Snail Mail My Email: Year Three

And just like that it's over.

Another Snail Mail My Email has come to an end and this time just so happens to be it's last. I'm just so grateful I got to be a part of it for the time I did. There's nothing like writing a letter and sending it in the mail that excites me more. It makes me think... I wonder when this person will get it? or Does the postman wonder what this even is? or I wish I could see their reaction when they see it in their mailbox.

I was hoping that there would be a ton of letters to write so we could all go out with a bang but I only ended up getting three. A week later my snail mail organizer told me he had one more that needed to go to Hungary. I totally jumped at it. Thankfully he translated it for me which made it somehow easier to write.

I'm sad I won't be able to be a part of this project again. Maybe I'll find a new project but I will most definitely continue sending snail mail. 

South Africa // India



Ohio // Hungary

Last weekend I got the mail as I always do but noticed a fun envelope in the bunch. I pulled it out and noticed the kitties everywhere. My eyes got big and I tore into it as nice as possible. It turns out Dustin sent his own Snail Mail Your Email. TO ME! This guy! I guess I should keep him around. It made me smile for the rest of the day. And to top it all off it came all the way from Australia! So rad. 

Year One
Year Two

What I Wore #61

It was football Sunday so I wanted to dress appropriately especially since we were in Steelers Country. Dustin and I kept going back and forth on whether or not we were going to go to the actual game. Tickets were just too much this time around. Then we thought we'd go watch it at a sports bar but that didn't work out either. Oh well, at least I still looked cute, right? This is my third long sleeve Sophie shirt. It is so soft and even though it kind of has a Charlie Brown feel I got it because it's Steelers colors. Also those booties are at it again. I just can't stop with them!

Long Sleeve: Sophie & Trey

Scarf: Gift

Jeans: Old Navy

Booties: Sophie & Trey

DAY THREE: Driving Too Fast Past The Lights

Dustin and I got up early and went to eat breakfast at Eat-N-Park. Again. 

We spent the morning and early afternoon hanging out at Dustin's grandparent's house. Melissa came over and we all FaceTimed with Miranda and Remi before tasting Grandma Dee's famous ribs. Melissa also brought over a tray of DiCarlo's pizza which is Dustin's favorite. Pizza and ribs is kind of a weird combination but it totally worked. 

On our way to Toronto (Ohio not Ontario) we stopped by Melissa and Bert's place. I had never been over there before so it was nice to see where Melissa lives. They were undergoing some renovations in their dining room so there was a lot of workers plus Bert's family were all there too. It was basically just a big ol' Weirton party. We said our goodbyes and headed across the river. 

We went over to the Fidak's house in Toronto to watch the beginning of the Steelers vs. Cowboys game. It was nice of them to watch with us since they are Browns fans. Ha! Brady showed us so many of his wrestling moves. It's very impressive how he and Blair have it down to an art form. Blair is the announcer and Brady knows the moves better than the actual wrestlers. 

We had to leave well before the game was over (which was for the best since they totally lost) because we had dinner plans at Drover's Inn & Tavern. It's a historical house that has been turned into a restaurant. I absolutely loved the history aspect of it but to top it all off they have really good food too. I wasn't feeling the greatest so I ordered a salad. I was kind of bummed by this because I hear their wings are fantastic. But then my salad came out and it was the most delicious salad I'd ever seen (and eaten)! I mean a salad with french fries on top? Yes please!

From there we drove about 30 minutes south to see Oglebay's Festival of Lights. Dustin has told me about these damn lights for years. We've always talked about visiting his family during the holidays so we could see the lights. This year we went to see them on opening weekend. It was a long and winding road to get there to say the least. I was so queasy the whole way. This Florida girl is used to flat and straight roads! Since we came opening weekend we got right in. Apparently there is usually a line of cars so it moves slow. But since there weren't a ton of people we flew through the whole thing. Or should I say Blair sped through the whole thing. Ha! They were really cool but I thought there would be more. It was still a fun time spent with the Fidaks minus the winding roads. Thankfully we took a straight highway back to Toronto!

'

 

 

A Non-Tradish Thanksgiving

I woke up early Thanksgiving morning and took a walk around the neighborhood. Two miles to be exact. It was a nice way to get in steps especially when the weather was so nice out. Along the way I met a little furry gray cat. I think it is still technically a kitten because he was on the small side. He was just sitting on the fence and let me pet him. I immediately thought please have a home or otherwise you're going to be a Maffioli very soon. It was hard to pull myself away from him but I finally did. I haven't seen him since. 

This Thanksgiving was another one spent just Dustin and I. I know most people prefer these big Thanksgivings because that's what you see in the movies but it's not the only way to do the holiday. I've been a part of the big get togethers and they can be nice and they can also be hell but they are always stressful. The great thing about staying in your own home with just the people that live there is that you get to make all of the decisions. You get to choose the time you eat, the food you eat, what's playing on the TV, and most importantly you can poop in your own toilet. So yeah, I'm a fan of small Thanksgivings. Being non-traditional is fun. 

This year was slightly different as my mom's boyfriend went to visit family in south Florida and she couldn't get a hold of her friend. Therefore I invited her over to our house. I told her straight up we weren't cooking shit but instead we were going to Boston Market. She was fine with this and came over around 11. We watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade for a little bit and she she met our cats for the first time. Olive was pretty friendly as she is with most everyone but Cheeto did not want any strangers in his house. We all went down to Boston Market, ordered our food, and were back home just in time for the Dog Show. After we ate lunch I worked on my mom's Facebook per her request. She didn't know how to add photos so we went through my Flickr and she picked which ones she wanted. We then took some obligatory Thanksgiving photos and she was on her way.

Dustin played his new Skyrim game while I watched The Crown in our bedroom. I might have fallen asleep and took a mini nap. Maybe. Once I was coherent again I got ready to go to Antonia and Ed's for Thanksgiving dinner. And by get ready I mean I asked Dustin if my sweat pants were too casual. To my defense Antonia did say that we didn't have to dress up so I was just following instructions. We packed up our two pies, Cool Whip, and regular whipped cream and were on our way.

We got there and were greeted by the aroma of ALL THE FOOD. Antonia cooked everything from scratch (except for the gravy - ha!). The turkey came out so good! Everything was amazing but let me tell you about her sweet potato casserole. OH. EM. GEE. I'm used to the regular, perfectly good, marshmallow-on-top casserole. But she sprinkled the top of hers with a brown sugar crumble and a few pecans. I'm having a moment right now just thinking back to that delicious dish. We ate until we couldn't eat any more.

We played Adventure Time theme Munchkin. Dustin and I have never seen Adventure Time so we weren't familiar with the characters but once we went a few rounds we both started to get the hang of it. Dustin caught on way faster than I did! It was a lot of fun though and so different from any game I've played. Dustin ended up winning on his first time playing. He's such a show off.

We all had digested just enough to dig into the dessert. I made sure I got a little of both pies. I don't want to have to choose one over the other. I might hurt the other one's feelings.

We ended the night with a game of Cards Against Humanity because we are horrible people who like to laugh at ridiculous things. Dustin and I didn't end up getting home until midnight. The whole night was such a blur because we had such a fun time. It was the perfect Friendsgiving!