Basement or Yoga Studio?

While it's a huge commitment, there are some definite perks to owning a home. Today's Perk-of-the-Day is having a basement. Even though it is unfinished, it is good for much more than just storage. I present exhibit A:

Yes, it does look like a simple concrete room with some funky space-suit-like insulation on the walls, but with a little creativity (and a thrifty attitude), we have created a yoga studio in our own home!

We initiated this project last month, but were having trouble getting the VCR/TV to work.  Well, Duffy figured it out last night and got everything working. So we did some yoga. It was hilarious! Let's just say we have a long way to go in the flexibility arena, especially compared to Miss Gumby who teaching us in the video. Overall, a great time!

2 Yoga Mats from TJMaxx - $15 each

2 Instructional Yoga Workout DVDs also from TJMaxx- $12 each

Cooler/TV Stand - wedding gift

Hand-me-down TV - free

Leftover DVD player from college- $10 (I factored in depreciation over 3 years)

You too, can have your own in-home yoga studio for about 30 bucks!

Scroll to the bottom of the page for new blog :)

OK - I just posted a blog about Harper. I started it a few months ago, and left it in my drafts folder until tonight. I finished it tonight and posted it, but it went to the bottom of my blog. I guess the blogs are organized by start date instead of post date. Anyway - check it out (dated June 7). scroll down!

Mom and Lindsey Visit Hebron

Last month my mom and my sister drove through and spent a night at our house!  Lindsey had already driven through and spent the night once (about 6 mos. earlier when she moved east).  This time, we got to have my mom, too! (Lindsey was moving west this time, and my mom was her driving buddy).  We had some kind of fritata with sausage and potatoes for our Sunday dinner, and spent the rest of the night telling stories, sharing memories, playing with Harper and laughing!  It was great to have you both in town!

Birthdays= fun, friends, cake!

A few weeks ago some of our friends here in Cincy were celebrating birthdays. We were planning a night of fun - pizza and putt putt. At the last minute I decided to make a cake (how can you celebrate birthdays without a cake? - you just can't). We only had white cake mix and white frosting which is too boring for a birthday (and we all know I don't make cakes from scratch). Anyway, on the back of the Betty Crocker box there was this adorable picture- and I decided to go for it.

Well, I didn't have much time. I also didn't have a cupcake tin (or liners), enough frosting, or the candy dots that make it cute. So I sent Duffy to the store while I mixed up the batter and a few of the colors for frosting (yes, he could have just gotten a different cake mix or some chocolate frosting). An hour later I was frosting my work of art at my friends' apartment. It looked almost as good as Betty Crocker's...
(That's Duffy and Dustin giving it the thumbs up.) There is no way you can make real cupcakes and real frosting stand as straight as Betty's. Oh well, the good news is it tasted great (hard to mess up a boxed cake mix), even if it was a bit tipsy.

Later we played putt-putt, go carts, and arcade games at a nearby fun center. Happy Birthday Tiona and Brock!

Keep the Faith!

Last night Duffy took me to the Padres game for FHE! They are in town to play the Reds, and last night was the first game of the series. It was a pretty exciting game - especially in the last inning- when the Padres came from behind to win 6-4! Trevor Hoffman came in to relieve in the the ninth. (Sad to say, he's one of the few players I actually remember from the days we used to go to Padres games in SD).

It was a great night, if not somewhat hot -- okay, it was very hot! But a great night none the less. I got to cheer for my Padres (not too loud though, because I hate those obnoxious fans that come to cheer for the visiting team). And, I also got to cheer for (my?) Reds, but only when they did something really good (which was bad for the Padres) so I would at least be able to cheer for something.

It definitely took the sting off of not being at the John Mayer concert with half of my family in Utah. Also, I bought another John Mayer cd today, which also helped with the sting.

Go Pads!

Am I Really an Advertising Nerd?

#1 - At my job (an advertising/marketing/design firm), I work on email marketing trends and best practices (among other things).  I received an email from Crate & Barrel (I now actually read many of the emails I get from large retailers to see what their strategies are).  I was so impressed with the opt-in copy that I wanted to click through and opt-in again. I even posted it at work so everyone else could see how clever it was. You couldn't read the fine print if I put a screen shot of the email, but the opt-in message says, 

"Did someone forward you this message? Skip the grapevine. Opt in 

to receive Crate and Barrel email. Click here to hear it first."

This may not sound all that amazing to you, but, believe me -- this is the most creative opt-in message I have ever seen, and I've been paying attention.

#2 - Last week for work I had to go to a client's office to sit in on some interviews.  Everyone that came in had these neat-o notebooks (I take a lot of notes, and I'm really into cool paper, stationery, and notebooks/journals).  So today I did some digging and found the maker of these "Black n' Reds." After exploring the website, I was utterly impressed. Not only are the notebooks they make really cool, but they actually only make and only sell notebooks. It was refreshing to see a company that is so focused. These days it's practically impossible to find a company that isn't trying to be everything to everyone. This brand knows its niche!

#3 - Tonight I had the TV on (Duffy is traveling for work and it's just too quiet without him - plus, game 6 is on!) while I was taking care of some stuff on the internet (talk about textbook media consumption).  I saw a commercial for Jenny Craig on tv (the one with Queen Latifa in a boxing gym). Right when the commercial ended, I clicked thru my email and the new page had a Jenny Craig banner ad featuring Queen Latifa. I don't know if this has ever happened to anyone before in the history of the world, but to me, it was amazing! A media planner's dream come true.  When planning advertising campaigns the ideal is to reach the same audience in many different media to create a memorable message.  Call me a skeptic, but I never thought it could ever work as well as it did tonight.  (I'm still a skeptic - I don't think it will ever happen again)

After #3 and the ensuing thoughts, I had to pause and ask myself, "Am I really an advertising nerd?" 

Yes, yes you are.

It's a bird... It's a plane... No, it's Tessa's blog???

Yes, after months of saying I would start a blog, I am actually posting my first entry.  I've been a little anxious (not to be mistaken for eager) about my first post.  I felt like it needed to be a perfectly witty and well-written introduction about me.  I have since realized that if I did write a wonderful "first post," each post to follow would just be a let down.  Hence, my first post will be relatively boring and about not much of anything really at all.  also full of run-ons and fragments, and poor grammar.  That way, the posts will only get better! 

I'm predicting that this blog will deal mostly with my life (currently located just outside of Cincinnati in Northern Kentucky).  So I will start painting the canvas of my life with a picture of our home.  We have lived in it for exactly 6 months. 

Harper... our puppy!!!

So I've been postponing posting a blog about Harper because I was slightly afraid that I would snowball into that person who doesn't have kids and blogs about her dog like it's her first born. Anyway, I think I have a little more self control than that (and obviously I'm not going to start blogging daily -or even weekly- any time soon), so I've decided to share Harper with the world (at least for today).

We got Harper (our 9 month old golden retriever) last March. We had a snowstorm the weekend we got him, which meant lots of playtime outside in the snow. He LOVED playing in the snow, and we got to introduce him to our neighborhood, which he also loved.

When we got Harper we were prepared for him with everything from doggy bowls, blankets, bones and chew toys, puppy books, a kennel, and even an invisible fence (the safest way to contain man's best friend). See how Harper matches the sign?

After experiencing all of the new and exciting things that Hebron Gardens has to offer on a snowy day, he was zonked! And this is when we knew, Harper loves to sleep (a lot like me!).

He has done so much growing in his first 9 months (and we just had to take pictures to document it, right?). I will share more with the world soon! - Here is a preview of how big he's gotten... I told you he loves to sleep!