why we typically only fly Jetblue or Southwest.

Anyway, on to the fun stuff.  We completely soaked up our time in Texas.  Mr. Snoop had a friend from high school in town for job interviews.  It was nice to get to know him, and I know Mr. Snoop loved having him around.  On Friday they went for a run on Town Lake while I went to Last Call, of course.  I got a possible Med School graduation (or related graduation festivities) dress. On mega sale, por supuesto...

pinned it here

On saturday we went to Zilker Park, where Mr. Snoop and Chris played frisbee.  It was gorgeous...

Then we cooled off in Barton Springs...

Don't worry, there were lots of topless sunbathers.  After that we went to Sno Beach for snowcones.  We were visited by this little friend...

See him on Mr. Snoop's shoulder?

He was all over us--landing on me, Mr. Snoop, in my snocone, etc.  We must have smelled good, because he wasn't interested in Chris.  Here's a better picture...

My parents got a new cat last week, Morris.  He is 8 years old and 14.5 solid pounds of love. 

And now for a close-up....



  

Look at that face!   You can see how gigantic his paws are here.

On Easter Sunday we did our traditional brunch at church, Easter service, and dinner at the Salt Lick.  We celebrate Easter with our "church family," and it always so much fun.  We hang out outside for drinks and appetizers for a little while and then go in for amazing bbq.  Here are Mr. Snoop, my brother, and my sister.  Note Mr. Snoop and Chris fratting out with their matching monogramed croakies...

It was hard to come back, but I am so happy we got to go.

I hope everyone had a great weekend, Easter, or Passover!

Happy Easter!

The Snoops are in Texas to celebrate our risen Lord with cheese grits and egg casserole at church and excessive amounts of bbq and beer later on.  It's how we roll.

Meanwhile, please enjoy this giant picture of Woo with his favorite, the egg tree:

"I freaking LOVE Easter!!" - Woo



America's Prettiest Towns

Look!

Forbes- America's Prettiest Towns

I am so proud that our little town in the Great White North has made it to Forbes' list of America's Prettiest Towns.

While I whine (and whine and whine....) about the winters here, springtime here is nothing short of amazing.  Check out our little downtown this week:

image from our local paper

There are all sorts of blooms...

This is what magnolias look like in the North.  Breathtaking, right?  Who knew they came in pink!

This beauty is right outside my work.

Almost makes that miserable winter worthwhile.

Cheers to Tarrytown for making the list!

Evita

I don't know if I've mentioned this here before, but Mr. Snoop's parents recently moved about an hour away from us in New Jersey.  We get to see them fairly frequently, and this weekend they treated us to seeing Evita on Broadway.  It was awesome.  I love Evita--the story, the music, and even the movie version with Madonna.  So this was such a treat!

...And, guess who was Che?  None other than Ricky Martin himself!  I didn't quite know what to expect, but he totally rocked and carried the whole show.  He is definitely the classic triple threat: actor, singer, dancer.  And he is just as adorable as ever, even with the 'stache he was rocking to play Che. 

I loved the costume that Eva wore for "Don't cry for me Argentina."  The actress was funny and had certainly mastered the Eva Peron persona, but to be honest I had a difficult time hearing/understanding some of the words when she was singing.  This is when I wish my sister was there so she could tell me what exactly was going on from a professional's point of view.

Before the show--it was a matinee--Mr. Snoop and I went to brunch at Maison.  I typically avoid Times Sqaure like the plague, so I would recommend going to Maison if you are going to see a show.  It is a little bit uptown, on 53rd, I think, but easy walking distance, good food, and good (for NY) prices.  They have great outdoor seating which we totally would have taken advantage of had it not been rainy and cold. 

In other news, we snoops are very happy that Kentucky won the NCAA tournament!  Mr. Snoop is a Kentucky boy so we were both wearing blue and white yesterday.  And this means Mr. Snoop won my work's bracket pool.  I came in third to last, which is what you get for going with loyalties (Texas and Georgetown).

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend :)