The time he brought me to see Taylor Swift.

On Friday night we went to the Taylor Swift concert. For those of you who wrote that I would have an amazing time -- you were right. The girl puts on a show; a spectacle really. I was in awe. I was staring at the stage, and hearing 55,000 people around me shout, and scream, and kind-of/sort-of sing with her and just had this overwhelming feeling of happiness. Imagine, being her for a split second? I just can't even believe that one person is able to captivate an audience like that. It's crazy. In the totally perfect, wouldn't want it any other way, kind of way.

via.

You know that surprised look that Taylor always has when she wins awards? And from behind the TV, you're like "really? you win like everything, why are you so surprised?" Well, seeing it in person -- I believe it now. I no longer think of it as a "surprised" look but rather a "I'm genuinely grateful for this to still be happening" look.

via. 

I guess I should have looked up what "being at a Taylor Swift concert" entailed. If so, I would have found pictures of girls (young and grown) in sundresses, cowboy boots, cowboy hats, red clothes, cut-off shorts, cut-off shirts, red bandanas, face paint, holding home-made signs, with writing all other their arms, tears in their eyes, and smiles on their faces. Now, on Friday night it was cold. At least, it was cold for July. It rained all day, it rained on and off during the concert and at times it straight poured. But that didn't stop anyone from enjoying themselves. It didn't stop anyone from shouting and dancing and singing. And it surely didn't send people running for cover or heading home.

via.

The thing I noticed about T. Swift is that she has fans from every decade. We saw children who looked like they just started walking last week; and we saw grown adults who could probably be Taylor Swift's great-grandparents. My favorite people: the parents who so clearly would not be in attendance if not for their children. Sometimes it was a mom, sometimes it was a dad, sometimes it was both mom and dad; shelling out money for t-shirts, holding their daughter's hand-made sign underneath their jacket so that it wouldn't get ruined or wet, and just all around asking things like "are you having fun?" or even better saying "you were right, this is fun".

via.

Now, Sean and I clearly don't fall into either of those categories of people. I wasn't in red (I wore navy, oops), I didn't make a sign (but was absolutely jealous of all the creativity) and we aren't parents (this treat was for me). Which leads me to another group of people present: couples.

via.

Sean made an observation that is probably pretty accurate; for every 50 girls at this concert, there may have been 1 guy. Maybe. Most of those guys looked a lot like Sean... as in, they were holding a beer, leaning against something, scrolling through their phone (occasionally were asked to take pictures of the girl they were with), while using up their slightly fake "yeah, I'm totally having fun" face. In fairness, a concert like this wasn't totally horrible for him; there was never a line for the men's bathroom or to buy a beer (perks of being somewhere that the majority of attendees can't drink), and he got to watch Ed Sheeran who is extremely musically talented. But let's face it: he did this for me.

via.

And for that, I'm so grateful. Because it really was the best time ever.

5 things for a successful weekend.

1. a trip into Boston
2. eating at UBurger
3. fresh tulips
4. seeing the set-up of the Boston Marathon (which obviously means spring is here)
5. spending time at the animal shelter nearby and adopting a new kitten

See? Successful.

Also check out our new tabs (top of the page).
I decided to do some re-vamping.
Here's the new link for "best of" posts.
And for the link to "contact & advertise".

Enjoy!

A birthday weekend.

Sean's birthday was a major success.
We had a day, filled with his favorite foods, a walk around Boston, a movie, and ended the night with chocolate pudding pie.
Today, the celebration continued with lunch with his parents and dinner with mine.
He loved the idea of spreading out the gifts and making them last throughout the day.
He anxiously awaited each of the present opening times,
and it really extended the fun.

For gifts, I decided against Google's advice of money clips & poker chips...
and stuck to what I know Sean loves:
supporting his friends, beer, and the chance to win millions of dollars.
Plus, a couple of things I'd like him to have.

So, I got hoodies from his friend's clothing lines: Monogram Apparel & Hurt Reynolds,
a Sam Adams variety pack + beer glasses,
lottery tickets (we didn't win),
new sneakers + candy,
a level (so he can evenly hang everything I ask him to hang, ha!),
a French press coffee maker with coffee,
and the new Justin Timberlake CD...
(okay, that's sort of for me, too).

I'm clearly too old for this.

via.

I'm not exactly 30. I'm in the middle of my twenties, give or take.
But after last night, I realized that I'm getting old.

I sort of knew this.
For instance, when I get off the couch after sitting for an hour my legs barely stretch out and I make inappropriate jokes about arthritis.
When I don't wash my face at night, I swear I see a wrinkle the next morning.
I need my eight solid hours of sleep or I can't even function the next day.
I have a full time job, bills to pay, and I no longer feel joy in getting the mail.
And while most of those can be remedied with a gym routine, a daily vitamin, and paperless statements... that's not all.

You see, it's becoming more common that when I go "out" places --
I meet more and more people who are younger than me.
I imagine this is a normal occurrence.
I mean, as you grow, others grow but at different rates than you.
So you figure you'll always be younger than some, but that means some will always be younger than you.
Get it? Okay.

But this wasn't always the way.
I remember being 21... 18... 16, not too long ago,
and it seemed like anyone I met... was always older than me.
Now suddenly, years & years have passed... and I didn't even see it happen!

Well, last night I begged Sean to take me to a concert.
I haven't asked him to take me to a show since the last time this band played in the area... two years ago.
And we didn't end up going back then because I got sick.

So, we drove the hour drive that it takes to get to Rhode Island from our house.
Drove around for 20 minutes to find parking, only to walk to the venue and find out that the show is sold out.
SOLD OUT. What? I didn't even know that was possible.

The doorman immediately tells us that if we meet him outside in 10 minutes, he'll get us in.
Uh, excuse me? Is this some sort of illegal deal? Because I want out.
But... Sean agreed. I'm standing there thinking, "great, all that gas wasted getting here.."
Meanwhile, Sean's planning on meeting this stranger in what will probably be the last 10 minutes of our lives.

It turned out less sketchy than I originally thought.
But I'm pretty sure we had to pay an extra four dollars.

Once we walked in, it hit me once again.
These people are all younger than me.
No wait, these people are all kids. Like aren't even of legal drinking age.
And I felt old. Too old.

I watched them stage-dive,
next to the sign that said "NO stage-diving".
And I was worried for them.
I saw the girls who were barely dressed, or wearing certain clothing items,
and I felt like saying "you'll regret that in 10 years".
I stood and listened to the band playing,
and a person kid passed me... and said "excuse me, ma'am".
Uh, excuse me?
You've got to be kidding me.

I can't even talk about the fact that I was out until 1AM,
and couldn't even get out of bed this morning.
For real.

Now, this doesn't happen to Sean.
He can go out, stay out, not sleep, not eat right, and still go out, stay out, not sleep, and not eat right.
It's the weirdest thing.
And I hope this trend doesn't continue for our lifetime.
Or he's going to be doing great, full of pep & life,
and I'm going to be the sore lady in the corner being called "ma'am" and falling asleep in the booth.
Oh, wait, that's apparently already happening.

We always have our deep conversations in the car.

Sean and I have a lot of deep conversations in the car.
Driving together. In between belting out our favorite songs we'll start talking about... anything.

We are very different people.
Our likes are different. Our interests are different.
Our hobbies, our careers, our day to day activities... all different.
And I think that's why our views tend to be different from one another.

A lot of people point this out to me:
"you're so different... I guess opposites attract".

Maybe, that's true.
For day to day things, that don't really matter but are important to get you to the next part of life...
We do differ.
But I think we pick up the slack for one another.

I do laundry. He cooks dinner.
We both go grocery shopping.
I watch a lot of TV. He listens to a lot of music.
We both see movies together.
I keep up with celebrity gossip. He keeps up with the science world.
We both keep tabs on politics.

None of these things are life-altering. I suppose.
Maybe, he wouldn't have clean clothes, be caught up on every sitcom on TV or know any celebrity gossip -- without me.
Maybe, I would starve, be in the dark about the newest music, and completely fail a test about NASA -- without him.

On the bigger items like world events, religion, dare I say... gun control -- we don't always agree.
Sometimes we do, sometimes we don't...
sometimes we confuse each other and have to start again.

We're not the same person... and our car rides would be so boring if every time Sean said something to me,
I said "I agree" or "Totally" or "Yup".
Our car conversations start more along the lines of "well..." or "But don't you think...?" or "I don't agree with that".

And I think that's okay. We are different.
We have different likes, interests and knowledge.
We each know things the other does not.
And through communication we try to fill in the gaps.
We attempt to convince the other of our views... in the midst of singing our favorite songs to each other.

And when the other still doesn't agree... we love them anyway.

That's what I think marriage is.
It isn't necessarily liking the same things, doing the same things, thinking the same things...
every step of the way.

It's two people... who might be completely different,
who work together, talk to each other, help each other and love each other.

We may not always think the same thing, but we feel the same thing.
And that's what counts.
That... and the ability to serenade each other in the car.

You gotta have that.

Weekend recap.

I feel as though this collage sums up our weekend.

I wanted the husband to take me to Target at midnight on Friday night to purchase Breaking Dawn, part II.

He fell asleep, and I woke him up just to make sure that when I asked... 

he told me he would actually take me.

Then I said... no, no, it's okay as long as you were willing to do it.

:)

In the morning I got my DVD, walked through Target and saw the Easter decorations.

I thought about buying some.

I really like the thought of decorating for holidays.

But when it comes down to it, I feel like it's a waste.

[I know...]

All that work, buying, decorating, admiring...

Only to clean it up, organize it, and find a place to store it all, in just a couple of weeks.

No, thanks.

I've already missed opportunities to decorate for winter, Valentine's day... 

St. Patrick's day is right around the corner, and now apparently Easter.

Oh, well.

I got my DVD home, without any Easter decorations 

and made sure to take a picture of my complete set of Twilight Saga movies.

Apollo wanted in on it... but is clearly confused.

She was supposed to smile... but she looks like she's disgusted and yelling at them.

[She's really yelling at the birds outside that were taunting her.]

One more reason for Sean to make fun.

Sunday morning we were up super early so I could drag Sean to another one of those

"you won the largest prize at the show" presentations.

It was horrendous.

Remind me never to fall into that trap again, k?

It was a "90-minute talk" that turned into an ALL-DAY event.

And not a fun and exciting one.

It lacked food, drinks and comfort.

I prefer to spend my Sundays on the couch watching DVR,

opposed to in a "resort" being hassled.

Never again. Never again.

The best part was stopping at McDonalds on the way home 

(after not eating anything all day), 

ordering a happy meal and receiving a barbie tiara as my toy.

Oh, the joys in life.

It's Monday, this post lacked any real insight, but I think that's okay.

We're just getting back into the week.

And for me, it's my last week before a two week vacation.

Yay!

I'm off to watch The Following (I'm so frustrated with it! Does anyone watch??),

and to cut Sean's hair.

Apollo is hunting a bug that is flying around.

We're so busy...

TV talk.

It's no secret that I get home from work each day,
immediately change into sweatpants,
pour myself a glass of coke,
find some type of candy,
and place myself in front of the TV.
It's routine.

Sean's not in love with TV like me.
But he's grown to love, or to tolerate, much of what I watch.
And in turn, I occasionally give him the freedom to watch Bar Rescue while I blog.
Just kidding. Just kidding.

If he had his way, he'd watch shows like Family Guy, and The Walking Dead.
Any time.
But I assure him that he'll like my shows better.
He rarely does, but I try to convince him anyway.

Here's what we're currently watching:

CBS:
Two and a Half men
2 Broke Girls
The Big Bang Theory

FOX:

New Girl
Raising Hope
The Following

NBC:
Whitney

FX:
The Americans

The next three shows are not a "we" thing.
Sean can't stand them, and usually leaves the room.
But I love them.

ABC Family:

Pretty Little Liars

E!:
Kourtney and Kim take Miami

MTV:
Teen Mom 2

So, now I'm taking suggestions.
I have a two week vacation coming up.
I know :)
And that leaves me plenty of time to adopt new shows,
and catch-up.

What do you watch?

Who do YOU read?

So, the fact is: I read a lot of blogs.
But I feel like I could follow more.
I'm not the best commenter.
I wish I was better.
I just find myself as more of an introvert.
And often converse with the blogger in my head, but don't click "comment".
I'm that blogger.
It's a goal of mine to be a better commenter.
But also to find new blogs to read.

I used to only read wedding blogs.
Then I started reading newlywed blogs and then mommy blogs.
Not that I have kids, but it's like looking into the future.
I love home decorating/decor/organizing blogs.
I love lifestyle blogs, travel blogs, random blogs, and fashion blogs.

Basically, I love reading. Everything.

There's probably hundreds in my Google reader.
So here are some blogs I read... not all of them though.
And they're in no particular order, because I think they're all great.
Some are just starting out and some have thousands of followers.
Some post every day or multiple times a day and some post a few times a week.
They all post things that matter. And that's what I love.

Across the Pond

Handpicked Notions

Things to be Stroud of

Sending Postcards

Tiny bits of Nonsense

Love, life and marriage

Mackey Madness
Don't quote the Raven

So, do you read these blogs?
Who do you read that you think I should read too?
It can be your own blog... I don't mind either way.
:)

You can find me on Facebook, too.
So if your blog has a Facebook page we can like each other!
Leave a comment with your link.

How well does your spouse know you?

I've decided to link-up with Jessica for a "how well does your spouse know you" quiz.
I made a point to ask Sean these questions days ago in anticipation for this day, Valentine's Day.
Happy Valentine's Day. :)
And after each question he said "hmm, that seems like a trap".
He's a smartie.

If you've been reading along you know I've been talking a lot about our love story the past few days.
You can catch up here: part I, part II, and part III.
I'm interrupting the story because I ran out of time and my valentine wants to take me to dinner.
:)

So, enjoy.

Here are the instructions:

1. Fill out the Valentines Day Questions. You can find them here.
2. Hand over the same set of questions to your spouse. Find out his answers to the questions about you.
3. Write a post comparing both of your answers
4. Link up your blog post below!

How long have you been married? 

His: Like exact? I’m not good at math, a year and 8 months

Hers: A year and almost 7 months

Where was your first date?  

His: Official? Olive Garden

Hers: Olive Garden

Where was your first kiss? 

His: In a friend’s kitchen

Hers: At a friend's house

Who first said, "I love you"? 

His: me?

Hers: He did... while watching an episode of MTV's Room Raiders.

What were your wedding colors? 

His: Pink, and black? White?

Hers: Black and pink

What is her most commonly used phrase? 

His: That’s a tough one, "nerbit"? (that's my nickname for him)

Hers: I don't think I have a catchphrase. 

Who is her celebrity crush? 

His: Robert Pattinson

Hers: Robert Pattinson

If she was ordering drinks for both of you what would you each get? 

His: A mountain dew for me and a coke for her

Hers: A mountain dew and a coke

What is the best meal she has ever cooked you? 

His: I don’t know, fake chicken dinner (One time I bought a rotisserie chicken from the market with all the sides, changed the containers when I got home and told him I made the whole meal from scratch)

Hers: I don't generally cook

What is the worst meal she has ever cooked you? 

His: You never really cook dinner that bad. There’s something, but I can’t remember what it was
Hers: Maybe something that didn't cook all the way through, that happens often

What is the most-played song on her iPod? 

His: Anything by t. swift

Hers: Taylor Swift

What would she say is your most annoying habit? 

His: My OCD

Hers: Nothing :)

What is the last thing she does before she goes to bed? 

His: Wash your face

Hers: Wash my face and brush my teeth

If you could throw out one item of her clothing what would it be? 

His: I feel like that’s a trap. But, Uggs

Hers: Probably a "grandma sweater". (he tends to NOT like sweaters?)

What would you say is your favorite thing about her? 

His: Too many things to choose from. You’re my wife.

Hers: I'm hysterical. Obviously.

What's her go-to drink at Starbucks? 

HIs: A water?

Hers: I don't like Starbucks

What's her blog's name?

His: Jasmine and Sean

Hers: Jasmine and Sean

:) happy valentine's day.

Weekly Recap & hello February.

On the blog:

Monday: Happy Birthday to the first man I ever knew.

Tuesday: Enjoying the present.

Thursday: It's all about the money, honey.

I got a few questions on the blog and facebook regarding Thursday's post about money. 

I find that ironic since I don't necessarily consider myself good with money as much as I am cheap.

But I'm thinking about doing a post in the up-coming week answering said questions.

Should be interesting!

Also this week we said goodbye to January and welcomed February.

It's always exciting to welcome a new year but once January is over it's amazing to notice how quickly and easily we fell into that new year. It happens every time!

So in the first month of 2013 we got a facebook page and made a blogger button.

Revealed my success at last year's resolutions.

Went to dinner with family, celebrated Three Kings Day and my dad's birthday.  

Showed our home on the blog here, here, here, and here. 

Had date nights with Sean and received flowers at work.

Got really sick, almost died, and fell hard. 

I revealed facts about me and Sean launched his new band.

We also booked our first summer vacation (details to come), 

spent every Sunday night with family,

celebrated Sean's brother's birthday,

hung out with friends,

saw many, many movies,

and spent all our spare time with our favorite feline.

Happy February!

I'd make goals, but it's too cold to do anything extra.

Maybe once spring comes, I'll be more up for accomplishing things. 

:)

Enjoying the present.

On Mondays, I feel ready for the week.

On Tuesdays, I feel bitter that there are still three more days until the weekend.

On Wednesdays, I feel excited that I'm halfway there.

On Thursdays, I feel relieved that I made it thus far.

On Fridays, I feel anxious for 4PM.

So, you see how I'm feeling today?

It's Tuesday.

It's a strange thing to spend life counting down the days until the day you're looking forward to.

Whether it's for a Saturday, the first day of vacation, or the release of the Breaking Dawn DVD (March 2nd, by the way)... it would seem that I spend a lot of my time waiting. Waiting for the next thing. Looking forward to some date in the future that I've already cornered off in my mind as something great. Something worthy. Something to get me by.

As if my constant, continuous, day to day activities aren't enough.

As if I don't do much, or see much, or contribute much... each day.

Sean doesn't do that.

He takes each day as it comes,

and doesn't complain too much.

He's excited about the future,

but totally lives in the present.

He doesn't believe in being blind to the life around him.

That's why we work well together.

He reminds me that if I ignore the constant, continuous, day to day activities,

and only look forward to the weekends, the vacations, and the new Breaking Dawn DVD, 

I'm missing out on a lot.

And spending too much of my time waiting,

rather than living.

And I don't want to do that.

So here's to enjoying the rest of the week.

With a smile, and a positive feeling.

Happy Birthday to the first man I ever knew.

Today is my dad's birthday.

The man who raised me, taught me how to be a lady,

and what to expect from a man.

I could go on and on about how amazing he is to me.

How he treats me and my mom.

How he gives and gives.

How he offers us anything he feels we need,

while giving us plenty more that we definitely do not need.

He's the kind of dad that shows up at my house with food, just in case I'm hungry.

The kind that washes my car windows because he saw a streak.

The kind that invites me to lunch,

calls to chat,

takes care of our cat when we're on vacation,

shows up early,

still tucks me in when I'm not feeling well,

drives me home when I'm too tired,

and never expects anything in return.

I'm tellin' ya.

So, today I'd like to say...

to my exceptional dad.

Weekly Recap.

The week sort of got away from me.

I guess that's what happens to teachers during report writing time.

It's also been in the negatives weather wise.

It, obviously, could be a lot colder but when you wake up to see -18,

all you can think about is the number of hours it'll be until you can be back in bed again.

(12 hours for me, by the way).

Basically, I've been using my computer as a heating pad.

Putting it on my lap, closed and just enjoying the warmth.

Apollo's been doing this:

Lounging by the fireplace, that is.

And Sean is still not wearing a jacket.

What is that about?

I'll never know.

Even though we froze, we didn't starve.

Here is what we had for dinner last week:

Monday: Tortellini Soup.

I got the recipe from my cousin Brett, who got it from her sister in-law. I was a little nervous, and Sean said I went too light on most of the veggies and that it would have been a lot better if I hadn't been so conservative with the onions and bok choy. I was surprised I even brought myself to purchase it at the grocery store.

But basically, I sauteed onions, mushrooms, garlic in a pan.

Brought 2 boxes of chicken broth to a boil, then added a family sized portion of tortellinis.

Cooked them for the amount of time the package said, I think it was like 12 minutes.

Added the veggies and bok choy at the end.

A plus point is that I got to use my Le Crueset for the first time.

Tuesday: Buffalo wings and homemade french fries.

This one is pretty self-explanatory.

I'll just say we make our "own" hot sauce.

By mixing garlic, butter, Parmesan cheese, and adobo with Frank's Red Hot.

It's delicious.

Wednesday: Bacon, chicken, ranch pizza.

When I vowed to make meals at home, I never said they'd be healthy.

For this, we sauteed chicken.

Rolled out the pizza dough... you can make your own but buying it at the grocery store is much easier.

Bake the dough by itself for a little bit.

Like 7 or 8 minutes.

Then add the ranch dressing, a little goes a long way.

Add the chicken, fresh mozzarella, slices tomatoes, and crumbled up bacon.

Oh yah, cook some bacon.

It's easiest in the microwave so it doesn't make a complete mess.

Cook it all in the oven.

400 degrees, about 20 minutes... give or take.

The thicker the dough, the longer it takes.

Thursday: Chicken Parmesan.

Cover 2 breasts of chicken in breadcrumbs, bake them in the oven.

Cook some pasta.

Make your sauce.

You're done.

Easy, peasy.

And for a blogging recap:

Sunday: Our weekend.

Monday: Sean's new band: i invent.

Tuesday: Facts about me.

Wednesday: The great fall.

:)

Facts about me.

I thought I'd share some tidbits today.

Everyone's doing it, so why not?

First things first: you could obviously read my about me.

Don't want to click anything?

Totally understandable.

If you're new in these parts of blogland,

here's what you should know.

1. One time I met Oprah... at the wax museum. 

But we shared a moment. I swear.

2. I make this face when I'm confused.

Or when I'm angry that the Dublin zoo took my admission ticket...

which means I can't keep it to scrapbook.

3. My worst fear is drowning. 

I can't be in the water without some type of flotation device. 

Even though I look calm in this picture... there were probably tears at some point.

4. I don't drink alcohol. 

I make this face when I do. 

5. I force animals to be close to me. 

I can't help it. 

I just love them.

6. I love spending time with my husband. He's the best and we have so much fun together.

That's all for today.

I guess I'm just an Oprah loving, slightly confused, aqua-phobic, non-alcohol drinking, animal obsessed... 

wife, in love with her husband.