Seattle to Alaska to Canada to Arizona....oh my!

I'm back! What a wonderful world it is! Seattle is a fantastic city, and Alaska is simply beautiful.

We arrived back in Arizona late Monday night from our Alaskan cruise. I'm still getting settled back in, so I'll share some amazing photos later this week. 

Here's a sneak peak!

Dashing in Seattle at Pike's Place market. See the fish-ies!!!

Headed to Alaska

Thank you to Julie from Little Pink Rain Boots (Summer Essentials) and Shannon from More to Hollywood (Stay-cations) for their great summer guest posts last week while I was away. If you missed them, check them out!

Sincerely,
Sara Cate

Summer Stay-cation

Hi readers! I'm still away on my Disney Alaskan cruise, but so excited for you to meet my IRL and blogger friend Shannon from More to Hollywood. She is quite possibly the most kind, thoughtful, passionate, considerate, fun, bright.....etc. girl I know. 


Hi friends! My name is Shannon and I blog over at More to Hollywood. I recently graduated from the University of Arizona and will begin my master’s in higher and postsecondary education at Arizona State University in the fall – and in case you were wondering, yes, those are two rival schools!

Life since graduation has been abnormal. Although I’m still working and spending time with friends, the absence of class and homework means I’ve had time to read books [I just finished Something Blue by Emily Griffin and watch seasons of TV shows I would have been too busy for [I’ve already gone through three seasons of Friday Night Lights].

When most people hear the word summer, they start to book flights, hotels and rental cars to help them plan their sweet getaway. But as a recent college grad, I don’t have a ton of money to spend on extravagant trips, or really any out-of-state vacations with my boyfriend of over three years, Mike. On the other hand, we did get to “play house” last weekend while my best friend was out of town – Ironically enough, my “bff” Brynne is Sara’s cousin through marriage. Such a small world, right?

But, in an attempt to help others realize you don’t have to take a plane, train or five-hour car ride to relax, I thought I’d talk about the best staycation I could have asked for.

So as I mentioned, Brynne asked me to watch her pets while she was hiking the Grand Canyon with her fiancé and family last weekend. It came at the perfect time, as I recently moved back in with my parents to try and save a little money. Of course, I jumped at the chance! I must add that her condo is the cutest place, located in Tempe, AZ near so many fun places to eat and shop. But the best part was that I got to hang out with her new puppy, Bennett and diva of a cat, Tink! If you can’t tell by my writing, I was THRILLED! [I always wanted a puppy growing up, but am yet to own a dog. This, of course, only enhanced my puppy fever!]

When Friday arrived, I packed my duffle and brought a few cute outfits for nights on the town. Mike (bf) did the same, minus the “cute outfits,” as he prefers to dress more comfortably than trendy… a man after my own heart, because comfort is always key. When I arrived at the condo, I was delighted to find step-by-step instructions [I am an avid rule follower], the pool key and a thoughtful gift card to our favorite sushi restaurant Kabuki in Tempe Marketplace. I couldn’t help but think, “Let the fun begin!”

I’ll spare you the boring details of how we spent time by the pool, walking the dog and relaxing on the couch, but I wanted my point is to encourage you reading this to house/pet sit sometime this summer. If you’re free from children or animals of your own, it’s such great experience. Quite honestly, it was the cheapest “vacation” I’ve ever taken, and it was so much fun to spend a weekend in another part of the valley.

Of course, I am in no way discoursing anyone from hopping a plane and lounging on the beaches of the Hawaii– as long as I get an invite! J But if you’re looking for a short hiatus from your everyday lifestyle, offer to sit for a friend or a relative… it could be just the vacation you’re looking for! I can’t wait to relive this stay cation when Brynne and her fiancé go on their honeymoon in August!

Lastly, I just wanted to thank Sara for allowing me to write a guest post. I am privileged to have her as a dear friend and mentor in my life!

I hope all of you are enjoying your summers and/or any vacations you have/plan to take in the near future! XO

Source: indieogdenutah.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Source: amatterofmemories.com via Sara on Pinterest

I'm still on the Disney Alaskan Cruise with my family. New guest post tomorrow! Hope you're having a wonderful summer day.

 Sincerely, Sara Cate

Little Pink Rain Boots' Summer Essentials

I'm on vacation on my Disney Alaskan Cruise! Can't wait to share with you all next week. I'm so excited to have Julie guest post on her summer essentials while I'm away! I love her blog, especially her fashion Friday post. She is lovely and creative. Thanks for your post, Julie!

Hello Sincerely Sara Cate readers, 

I’m Julie from Littlepinkrainboots a blog about fashion, beauty and snippets from my life.

When Sara asked me to guest post for her I was flattered and immediately started thinking of topics to post about. Luckily we were on the same page with summer on the mind (brilliant minds think alike!)

With barbecues and trips to the beach and ballpark in full swing I thought I would share some of my summer essentials. 

1. A cute summery tote that can fit everything, between planning my wedding and keeping up with social engagements this is a must for me. This one’s from Target.
2. Garnier B.B cream, when temps are hitting the 100’s the last thing I want to do is slather on a heavy foundation. This is perfect for summer days, it is very light and moisturizing yet it can cover up the redness I get around my nose.
3. A water bottle with a cute pattern that I can tell is mine from a mile away, to stay hydrated and keep my skin glowing. I like bottles that can hold almost 2 liters of water or more.
4. An Ipod or Mp3 capable phone with ear buds, I love listening to Luke Bryan and Katy Perry.
5. A non-greasy sunblock, because well… I want to look like Christie Brinkley when I’m 58 J
6. Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes, these are the best face wipes I’ve ever used. I use waterproof mascara and these get it off easily without irritating my eyes or the delicate skin around them. And they leave your face baby soft.
7. A summer read. I’m dying to get my hands on this one by Tinsley Mortimer.
8. A bright polish like this one from Essie in Mint Candy Apple will really make that spray tan pop.
9. Maybelline The Falsies waterproof mascara lengthens my lashes and stays put through the sweltering heat and crying at weddings.
10. Avon Slick Tint for when you want the color of a lipstick and the moisture of a balm. My favorite shade is Glossy Rose.

I hope you enjoyed this post and have a wonderful summer,

Julie

Bon Voyage

Yesterday slipped through my fingers, and I haven't told you where I'm jetting off to.

DISNEY'S ALASKAN CRUISE!

Tomorrow morning, Dashing and I will fly from Arizona to Seattle, Washington where we'll meet up with Dashing's parents, sister, brother-in-law, and their 1 year old daughter Vivi. We'll gallivant around the city and board the ship on Monday. We'll be on the seas and in ports through Alaska and Canada for a whole week! 

My bags are packed and I'm ready to go (50 lbs on the dot).

Two lovely guest bloggers will be posting here next week on Tuesday and Thursday while I'm away. 

I hope you'll come check them out!

Happy Summer Vacation!

Sincerely, Sara Cate

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Vacations are seen as an antidote to work. They are medicine, a remedy for counteracting the effects of labor.... Vacations allow us to be away from the job, to change the patterns of our day, to alter our routine, to reconfigure our actions and habits, to rediscover ourselves.

Where am I going? Find out tomorrow!

Source: herblog.com via Sara on Pinterest

A Georgia Wedding

Back from the south - Georgia to be exact. I went to a friend's wedding in the small town of Byron, Georgia at Plantation Farms. It was beautiful, and everyone could see how much they loved each other. It was also so special to spend it with my group of Delta Gamma "rock" friends! One rock even had a dance off with the bride's grandma. Yes, it happened. I think Granny might have won. She was seriously bringing down the house! It was amazing.

I also have to mention that at the rehearsal dinner, the groom sang/played on his guitar a song for the bride. It was the first song he ever played her saying, "It was appropriate then, and even more appropriate now." The song - God Gave Me You, Blake Shelton. So sweet and heartfelt.

Congratulations and best wishes to the bride and groom!

Sincerely,
Sara Cate

PS - I'm out of town ALL next week for a family vacation....destination to be announced on Thursday. Don't fret thought, I'll have two amazing guest bloggers posting here on Sincerely Sara Cate. Hope you'll join me in welcoming them next Tuesday and Thursday!

Rock girls! (Miss Em on the far left - the dance off contestant, me, Lindz, Josie, MLE, Liz)

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Tomorrow, I'm headed to Georgia for a wedding. I'm so excited to see my friends who live all around the country this weekend (Shout out to the Delta Gamma CDC Rocks). We may not see each other weekly, or even monthly, but we always come together like no time has ever passed. I love you all!

The plane ride and layover traveling from Arizona to Georgia will not be quick. So to fulfill my time - I'll be reading 50 Shades of Grey. I'm sure I'll feel very scandalous while reading this in public. I'll let you know what I think of it next week. Is anyone else reading this series?

Have a wonderful holiday weekend!
Sincerely,
Sara Cate

Congratulations to More to Hollywood for graduating college! I loved celebrating her this Saturday at her graduation party. Her mother read the sweetest letter to her, which made the evening so special.

Also, in a miraculous series of events, Dashing had the entire weekend off!  We don't get many of those because of his residency schedule. So we spent it taking jogs, getting new running shoes, eating out at new restaurants, going for a swim, visiting the building that holds our future children (we waved hello!), and truly enjoying our weekend together. 

Another great weekend is coming up - on Thursday, I will fly to Georgia to see a dear friend marry her best friend! 

Then, the following week, I'm off to a 10 day family vacation. I'll share the soon!

Hope your weekend was wonderful too!

Sincerely,

Sara Cate

Recipes and Weekend Plans

Happy Friday!

Last night I made Cooking Light's simply Blackened Tilapia with a little spinach salad. It was sooo delicious I had to share. Not only was it delish, it only took a TOTAL of 7 minutes for me to prep and broil. And... since I used a parchment paper/foil pan liner in the bottom of my broil pan, there really wasn't clean up either. That's how I like to cook. YUMMMMM.

Source: myrecipes.com via Sara on Pinterest

Also, this weekend Dashing and I going to  More To Hollywood's College Graduation Party. I can't wait to celebrate her accomplishments!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sincerely,
Sara Cate

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Source: oprah.com via Sara on Pinterest

Little Lady Bug's 1st Birthday

This past Friday was my precious niece's first birthday! She had a little lady bug party on Saturday with family and friends. We loved celebrating her and how she has been a blessing to our family. I made all of the yummy dessert treats; my favorite thing to do!

Little bug's smash cake was all ready for her to destroy, but when it came time, her first few bites were just daintily picking up pinches of the cake and exclaiming "MMMMMM." Seriously one of the best moment of the day.

Here are some photos from the big day.

The birthday girl and her lemon smash cake! She LOVES lemons.

Smash cake before smashing.

Dessert Table

Birthday Girl in her Birthday Dress (And 6'7 cousin Dan)

Ladybug Sugar Cookies (my biggest accomplishment!)

Lemon cupcakes

Chocolate Picnic Cake

The Big Decision: Part IV

We decided......
to move forward with the fertility treatments.

Part I / Part II / Part III / Part IV

This is me holding my niece last year in May.
Today is her 1st birthday.
Happy Birthday to Little Bug!

Over the course of 3 weeks in September 2009, I started the hormone injections to stimulate the follicles in my ovaries. My belly became distended and I actually started to look pregnant - it was wild! I went through the procedure for the egg retrieval. Dashing "contributed" to the process and embryos were formed.

On the day of my first chemotherapy treatment at the beginning of October 2009, we found out that we had 5 "healthy" embryos preserved and waiting for us for the day we could welcome them into this world - whenever that may be.

Yes, so each Mother's/Father's day, we smile at the fact that we may not have children with us on that day, but we are parents to 5 little 5-cell embryos that we look forward to meeting one day. We have committed to trying with each embryo we have created, so looks like we might one day need a large vehicle! We think about the day we'll tell them they are in some-way quintuplets (they all came from the same cycle of both parents) and that they were waiting for us for years before we met them.

We feel truly blessed.

Happy Mothers Day to all mothers this weekend!

Sincerely,
Sara Cate


***If anyone is considering fertility procedures or interested to know more about this process of hormone injections, procedures, IVF, etc. I am an open book and would be happy to share the experience with you in more detail.

Weighing the Decisions: Part III

So what did we do?

Part I / Part II / Part III / Part IV

This is my beautiful niece at her baptism. She
will be turning one year old tomorrow!
(I'll share photos next week)

Dashing and I always knew we wanted to have a family. We had no idea that we would be facing decisions on how that family came to be when we were unmarried (at the time), 24 years old, and facing the diagnosis of cancer. How could we possibly think about creating life in the midst of facing death. It was not an easy path. Now, 3 years later at the age of 27, we cannot even believe this is the path we've already walked.

We had to think about a mirad of things before we made our decision on how to proceed.

- If we did the fertility preservation, it would delay the start of my chemotherapy treatments. Was this ok?  My oncologist wanted to start as soon as possible as my internal masses (one the size of a softball) were compromising the blood flow to my brain.

- If we did the fertility preservation, would we stick with egg retrieval only, or would we choose to include Dashing in the process and preserve embryos? This is a major decision as we believe embryos are children - we would be creating life. Additionally, freezing eggs has a lower success rate than freezing embryos. If we just preserve eggs, there is a chance that none of the eggs would successfully make it through the process. We only had one shot - one cycle.

- If we chose to preserve embryos, we didn't know how many would survive the process, and what kind of commitment would we feel to them (as we believe embryos are babies).

- There are potential temporary side-effects to the hormone treatments received before the retrieval like fluid build up in the abdomen (that will go away). Was I up for this?

Really, the biggest decisions were the ethical ones, ones that would be with us forever. What would we do with these eggs/embryos down the road? What if we did the preservation but could conceive naturally after therapy anyways?

We had to make a decision on this immediately. Dashing and I talk it over together, and shared our decision with our family. Still today, we know we did the right thing for US.

I'll tell you tomorrow what we are glad we chose to do.

Fertility Preservation? What is that? : Part II

Please excuse the divergence from my usual "Words of Wisdom Wednesday" post.
Part I / Part II / Part III / Part IV

So, here I am, following up to Monday's post.

We don't have kids, are not pregnant, and are not currently TTC. So, why have I been to a fertility doctor?

In 2009, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma and was told I needed to undergo chemotherapy and radiation treatments. These kind of treatments are a sea of the unknown.
Will I lose my hair? Probably, but maybe not. (I did)
Will I feel sick all the time and be vomiting? Probably not, but maybe. (Just exhausted and frail)
Will this affect my fertility? Probably not, but we can't guarantee that. (??)

I didn't even know to ask that fertility question! Most patients don't know that either. My primary doctor prompted that discussion, and before the diagnosis week was over, I was sitting in Dr. Rychlik's fertility clinic's office for a consultation on fertility preservation.

So what is fertility preservation? Cancer treatments have varying risks of infertility to both men and women. For women, they cannot guarantee you will resume a normal menstrual cycle, but the other big issue is that women are born with all of the eggs they will ever have already in their body. Therefore, undergoing a harsh, toxic treatment like chemotherapy would also "treat" these eggs. No one know to what extent this effects the eggs and if it leads to miscarriages, difficulty conceiving, birth defects etc. Fertility preservation is an option for patients to have eggs (or sperm for males) BEFORE they begin chemotherapy treatment so the eggs are never "treated." . The fertility team can preserve eggs or sperm separately or together as embryos. I had no idea this even existed!

On this Friday afternoon, Dashing and I were not only facing my inevitable, upcoming chemotherapy treatments, but now faced with decisions on the future of our family, our ethical and religious beliefs, and the support of our family. So what did we do?????? I'll tell you........soon.

Lights, camera, action - Not my typical Saturday: Part I

Part I / Part II / Part III / Part IV

To my and your surprise, this atypical Saturday adventure has nothing to do with the Derby or Cinco de Mayo. In a very strange turn of events, Dashing and I were filmed in a test pilot for a reality/documentary television series. Yup. That happened.

In my best attempt to explain what kind of production this is, think something like the Cooking Channel's Chuck's Day Off mated with ABC's Extreme Home Makeover. The cooking show revolves around Chuck doing what he does - cooking, however, it's also about his personality, adventures, and stories MIXED with ABC's Extreme Home Makeover's personal and touching stories of the family receiving the gifted home. You cry, you laugh, you learn (You will NOT learn how to do your hair Jersey Shore style nor learn how strangers stop acting nice and start getting real).

This project revolves around the life of one of my doctors. He is dynamic, silly, unique, quirky, suave, and intelligent. He is a father, guitarist, singer, doctor, and pilot.  I would say he rivals The Most Interesting Man in the World (see right).

Now I said he is a doctor, and that is the role I met him in. Nothing is ordinary about this man, and neither is his medical specialty. His medical specialty is as unique as they come - infertility and fertility preservation.

You might be confused as to why I have gone to a fertility doctor because if you know me or have been following me, I am not pregnant, we do not have children, and we are not trying to conceive right now. I eluded to it a few years ago during my battle with cancer, but I've decided to lay it all out over this week as I talk about why were were in this tv show test pilot and what happens at this kind of doctor's office.

An interesting week it shall be; I think it will deserve a Dos Equis.

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Source: rhonnadesigns.blogspot.com via Sara on Pinterest

Have you heard?

Sprinkles Cupcakes is coming out with ice cream in May!
I can't wait to see what flavors they unveil! Why do I love dessert so much?!

Happy Friday!

http://theeverygirl.com/feature/candace-nelson-of-sprinkles-cupcakes/

Sincerely,
Sara Cate

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Source: etsy.com via Sara on Pinterest

-a version of the quote by Aristotle

Our Adventure Book

Source: etsy.com via Sara on Pinterest

Although our house didn't get swept away by balloons, nor did we didn't find a large historic bird, and we didn't meet any talking dogs, we definitely had an adventure this past weekend.

My friend Jordan came to visit me in Tucson as we met her sweet, non-talking sheltie named Bailey.

Dashing and Bailey - the 8.5 lb fully grown Sheltie!

Jordan, Bailey, Dashing, and I took an adventure walk though the desert near our house. We encountered a wild rattle snake. I don't have a picture of the snake. It actually was rattling at us. We scurried away quite quickly. Even Dashing jumped when the rattling started!

We didn't visit Paradise Falls, but did cheers to tropical drinks......

Tangerine beer at my favorite gastropub Noble Hops

The famous Tucson Eegee's - it's not a slushie, but it's not a smoothie. It's an Eegees.
I had strawberry pina colada. YUM

Then we were wisked away on a Trolley Pub for a friend's birthday evening. This is equally as odd of a mode of transportation as a house floating away via helium. A Trolley Pub where a group of awesome people pay to jump on a 15 person wagon with bicycle pedals and use their own leg power to pedal the trolley to surrounding establishments of choice (aka: bars) . There is a driver who steers the trolley, but it can only go forwards. For reverse, you all have to jump off the trolley and push it backwards while the company driver steers. 

http://www.trolleypubtucson.com/#!home|mainPage

It was OUR ADVENTURE and I'm glad I not have it in my blog "book."

Hope your weekend was an adventure to remember!

Sincerely,
Sara Cate

Give me a break, Give me a break

You know those days when you're sitting at your computer, and you think to yourself " I would so much rather be [fill in the blank]." You think of all possibilities: napping, cleaning, golfing, shopping, reading, exercising, cocktail-ing (not a word, but I'd like it to be). We'll last week, it happened!

My office saves all of our documents on a shared server and then all of our backups are online on Dropbox (If you haven't used Dropbox,  you should.I'll explain below). Well, all of the internet and servers went down around 3pm. So what's a girl and her co-workers to do??

Play cards until the office released us at 4pm to go home. As a joke, we had to protect our identities in the photo. However, it was our boss that took the photo when she found us. She classified it as team-building.

I hope you get your break this Friday and have a wonderful cocktail-ing weekend!

My friend Jordan is coming to spend the weekend with me and Dashing. I'll share photos and recipes from her visit next week!

Sincerely,
Sara Cate

*Dropbox is essentially an online flash drive that you can pull up on any computer with internet. You can even save an icon to your desktop so you don't have to open the webpage each time you edit/create a document. It also works with iPad and iPhone! Just download the Dropbox app. You can share single files, file folders, etc. You can grant edit access or just viewing access and share these with a simple link! It's FANTASTIC! Try it out, IT'S FREE! They give you something like 500MB free and then when you invite more people you are rewarded with more space! You can also buy more space. So use think link and sign up to give it a shot, we'll both be rewarded with more space!

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Source: wallquotes.com via Sara on Pinterest

If the shoe fits (or not) wear it.

At work, I park in a parking garage about .5 mi away from my office building (oh college campuses!). So, I always wear walking flip flops/flats/uggs when making this trek to the office. My feet should be thanking me that I don't wear my 3 inch heels on this hike. I keep my standard pair of black peep toe pumps in my office drawer to change into at 8am.

However, last Wednesday, I made it to my office only to remember I took my black heels home for the weekend. I had been wearing tan/grey heels on Monday and Tuesday and therefore hadn't realized my black heels were still at home. Oh, well, I thought. I guess my rhinestone JCrew flip flops would have to make it through the day.

That is, until I comedically told my boss, and she said "But you have your awards ceremony today!"
Me: "Oh no!"

You see, last week I was notified that I was a nominee for a College of Medicine excellence award and was invited to the awards ceremony. I was honored to be recognized for my work and looked forward to the ceremony.

The ceremony was taking place on Wednesday, the only day I had forgotten my heels. The ceremony where I would be wearing flip flops in front of Deans from all of the health science colleges, University administration, and guests attendees of staff and faculty. NOOOOOOOO! I had totally forgotten.

So what do I do? Use my inner resourceful sorority girl and call a current sorority girl at the University and friend, Shannon from More to Hollywood,  with a desperate plea for some black heels. Sure enough, she came through like a champ! Although they were a size too big, it wasn't anything a wad of tissues couldn't fix! (see left)

At the ceremony being recognized as a nominee.

Although I didn't win, I had a great time AND DIDN'T EVEN TRIP in the borrowed shoes!

Remember, things may not always happen the way you want them to, but if you stop, take a deep breath, and think, you will find a reasonable solution and enjoy the hilarity in the meantime.

Sincerely,

Sara Cate

Weekend Recap

This weekend was freezing in my book (50s-60s). Yes, I realize that is not cold to everyone, but for Az in the spring it is cold!

In spite of the cold weather.......
I went on a 3 mi run then 3 mi walk in the desert - it was beautiful.

Unedited! Oro Valley, Arizona

Because of the cold weather......
Dashing and I made warm desserts. Nutella Mug Cakes with vanilla bean ice cream! DELICIOUS. Thank you Pinterest.

Nutella mug cake in Anthropologie Bowl

Did you do or make anything new this weekend? Do share!

PS: Those funny stories I promised on Friday you are piling up! I'll start with story 1 tomorrow (Tuesday).

Sincerely,
Sara Cate

Meet Red

Don't mind if I do. Cheers to Friday!

PS: I can't wait to tell you about 
two awesome stories next week. Stay tuned! 

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Source: etsy.com via Sara on Pinterest

You can't wear white to a wedding.

Just had to share this story from two weeks ago.

Dashing has a funny side. He openly admits that he will never be fully grown up and has no intentions on changing that. He is silly, ironic, and clever; not to mention he is phenomenal at impressions. Needless to say he is always making me laugh - sometimes even at myself.

Well...we went shopping for a suit for Dashing to attend Lizy's wedding. I think he tried on no less than 50 suits at multiple stores. He is also very picky on clothing "The top coat button should be above my belly button" "I would prefer it be three pieces" "The pockets cannot be slanted" "It has to be a trim fit." He inherited the female shopping gene.

Anyways, he finally found one he wanted. Badly. The problem....it was a white suit.

Me: You can't wear a white suit to her wedding, and it's not even a day wedding. No.
Dashing: I don't see why not. I look good in it.
Me: No
Dashing: I'm going to ask the bride.
Me: Are you kidding!? It's two days before the wedding. Don't bother her.

A few minutes later.

Dashing: She said no.
Me: What?? You asked her?
Dashing: Oh yes, I sent her a photo. (below)

Me: Oh Geez.
Dashing: But she did say I look damn good.

We left the store with the white suit in hand. I think he walked around like he was the king of the world that day.

Note: He wore a charcoal suit to the wedding. WITH a bow tie. However, he did wear the white coat to brunch the following morning. Figures.