Gardening in High Heels

cultivate a beautiful life

House Hunters Drinking Game

I came home Tuesday night and I didn’t feel like training for the marathon, so I decided to turn on House Hunters on Netflix for background noise in the house. And I immediately sat my ass down and live-tweeted a drinking game. It just naturally lends itself to a drinking game. So many buzz words. So many ridiculous budgets. So many unreasonable expectations!

So I give you the House Hunters Drinking Game!

Watching people complain about houses you can't afford on House Hunters sucks. Turn it into a drinking game instead!

Take a drink when someone mentions or says…

  • Curb appeal
  • Open concept / open floor plan
  • Counter / cabinet space
  • Granite counter tops (or lackthereof)
  • Character / charm
  • Space for entertaining
  • Vaulted ceilings
  • “I don’t like the carpet.”
  • “Backsplash.”
  • “This closet isn’t big enough!”
  • “I’m disappointed in….”
  • “These ceilings aren’t high enough.” / “The ceilings are just too low.”
  • “It’s too small.”
  • “En suite.”
  • “I always get what I want.” / “S/he gets what s/he wants.”

Take two drinks when…

  • You see double sinks
  • The hunters get into a shower stall together

Chug when…

  • Someone loses their temper with their house hunting partner, i.e.: You can just *paint* it!!
  • Someone has an $1+ million budget

Assign a drink when…

  • Someone harps on an unreasonable expectation, i.e.: I need a 17′ x 17′ bedroom.
  • Someone mentions the budget (either over or under)
  • Someone talks about the renovations they’ll have to do

If you aren’t hammered halfway through an episode, you’re doing it wrong.

Side note: I found a fun House Hunters Drinking Game on BuzzFeed after I wrote this whole damn thing. I didn’t do too bad I guess. Also, the only time I ended up looking up a property after watching an episode was when a couple bought a firehouse. Luckily for me, they started a blog called A Fire Pole in the Dining Room. And I am in love.

What else would you add to the House Hunters Drinking Game?

**This is not sponsored/mentioned/in any way affiliated with House Hunters or HGTV nor do I condone excessive or irresponsible drinking.

Baseball Riots and Vertigo

I’m giving myself a pass on yesterday’s #100DaysBlogging post, so today is counting for days 4 and 5. I had every intention to write this, but then I came home and feel asleep on the couch. Give me a break, I was in the ER, okay?

I was sitting on the ER bed and my dad was to my left. Every time I moved my head to look at him, it felt like my vision was trailing behind and would catch up after a few seconds. He said it reminded him of the “glowing puck.”

Apparently in the 90s, Fox had a contract with the NHL to include glowing electrodes in the puck that would “make it easier” for home viewers to see the puck because it glowed.

It was called FoxTrax. I wish they were punnier with the name and somehow worked in “trot” instead of “trax.”

Other things I learned yesterday:

  • There were three major league baseball games that ended in riots.
    • 10 Cent Beer Night at a Cleveland Indians game — can you imagine where that went wrong? Nope, me neither.
    • Disco Demolition Night — because who wouldn’t think that blowing up a box of disco records would do irreparable damage to the field?
    • Washington Senators’ final game at RFK Stadium. Fans were angered and the impending move to Texas and stormed the field looking for souvenirs. Oh and the security staff had already walked out — I know when I’m mad about something, my first reaction is to cause mayhem, too.
  • The 70s were a weird time for baseball.
  • I have vertigo. And not the Hitchcock movie.
4-5/100 — #100DaysBlogging

Award season

The always-hilarious Laura from Life with Lolo for some reason thought I was groovy enough to be nominated by her for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award!  I’m not gonna lie, I’ve gotten nods (thank you, thank you everyone) in the past for various awards and I usually don’t get to write the post in time because I just forget other things come up.

Check out the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers AwardAs Laura says, “Lazy ass, party of one..”

But I felt in my soul like I needed to step it up and do this one.  I have to say, some of these really made me ponder.  I want to entertain and be deep at the same time.  That’s quite the paradox.

Before I start, I’mma be serious for a moment.  Thank you to everyone who reads my writing and takes the time to comment and share it.  I love you guys.  I wouldn’t do it if it weren’t for you.  The connections I’m making with you, whom I would never have met if it weren’t for the internet, are so meaningful to me.

I feel like I’m meeting people who are my long lost sisters.  You dig?

So, on to Laura’s questions!

What is the very first thing you do in the morning and the very last thing you do before going to sleep?

First thing in the morning is hit the snooze.  Literally, hit it.  I use Sleepcycle as my alarm in conjunction with my UP24 and to snooze, you shake/hit/otherwise bring harm upon your phone.

The last thing I do is either text Jonathan (cue the awwws here), read, or watch an episode of whatever I’m currently in the middle of on Netflix.

What are your favorite boy name & girl name for your future children (I know you have them) or just in general…?

I seriously don’t have a favorite name.

Where’s the farthest place you’ve ever driven to (or road tripped) why did you go and who were you with?

The farthest distance that I’ve driven is to Williamsburg, Virginia to visit my mom.  I’ve done it alone, I’ve done it with Jonathan, and I’ve done it with my mom.  It’s been since November and I think this is officially the longest we’ve gone without seeing each other.

This whole full-time job thing is getting in the way of random car trips.

What is the best gift you’ve ever received?

So many.

If you could see one person or group in a dream concert (alive or dead) who would it be?

I’m so close to saying Anberlin.  I saw their farewell tour on my birthday last year with Jonathan (another road trip!) and I’d love to bring them back.

 What is one food that just grosses you out?

Honestly……I don’t think there is a food that grosses me out.  I like just about everything.  I haven’t tried snails, though, and I wouldn’t eat a puffin, but it isn’t because it grosses me out but because puffins are so cute.

Has someone close to you lost someone in their family? How did you handle it (this is happening right now to me, help!)

I think I’ve had more deaths in my family than my friends have had in theirs.  The times that someone has had something happen, I just try to think about the person and how they handle situations.

If this person needs to come to you naturally, make sure they know that you’re always available.  Badgering them to talk is not going to do anything.  On the flip side, if they need to talk everything out, ask questions and listen more than you speak.

What is your favorite tweet or instagram you’ve ever shared? Show us the link!

So to find this picture I had to go back two and a half years in my Instagram feed and there were so many good pictures and memories that I wanted to share.  Dogs, cute hair cuts, good nail polish days.  Lots of food.

But these are my favorites.  I was going to include only the Franktuary menu because that was the night I met Jonathan, but the duck is just too cute to pass up.

Boring fries were anything but #foodtruck #fries #carbs #boring #signs

A photo posted by Angelica Ross (@syntaxxerrorrr) on

So much awesome in one picture. #quackpgh #tbt @thejonathang

A photo posted by Angelica Ross (@syntaxxerrorrr) on


 What is the one purchase you’ve made on your own that you are most proud of?

There have been some expensive purchases that I’ve made in the past.  My laptop, a nice camera, some of my college education, but I’m going with my car on this one.  It’s been the most expensive and the biggest decision.

I negotiated myself (could use some work there), payed the initial costs myself, and am paying off the rest of the car myself.  I also paid for insurance and this year’s AAA membership myself.  Boom.

What is your job and where do you work (because I’m nosy like that).

I am a Marketing Consultant at a SaaS company in Pittsburgh.  It’s more customer service than consulting, but that’s where this blog and my freelance social media contract work come in.  It’s a lot of work and a lot of balls to keep in the air, but it’s a necessary evil.  Sadly, this job doesn’t pay too much, so I do need to work on the side so I can squirrel away what I can.

That’s what I have to say about Laura’s questions.  I am having serious anxiety with this nomination thing.  Are you “too big for this?”  Is this something you’d like do?  Am I missing someone?  Ugh!  If you’re up for it, I’d love to nominate:

Jaelan at Making Mrs M
Katy at Wild and Wanderful
Meghan at Hayes Days
Julie at Artwork by JM
Beth at The Fashionable Eye
Michelle at Sole for the Soul
Kristin at My Life as a Teacup
Jess at In Pursuit of Simple
Nadia at The View Is Beautiful

And answer:

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
What did you want to be when you were little?
Puppies or kittens?
If you could watch one movie for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Where is your favorite place to find inspiration?
Have you ever made something from Pinterest that totally worked (or failed)? What happened?
What do you drink when you go out?
Heels or sneakers?
What’s your best-kept blogging secret?
What is one thing you haven’t told your readers? Spill the beans!

And if there’s anyone I missed who wants to answer these questions, too, go for it!  Please share the link with me when you do!

Five things to prepare for 30 Days of Lists success

I have a shocking confession: I planned ahead.  The past two times I participated in 30 Days of Lists, I had no idea what vessel would store my magnificent lists.  In September, I pretty much stored them on Post It Notes until the end of the month when I decided to write them on Project Life cards and hold them together with binder rings.  And in December, I bound my own book again with PL cards, but I didn’t have it ready in time.

Five things to prep for 30 Days of Lists success. Get your PL cards and rukristin stamps!

So this time, I’m planning ahead.  As I mentioned before, I ordered the perfect little notebook from rukristin and I’m excited to fill it up with lists throughout March.  If you’ve never listed before, or you have but are looking for inspiration, here are five things to gather before you start listing.

A notebook / paper

If you register early for #30Lists, you will get a digital scrapbook kit.  While it’s so cute, I love the tactile element to crafting.  Cutting things out, finding the right layout, adding embellishments.  So I need a good base for my work.

Like I said, I’ve used all sorts of bases, from plain PL cards to Post Its.  Whatever you want, make sure that you have it handy when March starts so you can jump right in and start sharing your lists with the world.
30 Days of Lists prep. Notebook from American Crafts DIY Shop

Something to write with

I write my lists with Sharpie pens and my list titles/prompts with a regular Sharpie marker.  love Sharpie pens.  Any Sharpie product pretty much is steak sauce in my book, but the pens are great.  They’re bold, they glide nicely, last for ages, and super thin so you can doodle in the margins.

I like to grab a few colors that coordinate.  In September, I stuck with a black/white theme with pops of purple and pink.  So I grabbed Sharpies in various shades that would work together.

But you may want a plain black pen, colored pencils, ink and feather…whatever.

Washi tape

I’m a little late to the washi party, but I’m all in now.  Thank the lawd I have a Pat Catan’s close to me so I don’t have to fork out $5 per roll.  I’m also a fan of the Target dollar section for finding things like that.  They have (had?) surprisingly cute washi tape for a buck.  Yessir.

You can't scrapbook or makes 30 Days of Lists books without washi tape.

In December, I didn’t have to add many embellishments because of the paper, but I did add in some stamping and some washi tape elements.  In September, my lists were all embellished with washi tape.  I like the pop that washi tape gives my books without having to sacrifice writing space.

Fancy scissors

Someone help me with the proper name for these things.  I love them for adding a pretty boarder around my scrapbook pages or cutting washi tape instead of tearing it for a more elegant feel.

Other stuff

Embellish away!  Ribbons, decorative tape, stickers, stamps, patterned paper…these are your memories and your book, so make it how you want it to look.

Studio Calico and American Crafts DIY Shop scrapbook embellishments from rukristin papercrafts

Arrow rubber stamp from rukristin papercrafts

I can’t wait to start the March 30 Days of Lists and for once, I will be ready for it!  Are you going to join the the list making?

What essentials do you have on hand for scrapbooking?

[disclaim]The link to register for 30 Days of Lists is an affiliate link.  I’ve been listing with them in 2014 and I know you’ll love it too.  Thank you for supporting gals that support Gardening in High Heels![/disclaim]

Sunday Lately, 4

This week was kind of crazy.  I had my first solo Local Levo event (if you’re in Pittsburgh, please join us in Feb at Wigle Whiskey!), I feel like I worked it really hard at work, and Jonathan and I are going on Day 2 of burger eating.  Yesterday was Bubba’s after the Beer Blizzard and today is Steer and Wheel food truck during Weather Permitting.  They have my absolute favoritest fries in the city.

Sunday Lately 4

Updating

Still updating this little bloggy space of mine.  I love how these prompts let me remind you so much that things are still a-changing around here.  I’m okay with that!

Reminding

..Myself not to get wrapped up in things I cannot control. So much of my job is apologizing to people because something didn’t work correctly. Not that I did anything wrong, but empathy is the first step in disarming an angry person. Mix that with my knee-jerk reaction of apologizing for stuff in my personal life and I’ve got a sure-fire way to think that everything is my fault.

Needing

Furniture!  I have a bunch of hand-me-down stuff and it works but it is only comfortable really just for me.  I can’t host people for long periods of time without being embarrassed that my living room furniture consists of an old armchair and ottoman slip-covered in sheets from Target and a papasan chair that really belongs outside.

Amusing

..Coworkers with my responses to emails we all get.  For example: when someone sends a message in all caps, I’m that person emailing the department, “OKAY, I’LL ANSWER THIS ONE.”  Always good for a chuckle.

Being

Just being. As in reminding, I just need to be and I’m not. I should schedule massages for myself more often so I can “just be.”

What are you up to lately?

Let’s Play

           

People Really Dug These

We Belong in the Garden Together