On Sunday I was thinking about the Big Three house projects that Jason & I have. I need to keep my eyes on the prize(s) and save money.

And then yesterday I went shopping.

My day started with a trip to my favorite salon, Sanctuary SalonSpa in downtown Minneapolis. I just needed an overall trim (short haircuts grow too fast) and also decided to get bangs. My stylist, Beth, decided to get the curling iron out while I was there. I always enjoy having fun hair for a day! (I am much too lazy to style my hair everyday.)

While I was there, I also decided to redeem some birthday certificates I had from Aveda’s Pure Privilege program. I got a bottle of custom perfume, a few trial-size bottles of their hand relief lotion, and after purchasing two “full-size” items, I got to spin a prize wheel — and won a free eyebrow wax! So, not only did this save me a trip to the Aveda store in Edina, I also got a few freebies! Best salon trip ever. I love it there.

After all of that girliness, I picked up my friend, Bertine, and we went to her nearby quilting store, Glad Creations, for their New Year’s Day sale and yearly coupon book.

A new hobby has been born, my friends. I picked up a few fat quarters for the future and some fabric with which to make some throw pillows for my living room — basic sewing, but will be useful in getting to know my antique new-to-me sewing machine and make sure its working correctly before I truly commit to quilt-making. (I have a pattern I want to make! And I’m accumulating more as I continue to read more and more quilting blogs…)

I also visited Jo-Ann Fabrics for a rotary cutting kit and scored big with sales there, too. It was a good day for shopping! Now I’m dying to get to work on some new crafting projects, but I don’t think I’ll be able to until next week. Major bummer, but something to look forward to!

I don’t have any spectacular plans for ringing in the new year tonight – a quiet Caturday night with my felines will do just fine after all of the driving I did for Christmas last weekend.

Have a safe and happy New Year’s Eve! I’m wishing the best for all of us in 2012.

iPhone for Christmas? I wanna see how the WordPress app performs… Between the regular camera app, Hipstamatic, and the Vintage Camera app, I already have 150 photos to share. (Yikes!)

Hannie tried on Pop-pop’s glasses.

Then Hannie and I took a photo together (while I tried on Aunt Debbie’s glasses). SMILE!!

Jason and I stopped in Blue Earth, Minnesota, to meet the Jolly Green Giant.

LOL, egg nog.

This afternoon I had a few dozen Thrushes (I think) hanging around outside my office window. Kinda creepy.

So many more photos to share! Why do I take so many?

In theory, having a WordPress app will help me to update more often but I think I’d rather have my photos linked from Flickr instead of uploaded to my blog’s media center. I’m torn. Any iPhone bloggers out there with helpful tips?

how does this song make you feel? tonight it makes me feel a little blue, though i still like it a lot.

i heard it on my way home tonight, after attending my company’s holiday party. i’ve only been working there for a little over a month, so i don’t know many people beyond my immediate team. unfortunately being an introvert got the best of me tonight — trying to socialize while there’s a loud blues band playing? not happening. i just can’t stand trying to yell conversation at people.

i guess i’ll just have to keep trying. a little bit at a time.

here is my smile from last january:

here is my smile from last night:

do you see the difference?! no, probably not. but i do! i have a brand new tooth where, for the last nine or ten months, i’ve had no tooth!

my dentist gave it to me a week and a half ago, a day after my 30^th birthday. it still feels a little weird, but i’m getting used to it. mostly it feels like i have a piece of gum stuck to my teeth or something.

the appointment was quick and painless. my dentist installed my custom abutment (scary photo of my mouth, fyi) and then had to take an x-ray — which is when i took photos of my new crown sitting on the tray next to me, and scary close-up photos of my mouth and face.

then, when it was confirmed that all was sitting okay inside my jaw, they cemented the crown over the abutment. then they handed me a warranty card for the whole thing.

i am still sort of waiting for it to fall off. i’ve only tried chewing gum once since, and it felt the most weird of anything else that i’ve tried eating since i got the tooth. i’m still avoiding apples and other harder fruits and vegetables (though, honestly, i never really went out of my way to eat them before i had a new tooth, either).

i’m planning to get my second (and final) tooth implant (the other corner of my smile) next year, though i still need to contact my insurance rep and all of that adult kinda stuff.

but! thanksgiving. i’m giving thanks for my dentist, oral surgeon, and new tooth. it will be so much more fun to eat the holiday dinner because of them. jason and i are hosting some friends on saturday. i’m very much considering turning into a food blog for the next few days, by the way. i’m so excited to make a bunch of new-to-me recipes!