Pages

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Just call me a traveling gypsy...

So here's a short recap of my geographical life... i was born in Seoul, South Korea and came to the US when i was a wee 4 months old (adopted, hence im a twinkie - white on the inside, yellow on the outside). Lived in South Orange, NJ (near Newark) til i was 5 and then we moved to a little snobby town in Central Jersey called Manalapan (the rentals still live there).



I pretty much lived at home til the age of 24 when i moved to North Jersey for what i thought was love... and "better career opportunities"... I lived in Hackensack in my very own big girl adult apartment for a year and when my lease was up, moved to my boyfriend's parents house (don't. ask. They had a 6 bedroom house and he was the only one living at home.) So i had my own room, bathroom, the works. However, after 6 months of living there I was offered my old job back (thank you Jesus, you saved me from the devil of a mother-in-law), you know the one i had originally left to "further my career"... So, i made a deal with the devil (boss devil, not to be confused with former MIL devil), and we moved to Roselle Park, NJ. The boyfriend at the time worked in northern NJ and i was down in central/western NJ so we had equal commute times. We stayed there for a year and then the fiance (yup that happened) bought the upstairs condo to where we were living. Correction, his SISTER bought that shit and i didn't see a dime when those a-holes sold it, yet i paid the ENTIRE mortgage the ENTIRE time we lived there. Yes, i'm still bitter. deal with it. :P   Anyway, so i packed up all my shit and moved exactly one flight UP (you think this is easy but still a pretty big pain in the butkis).

this is how long the flight of stairs seemed!

After nearly 2 years of living "upstairs" and with my now husband's grand plans of me "us" buying a house closer to his failing business, him and his sister we decided to sell the condo and shack up with my parents for a few months til the house buying was complete and my 401K was empty.

You know what happens next right? None of these grand plans work out and i find myself divorced, 30, and living with my parents (god, which is the worst of all these??? its really a toss up! kidding mom & dad!) Yup, i'd say this was probably not a high point in my life, but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger supplemented by some good friends named Jack, Johnny and Jose... RIGHT??? So i picked up the pieces, paid for the divorce lawyer to have a pool put in and buy a mercedes, and got myself my very own outrageously overpriced but dog friendly apartment. I stayed there for 2 years til i came to my senses and decided that pissing all my hard earned money away for a 2 bedroom apartment where the second bedroom was essentially a storage room was seriously crazy.

My apartment complex... really nice, really pricey!


I decided room mates were the best way i could improve my financial situation and put me in a position where i could finally pay off the $60,000+ wedding the ex-husband demanded we have all for NOTHING because he cared more about impressing his friends and family than making our marriage actually work. Which brings me to where i am today. With a lease that's up in 90 days and a finally wonderful boyfriend that wants nothing more for me to move in with him. I mean, let's face it people. i basically live with him 5 of the 7 days a week now... so moving in is the logical choice (which will be followed by eloping in vegas marriage and looking like a fat cow for 9 months babies).

However, that means that i actually have to move.

AGAIN.

for the 8th time. in SEVEN years.

Le sigh.

Hence, i am a gypsy. And probably on some sort of government list for moving so many times that they think i'm some sort of terrorist or something. sweet.  So tell me, do you move as often as me? Do you find yourself to be a pack rat or a man/woman of few possessions? Do you enjoy living in different places? For me personally, i'm hoping after this move, i only have 2 more moves left in life. The next will be to a permanent home where i can raise a family and after that... the grave. hahahahaha. surprised you with that one huh?


Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Meet and Greet!


    Hi, my name is Shay (hi shay) and i'm a blogger... i tried to start a few blogs here and there over the years but fully committed to writing this past year (new years resolution). i pretty much just started it for myself as a creative outlet, to help me to remember things i wanted to accomplish, fashion trends i liked and recipes i wanted to try out. Since then, its turned into much more than i ever thought it would be and i love all the new bloggy friends i am making along the way!

    I named my blog Sweet Silver Linings after a song by Kate Voegle...
    The words of the song really reflected how i felt my life was at the time and even though life isn't always a smooth ride, i like to think that my overall outlook is optimistic and i can always find the silver lining to every cloud that passes my way.




    Here's a link to my FIRST ever post... in the beginning, it was kind of weird since i wasn't sure of who (if anyone was even reading my blog). I had sent my blog link to a select few people (no family) and decided that I would just write for me...



    Some of my favorite posts have been about my pups, who are a huge part of my life. I got Scooter 6 years ago, when i was engaged and starting a new chapter in my life. We got Rio a year later as a buddy so Scooter wouldn't be lonely. Then life takes us in directions that are unexpected and after a lot of heartache, i found myself once again single - divorced this time and starting over. Throughout all of life's ups and downs, these guys have been there for me... with their understanding eyes, their playful smiles - never judging me, always loving me. The loyalty of a pet is like nothing else, and I love that CMae created these link ups to bring us animal lovers together. Here are a few of my Tail Wagging Tuesday posts:



     Blogging has enabled me to get to know myself better as well. Through life we can only grow from our experiences and I believe that the better we know ourselves, the better our chances in truly finding happiness become. So, my road to self-discovery has led me to posts like
    Blogging has allowed me to chronicle my life diary style... recaps of weekends, dreams, how i felt in specific situations... I used to keep journals when i was younger and i'm glad i'm able to use this as an online "jounral" in a way so i have these memories and feelings on record. Not all my recaps have been sunshine and rainbows, but they are all me, and how i feel and what i think... and i love that i can express myself in this way.



    So that's pretty much it. Hope you come check out my blog! I have so many of yours plugged into my Google Reader and i love commenting on your successes, giving advice and absolutely love all the beauty and fashion tips that i get!

    Thanks Michelle for thinking up this great link up!

        Monday, June 27, 2011

        Just Finish Already!

        Isn't that what you guys are all thinking? It sure as heck is what i'm thinking! So without further ado, the conclusion to my vacation...

        These pictures actually start out in the morning PRE parasailing... we went to the breakfast buffet (hey our hotel didn't offer many close choices! Nothing wrong with biscuits and gravy everyday for 3 days straight RIGHT?)

        OOTD: Entire outfit f21

        i love a guy in plaid shorts... seksi!

        My baby made me a breakfast waffle!
        Post parasailing, we were looking for a lunch spot and decided to do a little bull riding! This was the randomest place ever (in the middle of an outdoor shopping area) to find a mechanical bull. However, that didn't stop us from hopping right on (and getting thrown right off!)

        Save a horse, ride a mechanical bull?

        Yee-haw...

        Smiling just before i got chucked off.

        Here goes G!

        We decided to lunch at a place called Greg Normans. It was really lovely. On the water in a marina, so boats could just pull up, dock and go eat... Lunch was delicious... i had a nice glass of wine and enjoyed the view.

        For our big night out, we decided on Brazilian BBQ "rodizio" style. For those of you not familiar with it, you have these little cards, one side red, one side green. Waiters walk around with skewers of meat (chicken, steak, pork, etc) and if your card is green will stop and serve you pieces...
        OOTN: Dress (f21), Shoes (Endless.com)



        Yup, they sang loudly. Totally embarassing!

        Yeah, i had to get a picture of the shoes.... the backstory to these shoes, is that they have been patiently sitting in my closet for TWO years waiting to go on a date. That's right, TWO years is a very long time to wait for such gorgey shoes to be taken out, agree? So i figured, what could be more perfect than my birthday night...

        By the time we got back to the hotel, we were exhausted and ended up just passing out early...

        Sunday was another beach day, we played some mini golf (he won by ONE point. i demand a rematch!), lunched at an all you can eat seafood buffet with a giant crab, and hit up the aquarium... 

        we decided to stop here, it was only about 95 degrees out!
        i'm a better golfer than mini golfer believe it or not.
        Concentrating... we both got hole in ONEs!
        Now that's a big crab!
        2 fat kids. Post eating about 30 crab legs.
        At the aquarium!
        Swimming with the fishes...

        Shark week!
        Scared of a cat fish??? LOL
        Goofing off in the gift shop. i told him the green was definitely his color...
        Sad face. Time to leave.

        Monday morning bright and early, we packed up to head back to good old Jersey... it was the BEST birthday i might have EVER had and such a fun time that i can't wait to plan our next trip!


        Wednesday, June 22, 2011

        Tape Extensions

        I just stumbled upon this tutorial over at thebeautydepartment,com and wondered if any of you ladies have seen or tried this!

        According to this website, these can be done permanently by a professional in the salon (lasting 8-12 weeks) or temporarily at home (lasting 1-3 days). They look interesting to me, and after googling a bit, they seemed to range in price from $50-200... the sites i found said they are safe and will cause NO damage to your hair...

        Here's a close-up of a strip of the hair with the tape on it...
        via

        Steps for removal from thebeautydepartment.com sound easy enough and are as follows:
        Removal: The company you purchase the extensions from should also have a remover/solvent for taking the hair out along with instructions on how to remove them. If for some reason you don’t have the remover, you can spray leave-in conditioner at the root where the tape is. Saturate well and let it set for 3 minutes. The extension should then come off easily and not pull your own hair.

        Right now i use a long clip in track... i made mine myself by sewing the clips and extension together. My girl Pink Lou Lou has a great post on making your own weave as she calls it... see here. Unfortunately i had made mine before i had found her blog and it seems like her methods are easier than mine were at the time!

        So the question is, would you try/have you tried these tape extensions? How do you think they hold up compared to the clip in ones? Would you be worried about damaging your hair with the tape? Get back to me with your thoughts!

        Birthday Morning - Vacation Pt 2


        Hi Girls,

        I'm finally back with part 2 of the vacation. i PROMISE i'll hurry up and finish this, as its getting farther and farther away from when we actually went on vacation. I'm already ready for my next trip! LOL just kidding... i've just been so darn busy pinning, er working to have time to get to this.

        Anywho, the morning of my birthday started out with breakfast and the pool. and then an 11am appointment for parasailing! Neither G nor I had ever been so this turned out to be a great experience for the both of us... i was so nervous because i wasn't sure what to expect. But it was a gorgeous day, it wasn't scary at all and we ended up having a blast!
        Oh boy, what did i sign up for?!

        Here weeeee gooooooo!

        See ya soon!

        Higher...

        and higher....



        Wow, we are HIGH!


        Don't ya love the smiley face parachute?



        Overall, we had a fantastic time and they got so many great pictures of us up in the air... it was so peaceful up there and the view was amazing...

        I did have a very funny convo with ma dukes once we were finished, as she was trying to call me to wish me a happy day... it went something like this:

        Me: hey ma, guess what, we just went PARASAILING! it was sooooo fun!
        Ma Dukes: WHAT?! Parasailing?! You mean, you jumped off a cliff??
        Me: whaaaaa.... no... what are you talking about a cliff?
        Ma Dukes: Like you jumped off the edge of a cliff and flew in that metal contraption
        Me: No ma, that would be HANG GLIDING. we did NOT go hang gliding.

        LOL... sometimes ya just gotta laugh...