Super Indy

Maybe you haven't heard, the Super Bowl is in my city this year. It's not that big of a deal or anything, I mean really it's only been the highlight of many a news broadcast since 3 years ago when they announced we won the bid for XLVI.

 

Our entire downtown is like a giant street party. It's a blast!

 And of course, it's always fun to stumble upon a piece of artwork that I did!

As we were polishing off the night, I had the genius idea that we NEEDED to lay in the middle of Meridian Street, a la The Notebook Again, the locals will understand that it is a fun little thing to say you laid in the middle of the Meridian. It's usually one of our busiest streets

Sunday I ventured down with my parents, and things were a bit more mellow than the night before. We really wanted to zipline, but it was all sold out. Boo! We did enjoy a few drinks, wander around, and (of course) enjoy of a few slices of the best pizza in Indy - The NY Slice!

I was thankfully over my sinus infection enough to get out and about. I may be biased, but our downtown is easily the best for big events. Everything is within close proximity and super accessible.

Minus the incredibly chilly weather, it was a blast! If you're anywhere near here, and haven't made it out yet, GO! The vibe is totally different, and it is definitely a fun experience

So What Wednesday

Link up with Life After I "Dew" if you wanna dish too!

So what if I woke up this morning feeling like hell.... but envisioned 8 hours of vacation time spent on a beach, and used that as my motivation to get my sick self out of bed and go to work. Is that not ridiculous. Priorites, people, priorities!


So what if I've got atleast 7 times the legal limit of Vitamin C running through my veins right now. Ok, ok, "recommended daily allowance", whatever.



So what if I wear my Uggs on the drive to work most mornings, then change when I get to our work parking lot. I cling to that last little bit of coziness as long as I can!


So what if I wake up, make a mug of green tea to drink while I'm getting ready, make coffee to drink for the drive into work, and make a green monster for once I get to my desk. Needless to say I'm ready to pee my pants by 9am.


So what if I spent the better part of my Saturday night on the phone catching up with a west coast friend I haven't seen since last summer. Apparently we had a lot to catch up on, considering we logged well over 3 hours of phone time.


So what if I am purposely letting some bananas go brown so I can make banana bread, which I have been craving for weeks


So what if I find it eerily weird that I am going to be in the Punta Cana the exact same dates that I was there 6 years ago. (Oh yea, surprise! My first vacation of the year is booked already!)


So what if I have to go throw away the 27 tissues I went through while writing this post. Gah this head cold may just be the death of me.

Going Green

I've decided to go green. No, not green as in recycling... green as in my breakfast!

I have read on a few blogs about the Green Monster, but being the queen of doubt, I had little faith that these were GOOD and you couldn't taste the spinach. However, after many a midday headache from not eating breakfast I figured what have I got to lose, and ventured out to Wally World to pick up a blender. Afterall, if the smoothies were a bust atleast I could use it for mudslides!

I started out with a hodgepodge of ingredients I had in my fridge:

Spinach, peach greek yogurt, peach mango coconut water, and a banana. I put about 2 handfuls of spinach in the blender, added the banana on top, then the container of yogurt and then poured the coconut water on top. My hesitation was running at an all time high right about then. I threw some ice on top and set the bad boy to high.

About 2 minutes later the green monster had evolved. I stuck my finger in for a taste, searching for the slightest hint of the leafy green flavor. Much to my surprise, no luck. I took a few more tastes before pouring it into a glass. It tasted just like a peach banana mango tropical smoothie.

And now, I've made one every morning since!

Curious to see just HOW healthy it really is, I plugged all the ingredients in to an app on my phone and came up with this:

(Updated: Someone inquired about the calorie count, I'm not exactly sure though. All of those ingredients made enough for nearly 2 smoothies, with a total calorie count of 345. So somewhere around half of that per serving? It would depend on your ingredients though)

Not too shabby for a breakfast smoothie, huh?! I'm a believer now. I went green.

Have you?? I am curious to try some of the other recipes/combinations I have seen... if you have a favorite please share!

MiMO Monday

No, Holly and I haven't been wandering around in frumpy sweats, the holidays just got in the way but have no fear -- MiMO Mondays are back!!

It's no secret around here that I love my jean jackets. Yes, jacketS plural. I have atleast 4 variations of the Canadian Tuxedo in my closet. Snicker all you want, but they are an American classic!

They're one of my favorite pieces to throw on over a sundress in the summertime, but I have been trying to branch out and bring them into other seasons as well. Here was my inspiration outfit:

Source: wendyslookbook.com via Chelsea on Pinterest

And here's how I made it my own:

I loved the way it gave this simple outfit a little bit of cozy, classic cuteness!

Black Skinnies: LC Lauren Conrad (Kohls)

Striped Thermal: Old Navy

Jean Jacket: Gap (waaay old, like middle school!)

Plaid Scarf: Gift

Teal Watch: MK

Boots: Crown Vintage, from DSW

Now, I wanna see what outfit you made your own this week! Link up below and then check out Holly and everyone else's MiMOS!

Mixer & Mingle: CocoLocoVita

I am a total health nut. Want me to prove it to you? I will, right here right now with today’s Mixer & Mingle Friday.

(photo taken in Playa del Carmen)

I’ve created a tropical, absolutely delicious, ass-on-the-beach drink that can come from your own kitchen. Ready?

Turn on Bob Marley, put your sunglasses on, fill a glass with ice, squeeze a VitaCoco PeachMango pouch into it, add a shot of Absolut Mango vodka, a splash of Sprite and enjoy.

You can thank me later.(Ha leave it to me to turn a health food drink into anything but healthy!)

Rainbows and unicorns

This monkey starts her chemo today! I'm not looking forward to the next 6 months, I don't want to see her go through this.





But we must. So here goes nothin. The next step in kickin this cancers booty!

Please keep my brother & sister-in-law in your thoughts, all 3 of them will be spending most of the day at the hospital, going through treatments, blood draws and developing the "plan of attack"

So What Wednesday

Link up with Life After I "Dew" if you wanna dish too!

So what if I am channeling my inner Nicole Richie today

Skull scarfs are considered "business casual", right?! (Update: you can purchase my scarf here)





So what if I snapped this photo while hanging out in my nieces hospital room last week. I always try to look at the bright side of things (ok, so maybe it is slightly creepy)

So what if I got my w2 in the mail yesterday & proceeded to do my taxes. Waaay early! But at least I'm done, and hey - I'll get my return sooner!


So what if I have horrible anxiety the whole time I am doing my taxes. Every year. I use TurboTax, but I still feel like I am FORSURE doing something wrong and am going to end up audited and in jail


So what if I had a blind girl date last night. Can never have too many friends, right!?

 So what if one of my proudest moments this week was conquering the marbleized nail paint job. (a little messy, I know... gimme a break!)


So what if the thought of eating a banana once it's turned all yellow grosses me out. And don't even bring up brown spots. Gag. Way too sweet


So what if I just fell into a fit of giggles when my rap/r&b pandora station started playing a song from the Aladdin soundtrack. Huh!?


So what if I am a little bit (a lot of bit) bummed I had to turn down the opportunity to be in a flash mob, because I already had conflicting plans. BOO!


So what if I have stayed late every night this week at work... all I see are dollar signs in front of my eyes. We are swamped with Super Bowl and I'm taking full advantage of overtime


So what if it's reeking havoc on my mental psyche though. I got home last night and was brewing a pot of coffee before I even took my coat off. To say I'm drained is an understatement

Quick update

Apparently when your city is hosting the super bowl bar and restaurant owners KINDA want posters and banners and all that swag to hang up…. Hence why I’ve become practically nonexistent around these parts. Crazy busy work days coupled with the fun that’s been going on the past week and I just find blogging pushed to the backburner.

And for the latest update on Livy: the pathology results from the tumor came back – stage 2. Odds look good to beat this. She was released from the hospital Sunday evening and is back to her sassy little self. There are talks that her chemo will begin as soon as Friday or Monday.

Seven days

This is what the span of the past seven days has looked like in our world.

MONDAY - presurgery

(About 72 hours post diagnosis)

TUESDAY

(Early hours of recovery)

WEDNESDAY

(oxygen tube removed)  

THURSDAY

(Epidural removed, 2nd IV removed, no more morphine)

 

 

FRIDAY

(Surgery results are back!)  

 

Please keep my sweet girl in your prayers as we gear up for chemo and the next phase of days towards recovery.

Insincerity

I truly am grateful for all the thoughts & prayers that are sent our way through all of this, but can I just rant for a moment.

Is it wrong that I am almost disgusted by this message I received earlier?

You openly admit you didn't even know my sweet niece existed, you spell my brothers name wrong, and then you launch into a novel about yourself and your divorce.  I am sorry that I struggle to find the sincerity within this?

Oh, and this is a cousin of mine. Honestly lady, no I don't know anything about you nor am I really interested in learning - I am pretty sure you checked yourself out of the family when I was about 3.

A simple "heard the news, thinking about your family" would have sufficed.

Maybe I am just hypersensitive with everything, and taking it the wrong way. But weirdddd. I guess a prayer is a prayer, regardless of your apparent lack of concern for the family you say you're praying for

The surgery

Yesterday was easily one of the longest days of my life. After a weekend full of what-ifs, I went head on into Monday aka Surgery Day on little sleep and lots of anxiety.

We spent a good chunk of time playing family fued and eating ice cream, I guess you could say those were our coping mechanisms? Anything to keep our mind off the “could be’s” and “what if’s”

I won’t bore you with all the details, but somewhere around 8:45 last night the doctor came out to talk to our crowded circle of family and friends. He spoke those words we had all been waiting since noon to hear; “The surgery is complete. The chemo port is in. Everything went well- the kidney is removed, the tumor was about the size of a grapefruit, 1.4lbs…. it doesn’t appear to have spread to the liver or any other organs.” To say that a huge weight was relieved right then and there would be an understatement!

Of course, pathology still has to take their turn looking at the tumor and work with Olivia's doctors to determine their game plan but for now we will celebrate that the first hurdle has been jumped. The surgery is complete, the Kilms tumor has been removed and now we will look forward to the next battle.

I can’t say thank you enough for the outpouring of prayers and thoughts sent our way. We all really felt the love, and continue to feel it!

12:47

12:47. That’s what time it was when my phone rang Friday afternoon. I picked up figuring it was mom, calling to make plans about the wedding we were helping to set up for that evening. I immediately knew it had nothing to do with a wedding when she asked “are you busy”, the tone of her voice signaled something was wrong and a lump began to form in my throat as I waited for her to proceed.

I could tell she had been crying, and struggled to make out what she was saying. All I really understood was Olivia. Tumor. Heading to Riley Children's Hospital.

12:47pm on a Friday. That’s when I learned my 22 month old niece had cancer.

I left work and met my mom at the hospital. As soon as I rounded the corner and saw her I broke down; “Hasn’t our family had enough cancer?!” We made our way up to the CT scan waiting room, where a very melancholy toddler brightened up a bit as she saw her grammy and aunt walk through the doorway. Friday afternoon was full of testing and more testing, and waiting and more waiting.

We learned it was called a Wilms Tumor, was 11cm and had engulfed nearly her entire kidney. Surgery was inevitable, as was chemo and possibly even radiation. The plan developed that the surgery would be done that night, Friday, not even 12 hours after finding out. However it was later pushed back to Monday afternoon (today) because they wanted to make sure multiple surgeons were on call. Everyone was sent home for the weekend, faced with more waiting. And questioning. And crying. 

The question of the weekend: “How did they find out??” The answer: Olivia had been constipated, they went to their normal doctor who scheduled an xray Friday morning to take a better look at things, and lo and behold the tumor was discovered.

I am thankful Olivia is too young to really understand what’s going on, and also that she has really had no symptoms which means no pain. I am thankful my brother and sister-in-law are so strong and calm about all of this. I am thankful she is at one of the best children’s hospitals in the Midwest, and I’m thankful for the outpouring of love and prayers that have been offered up from anyone and everyone.

It absolutely sucks that she has to go through this. There’s no better way to put it. Next month, she will turn 2 and will have gone through things that hopefully no one you know will ever have to go through. It’s going to be a long road ahead of us but I am confident she will get through this, we will get through this. It’s in her blood, she’s a fighter just like the rest of the family.

Miss Chelsea's Rules of Dating

You know what's SUPER fun? Dating. (no really, I do think it's fun. I'm a serial dater of sorts.) But when did chivalry die? Can we go back to those days?! What a ridiculous mess of nonsense navigating singledom is. I have compiled my most thought-out rules of dating, I would appreciate it if they became the standards. ;)


#1 Don't try to make plans with me the night before. You all know the rule - ask by Wednesday for a weekend date. Just because I'm single doesn't mean I don't have a life. And even if I didn't, I still wouldn't accept because no one wants to look desperate

#2 Don't ask me the day of "so, what do you wanna do?" / "where you wanna eat" / some variation of the two. You invited me on a date. PLAN it. If you're unsure, narrow it down to 2 options and present them to me.

#3 I don't really want to hang out with your friends/ your grandma/ your entire marching band. I want to get to know you. Not meet 17 of your closest accomplices

#4 Offer to pick me up. I'll most likely turn it down, as I'm not really cool with potential psycho killers knowing my address, but if you don't offer it's minus 10pts mentally noted.

#5 You will know by my outfit how much I was looking forward to the date.  If I look like I half-assed it, then you should probably take it personally. Guess you should have upped the excitement level

#6 Please don't show up with flowers. Or a gift of any sort. That just makes it awkward for all parties involved. Unless it's my birthday, then there better at least be a card.

#7 Open my door. For godsakes, why are guys so rude nowadays.

#8 If I am meeting you somewhere, I will pull the fashionably late card. You better be there before me, no exceptions

#9 Unless you are saving baby pandas from a forest fire, pushing our date back by 45 minutes is not ok.

#10 Order your drink first. I like to follow suit. If you make me order first I'll go non-alcoholic, and then if you get a drink I will feel bad adding a $8 cocktail on top of a $4 iced tea. Nobody wants to be the Sober Sally!

#11 Don't you dare sit on your phone the whole time. It's rude. To anyone; not necessarily just a date. And even if you are engaging me, just stop. no I don't want to sit and watch all the 'SO FUNNY' youtube videos your friend sent you. Learn to carry on a conversation.

#12 Have a back-up plan. If the first portion of the date goes well, suggest somewhere else to continue it on. Don't do the awkward, sit there and say 'now what should we do??'

#13 You aren't going to get a kiss. No matter what. It's a first date and it will be treated as such. If I see potential you will get your reward after date 2 or 3 maybe.

#14 I appreciate a follow-up text within 20-30 minutes of us parting ways.It will say that you had fun, and you are glad I joined you. It's called pleasantries. Learn them.

#15 If I don't think there's any potential future, I'll tell you. I don't really like wasting my time... or playing games for that matter. I expect you to do the same.


So, I wanna know.... what dating rules would you add to the list??
 Do I expect too much? Should I go ahead and accept my future of 17 cats and a knitting basket.

El Cheapo and DIY wall decor

I actually did a bit of decorating this past week, believe it or not! Maybe my anti-house-project attitude is finally starting to wear off? Not long ago, I was wondering through Anthropologie & picked up this packet of gift wrap. With absolutely no intent of wrapping any gifts with it (does that sound grinch-ish or what?!)
I had bigger plans.

 A little bit of patience, a lot of ModPodge and a set of gold-gilded hands later, I had a pretty cute little piece of art to adorn my bedroom wall!

Coupled with a $6 flower painting I picked up from the antique mall, a navy-hued crayon canvas I made over the summer and a oil-pastels-didn't-work-for-my-hair-so-I-actually-made-art-with-them piece (inspired by this)...

I now have quite possibly the cheapest bundle of artwork EVER hanging in my bedroom. I have plans to add a few more pieces to it too. But that may have to wait, because I am planning a jumbo bedroom overhaul here soon. I can't wait to share THAT, at a later date!