Flying with Spirit Airlines

A while back, I started following Spirit Airlines on twitter.  Of course, I was hoping to win something at the time, but have just stuck with them.  Because of this, I get updates on their sales. When we were experiencing our second (or maybe, third, fourth, or fifth...) spring snowstorm, a sale popped up that I just couldn't resist.  $68 flights to Tampa?  I'll take it!

Now keep in mind, if you need ANY bag (besides a personal item), if you can't print your boarding pass at home, if you want to choose your seat, if you want something to eat or drink on the flight, etc. you will be paying extra.  Keep that in mind when considering the cost of your flight.

In our case, we went for 3 days so just used the personal item (a small backpack and a laptop style bag) and didn't buy any extras.  Our trip cost $275 for both of us.  That is the average flight cost for one person from Minneapolis to Tampa.  Score.

Their customer service didn't seem the best.  Honestly, because everything is so self-sufficient, you don't really interact with anyone much.  The flight attendants were super nice on our flight home.  The other thing I noticed was that there were A LOT more kids than I am used to.  I'm not sure if this was because the flights are cheaper or that we flew around Easter time.

I will definitely make sure to check their prices next time I need to fly.

Fab Friday

Even though we went to Florida for a few days this week, things have been pretty uneventful.
5. Discovering the sweet occasional shops in downtown Carver, MN.  I found the Carver Junk Company on facebook as a recommendation from a friend, and have been wanting to take a visit ever since but it always seems so far away.  We finally decided to bite the bullet and head down on Saturday.  Pleasant surprise, there are about 4-5 antique stores in the area.  Definitely worth the trip if you like refinished home goods.

4.  Our new shelf and basket from the Carver Junk Company.  Both are for our master bath upstairs.  The  shelf is a little loud (bright turquoise) but I'm excited to have a little pop of color.  The basket is from a vintage locker setup and will hold towels.

3.  Finding adorable jars for our main floor bath that resemble mason jars at Marshalls.  Can't wait to load them up with goodies.

2. Pleasant surprise of flying on Spirit.  You definitely get what you pay for, but it was totally worth it.  I will be flying with them again if we can get such a good deal!

1. Spending time in Florida.  It was nice to relax by the ocean, feel the sun, and see family.

Have a great weekend!

Easter

We had a very subdued Easter this year. My parents were out of town for Chase's spring game so we were watching Montana and headed out ourselves on Sunday afternoon.  We still wanted to celebrate though, so we made ourselves an Easter dinner on Saturday night.  We used this recipe for ham in the crock pot.  It was so good! I will definitely be making it again.  We also did traditional green bean casserole and stuffing.  We also did a twist on cheesy potatoes, using a zesty homemade Mac and cheese sauce (recipe adapted from here).  It was all delicious and surprisingly not a ton of work!

After watching The Book Thief (pretty good interpretation of the book, but I had to do a lot of explaining to Josh) that night, we had a little strawberry angel food cake for dessert.

Although it would have been better to be around family all weekend, it was a pretty decent holiday weekend.

Fab Friday

I'm coming off a serious high right now (see number 2 and 1).  Here goes the top five for this week.

5. Last weekend we went to Marshall for Josh's cousin's bridal shower and to spend some time with family.  The drive is never fun, but it was good to see everyone.

4. Even though it snowed about 5" here on Wednesday night, I was able to work from home on Thursday!  Love working from home and being able to get ALL of the laundry done over a normal work day.

3.  Yesterday, for whatever reason, Avery was SUPER cuddly.  Josh was sitting on the couch by himself with the whole thing open, but she insisted on sitting on top of my in the tiny chair.  Avery is not a generally cuddly dog, so you have to take advantage of things like this when they happen.

2. I was invited to go to a new professionals development lunch today. I have been feeling really disconnected from my field lately, so it was great to get back with some like-minded people... and to see some friends I haven't seen for a LONG time.

1.  I wrote into Mytalk 107.1 (the radio station I listen to every day) after our great experience with First Equity Mortgage in buying our house.  They advertise on Mytalk a bit, so I made it my goal to get Ben mentioned (they always talk about David, the owner).  As I was coming home from lunch today, I heard Alexis (one of the morning hosts) use my quote in a commercial! One, I'm famous, and two, goal complete!

Have a good weekend everyone :)

Middle of the Night Secret

I have a secret.  I love when Avery wakes me up with kisses.  She has only been allowed to sleep with us about 3 or 4 times.  We let her stay when she has been in her kennel all day and then we go somewhere at night, so she is in her kennel all night too.  To be honest, she usually goes into her kennel by herself when we do this.  We just leave the gate open so she can roam a bit.  On those nights, I usually get a wake-up call from puppy kisses.  I act annoyed to be awake at 3 in the morning, but deep down I love it.  I love that she feels the need to get out of her kennel in the middle of the night to come give us kisses.  It is nothing but precious.

Avery is a very vocal dog.  She is always sure to let us know what she is thinking.  Lately, she has been letting a yip of joy out after I let her out of the kennel in the afternoon.  It took me quite a few days to catch this video, because she doesn't do it every day, but I wanted to let Josh see this.  I love my pup.

Fab Friday

This has been a very weird week.  My job is very dependent on people submitting work to me, and it has been DEAD!  After months of crazy, I shouldn't complain, but it just feels off.  Josh had a happy hour for a co-worker who was leaving on Wednesday, so we didn't see much of him that night.  AND I had to renew my license on Wednesday, so I spent an hour of the most beautiful day stuck inside the DMV.  But I have the day off today, and we are headed out of town, so I can't complain.  Here are some highlights of the week for Fab Friday.

1. Because things were dead at work, I was able to catch up with some life stuff (meal planning, budgeting, etc.).  Boring, but it makes me feel better!

2. We had dinner with some friends on Friday night.  It was so nice to see them and catch up.

3. The cash envelope system has been going well so far.  I have the opposite problem of most people, I usually spend cash more than I use my card.  I was nervous the same thing would happen, but not yet!

4. I noticed that my water consumption was LOW (and I mean low!) so I set a new goal to drink 4 water bottles worth of water every day.  So far, I have been consistently drinking 3 plus extras (smoothie, tea, etc.).  Not bad for the first week.

5. Last but absolutely not least, we finally got our new couch!  So thankful to have something to sit on inside besides the ikea chair.  It is even prettier and more comfy than I remember from the store.  Woohoo!

Have a great weekend :)

Pineapple Margaritas

Last weekend, we were doing some major meal prep.  One of the recipes called for a half cup of pineapple juice.  We only had a giant can of pineapple juice.  Solution: Pineapple margaritas!  I found a bunch of recipes that were super complicated, so decided to wing it a bit.  Our version was super easy and super delicious.

Mix equal parts pineapple juice, margarita mix, and tequila.  Blend with ice. Done!

We have had a giant bottle of tequila sitting around FOREVER because we don't love it (sorry I'm not sorry about being a tequila snob).  This is a great way to use up a tequila you aren't fond of.  That being said, it is better to get a small bottle of the good stuff than a large bottle of cheap stuff.  Trust me, it's worth it!

One blog I follow does a Friday post called High Five for Friday.  I love that it gives an opportunity to reflect on the good things that happen each week.  This is something that we all should be doing, and I am going to make a conscious effort to start posting my reflections on here.  Thanks Kate!  I would love some help coming up with a fun name for it.  Thankful Thursday?  That's all I have so far... the creative juices are not flowing this morning.

1. Going to the lululemon warehouse sale and picking up my first lulu gear

2. Being able to make almost 20 freezer meals last weekend

3. Being able to take a LONG, wet walk with Avery on Sunday

4. Watching Frozen
5. Working from home on a snowy April day