September 13, 2013 by Stephanie

Friday Filter- TV Review “The Office”

How do you even start reviewing one of the most popular shows in history?

I am going to go ahead and try reviewing the “The Office.”

This is my favorite Jim prank.

Tom and I just finished the final season this last weekend. We have diligently watched each season. We got behind the last two years because of Tom joining the Army. While he was at basic and deployment our favorite show went on the shelf until his return.

And now we have seen them all!

The Office ran from 2005 until 2013. It is based off the British version, just with an American twist.

It was a show about regional office of a paper company. The entire series was based on the fact that there was a documentary crew that followed the employees around. They just filmed real life.

It showed a 9-5 job and how relationships grow or don’t grow over time in the workspace. It displayed the quirkiness of real people and how they get through each day at jobs they don’t necessarily like. Except Dwight, he loves paper.

It is one of the few shows that cares about the fans, and they ended the show perfectly. You know how you watch season finales and there isn’t any clarity or they leave loose ends? Or you just hate that you spent all this time watching a show for an awful ending…ah hem Lost? Well The Office wrapped everything up nicely so there wasn’t any question where the story lines were going. It was a sweet ending to a marvelous show.

I will admit that I did not watch this show from it’s beginning. I came in several years later. I had seen bits and pieces, and thought it was dull and not my kind of humor. For years, I hated when Tom said, “That’s what she said.”

Tom and met in 2007 after the show had been on the air for a couple years. At that time, I was still against watching it and put my foot down in protest for a hot second. But, Tom is pretty persistent for those of you who haven’t met him. Plus you know when you first start dating someone, and you are willing to try new things that interest that person? Well that was me. He loved the show and eventually convinced me to watch from the beginning.

After the first season, I was hooked.

When you watch consecutively, you fall in love with the characters and are invested. You want to know when Jim and Pam will get together, which they drag you along for several seasons. You want to find out about Dwight and Angela’s secret love affair. You want to know if Dwight ever graduates from being the Assistant to the Regional Manager.

The show is super funny. I don’t know what I was thinking before…denial I guess. Let’s be honest, I was probably being too uptight about it. The good news is I obviously came around.

Jim’s pranks are my favorite. He doesn’t really work; he just tries to find ways to mess with Dwight. He was so creative! Tom’s favorites are the jello calculator and when Jim bought hundreds of feet of red wire and strung it around the office and surrounding areas.

This show meant a lot to us and our relationship. This show really helped us through our long distance while at Clemson and Iowa State. We would wait to watch it together when we were reunited for weekends. We would hole ourselves up and watch hours of it at a time, which is really the best way to watch any series. And each year before a new season would come out, we would re-watch the entire series.

It’s hard to explain the greatness that is The Office. They really did a wonderful job casting. I look at people they auditioned, and I just can’t picture anyone but those picked. Wonderful compilation of people.

The only season I wasn’t fond of was season 8, and mostly because we hated Nellie and Robert California. I think they could have done better. But maybe they were just setting us up for the end and to be pleasantly surprised.

I cried during the last three episodes. The last episode of the series Tom and I were both crying. I was bawling really.

I just felt so connected. When you are with a series this long, it’s like you live in this world. These characters become a part of your life, and they are your friends. I had to say goodbye forever to these characters. There is not an episode of this show that I haven’t seen. That was a hard pill to swallow to know that I wouldn’t see them anymore.

This is why I love T.V. I love feeling all these emotions and being connected to the story. (And in case you were worried, I know that I am really not friends with these people.)

This is our favorite show as a couple by far. It is one that we will watch again all the way through, maybe every year. Yep we love it that much. It’s like getting a hug from an old friend to watch this show; a friend that you like hugging, mind you. And that says a lot since I generally detest hugs…

If you haven’t given this show a chance, I promise watch from the beginning and give it a chance. I am so glad that I did!

Friday Filters offer a review that are my own opinions. I was not contacted by anyone associated with this work or compensated for my review. My review has not been influenced by anything other than my love for entertainment and art.

Come back on Sunday for “Autumn on My Mind.” Sunday’s episode is about fall food and sharing recipes. You can see the full schedule here.

Have a great weekend!

September 12, 2013 by Stephanie

Why I Love Fall Link Up

Today is the first day for Autumn on My Mind!

We have a pretty easy prompt for today!

“What I Love About Fall”

Link up with us to describe what you are excited about this autumn. We want to hear what you love about the fall season. That could be everything pumpkin flavored, the scarves galore or how the leaves get crunchy. Tell us what you “fall” for!

We have a few simple rules for this link up.

Rules of the Link-up:

1. Do one entry or all! It’s up to you!

2. Add your entry’s link below, and be sure to put the button in your post!

3. If you do link up, check out a couple fellow bloggers to see something new.

4. Your hosts (Elizabeth and Stephanie) would love a following on Bloglovin, but it is not required! We are just glad you stopped by for “Autumn on My Mind!”

I always think of this song when I think of fall. Plus it was one of my favorite marching shows I ever did because the saxophone part is pretty swell and just so upbeat and fun.

Here is why I love fall.

1. The colors-I love the variety of hues you see. I love driving through the country and seeing the skyline just colors every day. I am really excited for my drive to work this fall since the trees are huge and glorious here.

2. Marching band. What can I say? I am a band geek at heart. I love cheering on my teams! I love hearing them practice in the morning on my way to work. Oh the memories…

And nothing says fall like wool uniforms.

I would try to learn the cheers too at every game. If I did any reality show, it would be like “MTV Made” where they make me a cheerleader/pommie. No lie…

3. School starts. Even though I am not in classes, I love the excitement of school starting and getting to learn new things. So many great things have happened at the beginning of the school year. I still feel the need to buy crayons and a Lisa Frank trapper keeper each year.

4. The fruit picking options: blueberries, blackberries, apples… I just love getting out there and getting my hands dirty!

5. Crunchy leaves. I will go out of my way to step on crunchy leaves.

6. Football. It probably started from watching the Chiefs every Sunday with my dad growing up. Then have my Friday nights, [then Saturdays] filled because of marching and having to pay attention and learn the game because of pep band. The infatuation for the game blossomed, and I love watching my teams each week. (Tom doesn’t so much appreciate the yelling and cheering that occurs, but oh well!) And thanks to my time at Clemson, I also was exposed to the best tailgating experience. Really no where can compare to the “Most Exciting 25 Seconds in Football.”

There really is something in those hills.

Part of my grad cohort after a Tiger game.

We tailgated before, and after, pretty much every game guaranteed.

I am really bummed that I will not be making it to either Central or Clemson to watch a game this year.

This was my first tailgate at Central since I was always in the band. And it only came 5 years after I graduated! Go Mules!

7. My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. It is the perfect holiday focused on family and service, without having to worry about gift giving. And really it is all about the food…Love me some cranberry salad, marshmallow yams, and stuffing with noodles.

8. Hoodies. Fall has the best weather for hoodies. If I could, I would live in hoodies. I own a hoodie for every school I work at, plus several from Worlds of Fun, my fraternity, and some just because. I have a giant stack of them in the closet. They are just so comfy. I do need to get one for Austin Peay though…

9. TV. shows return from the summer hiatus. I am a TV junkie, and I love fall premieres. One of my task list items this weekend is to set up the DVR for all my shows! Cannot wait to have some closure from all those season ending cliff hangers.

10. The weather isn’t awful. My husband is hot blooded so this weather is perfect for him, which means that he is much more likely to enjoy the outings that I put him through. Which then means, that I enjoy them more too! Yes outdoor date ideas! It’s also not just events for dates, but fun times with friends and family at things such as corn mazes and pumpkin patches. There is just so much fun stuff to do!

We went through a Corn Maze, and of course they had other fun stuff to play around with.

My family last year at a pumpkin festival. We were only missing Tom who was having a very different kind of fall in Afghanistan. Look at the Missouri Hills behind us! Glorious!

Tom said that he loves this season because all of his favorite hunting seasons are now. He said his mind always goes to a deer stand when he thinks of fall. He is trying to convince me right now that he needs a new bow….

So we all have our reasons for loving the season. Link up and show us your reasons!

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I am having trouble with my links today. Of course it worked when I did the test site, but not when it needs to go live. I am not sure why sometimes they show, and sometimes they don’t. Anyway, if you don’t see the graphic for the link, you can either click the first link shown above, and it will take you to a separate page, or you can go to Elizabeth’s page by clicking the image below.

Check out my collaboration partner!

https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/u/0/?ui=2&ik=799a29d528&view=att&th=140fbefbf325f363&attid=0.1&disp=inline&realattid=f_hlbsjpcs0&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P_ShA-cx8FtQAlIq0Jr2U9k&sadet=1378950264721&sads=4ngo0ZMBW2Z5Jr4QBlljsGUAsAw&sadssc=1

September 10, 2013 by Stephanie

And the Birds Sing

It’s been awhile since Tyrone has graced the blog…

Such a great song! I am still debating on making it to one of his shows on his fall tour. Money and travel really do throw rocks in planning for funtivities. If you have him in your area, you really should try to go!

Anywho…

Recently, Tom and I had a painting date night. There is a really sweet little shop that hosts painting lessons a few times each week. The women who run the place, are adorable and definitely made the night super fun.

As with most social painting places, they provided the paint equipment and the canvas to take home. They do one design so you have to pick a night that you like what’s on the menu. You are able to change the colors and little details, but the underlying subject is the same.

Tom signed his with the Rakkasan symbol in the corner, and he ended up taking it to work for the office they all congregate in. He has even recruited several other guys to go with us the next time. Awesome right?

It was a fun night, and we have planned to do it every couple months for fun.

The rest of my post will be a plea to help someone I know further his education.

Dan is a student I worked with at Iowa State. He has entered the Dr. Pepper Tuition Giveaway for his grad school endeavors. He is a super talented person, and I am glad I had the pleasure of working with him. He was intentional with his conversations and made sure everyone he spent time with knew that he was present and they were his main priority. I was always amazed at his tenderness and capability of serving others. He is going to be great at his profession of choice!

This was a conference trip we went on together for housing. (I am the one in the yellow cardigan in the right hand corner.) Shout out to the Cyclones this week against Iowa. Let’s go Iowa State!

In order to reach his goals without the financial headache, he needs help in this contest! If you are ever so kind, it just takes a second to vote! Just click on the link and hit the thumbs up. Once it is circled in green, you have voted!

http://www.drpeppertuition.com/profile/1483130943

Again, he is a great human being who needs a little help! Thanks a million friends!

September 8, 2013 by Stephanie

Autumn on My Mind

I am so excited to announce a new partnership for the blog! Our very first link up!

I have known Elizabeth for a little while now. We have a lot of things in common beyond both of us being married to Army men. Fun fact, our hubs were both at basic at the same time just different units. So we have been Army wives about the same time. We have gotten to know each other through our blogs, so when she offered a free sponsorship on her blog, I happily put my hand up to be selected. And who knew that we would start something so exciting? We brainstormed for a little bit before we came up with the idea of collaborating on a link up about fall and how amazing of a season it is.

Hey there Army Crafter readers! I’m Elizabeth and you can find me over at Army Ever After where I blog about life, love, and our Hawaiian adventures. I really enjoy reading Stephanie’s blog and have secretly “blog-stalked” her for months now so I am over-the-moon excited to team up with her on this linkup. Stephanie and I created this linkup to jump start and record all of our fun fall memories and we’d love for you to join in!

So here we are introducing Autumn on My Mind!

We will be doing two link ups each week on Sundays and Thursdays. We have already set the schedule of topics for each day to hopefully help with busy schedules and also stir some excitement for what I believe to be the greatest season. We hope that you join us on this new adventure for the next month! Check back on Thursday for our first link up on what you love about this season!

We don’t have many, hardly any, rules for this link up. We would love for you to come back for each post and link up your entries! We are both crazy about fall (the football, the leaves, the scarves, the food, etc), and are just excited about seeing more of this awesome season through your eyes. Hope to see you around this fall!

The line-up…

Thursday, September 12^th: “What I Love About Fall”

Link up with us to describe what you are excited about this autumn. We want to hear what you love about the fall season. That could be everything pumpkin flavored, the scarves galore or how the leaves get crunchy. Tell us what you “fall” for!

Sunday, September 15^th: “A Fall Food Must”

Do you have a favorite food that you associate with fall? This is the time to highlight those yummy fall goodies!

Thursday, September 19^th: “An Autumn Creation”

With the changing colors and impending holidays, do you have some inspiration to make something? Link up here to release some creative juices and share some autumn inspiration and craftiness.

Sunday, September 22: “Autumn Activities Outside”

There are so many outside activities that are associated with this time of the year. We have hay rides, pumpkin patches, apple picking and so much more. What are activities that you are doing this year in your neck of the woods? Or what is your favorite fall outside funtivities?

Thursday, September 26^th: “Fall Fashion Trends”

Do you have go to styles that you wear only during fall months? Share your favorite styles and help inspire all of us to be more creative with our fall attire and what we have in our closets.

Sunday, September 29^th: “A Date With Autumn”

What would be the perfect date night you can only do in fall in your area? Are there go to places for couples?

Thursday, October 3^rd: “A Fall Food Must”

We love fall foods! Let’s expand our recipe books by sharing go to foods that we have at fall get-togethers tailgates!

Sunday, October 6^th: “Autumn Activities Outside”

With the ever changing scenery, it is hard not to want to spend time outside admiring nature. What are you up to outside? Do you have a fun fall activity to share?

Thursday, October 10^th: “An Autumn Creation”

What are you inspired to make this time of year? Are you getting gifts ready? Are holiday decorations coming out? Show us your autumn creations!

Sunday, October 13^th: “Autumn on My Mind Collage”

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This is a link up to show in photos what you love about the season. We would love to see what fall looks like in your community! So take out that camera!

So there you have it. Autumn on My Mind will commence on Thursday! Hope to see you back for the first link-up!

September 7, 2013 by Stephanie

I’m a Little Teacup

One of my favorite things is perusing thrift stores. My mom used to take my brother and I all the time as a kid, and it was always fun to see what treasures we could find. And usually I could find an elephant somewhere to add to my massive figurine collection.

I still love going even if I have no plan in mind of purchasing anything.

And lucky for me, there are scads of awesome thrift stores here in Clarksville. It makes sense though if you think about it with it being a college and military town, there are always people moving around and downsizing before loading up those moving trucks. This means that there are great finds everywhere.

And come to find out there is a thrift store on base. Tom and I had been driving past it for months, but we just realized that this random big white building next to the PX is a thrift store. So we went a couple weeks ago on our tour de thrift store Saturday.

I actually did have a project in mind. My partner, Lesle, in the Carabox exchange, loves tea, so I thought it would be cute to make something out of tea cups. I got this idea from my sister-in-law who made these last year. Thanks Em!

And apparently tea sets/china does not make the cut for moving lists. There were hundreds of tea cups at every store we went to. I got this cup and saucer for a couple dollars.

It’s too bad I didn’t know about this last year since I know several people who were searching all over for tea cups for party decorations.

This project is so simple, just super glue and some time.

Just glue the teacup to the saucer. Let it sit for the recommended time.

Then you have a sweet little jewerly holder/coin holder/candle holder/etc. Super easy, yet effective.

It’s too bad that I am not fond of tea, because I think tea sets are adorably sweet. And tea parties are super fun, and make you feel like you are a lot more sophisticated than you actually are. (Thanks Katy for hosting a beautiful one back in Iowa! You really are that sophisticated though!)

I also want to say thanks to the ladies who nominated me for the Liebster Blog Award over the past few weeks!

Elizabeth, Amanda, and Lauren, I really appreciate the shout out, and I love all of your blogs dearly! I am so glad to share this with you all!

I hope you all have a great weekend. I have a great surprise starting tomorrow so I hope you come back and visit!

For now I must finish watching my Clemson Tigers! CLEM in Cadence Count!