Thursday, October 6, 2022

Lately





Hope your week is going well! I had QUITE the Instagram snafu this week. I am super careful about protecting my account, but this week someone I follow put up a donation sticker to donate to a charity that will help feed those affected by hurricane Ian. I love the person that posted this and looked up the charity and it was very much a great charity, legitimate, etc. I also know that when Instagram has a donate sticker, that means that it is very legitimate. So, I clicked through to donate. I go through the screens to checkout. Instagram has my card on file because I have a business account because I pay for ads from time to time. I checkout and everything goes through. As soon as it went through, I got a message that said 'your account has been disabled because you are underage'. WHAT ON EARTH!!!!! I've heard of accounts getting hacked and all of that but had never heard of this. Some screens popped up that were telling me I had to verify my identity. I have my birthday on Instagram already (you can put your birthday in so they know you are over 21 and therefore can see/post 'alcohol content'... so like when I post cocktail recipes and stuff) so I was just so confused as to how they thought I was 'underage'. I guess when you check out for a charity, they ask you your age and I didn't put my age in. Instagram then thought I was 0 years old. I cannot make this up!!! For about an hour I was in an absolute panic trying to do everything to get my account back. I uploaded verification of my age, etc. I also was researching this to make sure it wasn't a hacking thing and I wasn't being scammed. Sure enough, it's a legitimate thing Instagram can just shut down your account if they think you are underage. So for about an hour, I couldn't get into my account, thinking it was gone, and then finally, I got an email from Instagram saying, 'It looks like your account was disabled by mistake. Your account has been reactivated, and you should now be able to log in. We're sorry for any inconvenience.' Um, YEAH, I'd say that was a mistake! It took me a hot second to calm down! I am so careful with what I do online when it comes to being scammed and clicking on things that could potentially be harmful, so this was just totally out of left field. All that to say that if you are donating via Instagram, put in your birthdate and make sure it is correct!!! 

Also, this is why I have this website. If for some reason I ever go missing on Instagram, you can come here to find me! I hate the idea of relying on Instagram and so this blog will forever be updated! 

I am currently in New York on a trip with my mom! I'm working on a fun little project that I will share more about as we get into October and early November! You will want to keep your eyes peeled for this because it could potentially benefit you... hint, hint!!!

This past weekend, we tried out a new restaurant here in Pittsburgh (more on that below), and then Saturday I mostly worked since I am traveling this week and wanted to make sure I was getting everything done! We made some delicious chili (I'm going to do a blog post about this chicken chili recipe on Monday so stay tuned) and we also watched my parent's dog, Buddy, for the weekend which is always nice. He is so sweet! I spent Sunday night vacuuming the heck out of our house. Between Buddy and Henry, in one weekend, they shed SO MUCH. Buddy is almost double Henry's size, too, so he has a lot more hair on him! 

Sunday afternoon, we headed to the Steelers game! We had great seats and even though they lost, we had a great time. We ended up walking over the bridge after the game and snagging Nicky's Thai, which is one of my favorite restaurants in the city! Their pad see ew is SO good. 

Otherwise, this week was quick considering I left early Wednesday morning for my trip! I'll be home tomorrow so it's a quick 3-days! 

Wearing:
 Lake Pajamas just launched their holiday shop with such fun prints and colors for the holiday season. I got the red striped set and I am thinking maybe these will be our matching pajamas this year?! We haven't done a Lake Pajamas year yet!! Also, with the colder weather here, I am reminded how much I LOVE my cozy robe. My mom also has one and she is obsessed with it. I wear it every single morning in the fall/winter. It's so incredibly soft and warm but also not at all bulky. It made my best of 2021 list last year. My mom and I both have a size small. I would say it runs roomy. The small is plenty roomy enough to layer over pajamas!  I'm typically a 2/4 and my mom is a 4/6/8. 

Reading: An article with a list of charities you can donate to for those who were impacted by hurricane Ian. There is a specific one that is working to save animals and this is where I donated. I feel really deeply about saving animals in general but the reason I got Henry is that he was found right after hurricane Harvey, put in an overcrowded shelter, ended up on the euthanization list because it was a high-kill shelter, and was saved by Tracy's Dogs to be adopted out. I am so thankful he was taken in, otherwise, I am not sure what would have happened to him. He has a crooked front paw that makes me think he broke his paw at some point and never got any medical attention for it. I get teary-eyed and sick to my stomach thinking about it all. I think it's so important when donating your hard-earned money to do your research and choose a reputable charitable organization. I think lists like these can be helpful in introducing new charities you may not know about but I do think it's important to make your own choices in where you donate and do your own research! Also, as a side note, for any natural disasters or fires or whatever it may be, you can buy stickers that you can put in your window to let emergency responders know that you have an animal in your home. We have them in windows in our home. They're not pretty, but they could save a life if something terrible were to happen. You can also get them for free from the ASPCA

Watching: I can't believe I haven't really watched TV in the past few months! I saw that The Crown is coming out on November 9th, though, and I am looking forward to watching it! Imelda Staunton is playing Queen Elizabeth and I'll be so curious to see how she does in this role. I look at her and can only see Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter! 

Listening: I am SO excited because I got my mom and I tickets to go see Harry Connick Jr.'s Christmas show! I just love him and I have never seen him live. It will be so fun to see him and get in the Christmas spirit with my mom! His 'When My Heart Finds Christmas' album from the 90s is one of my favorites. I vividly remember my mom picking me up from school around the holiday season with this album playing as I got into the car!

Loving: I got my nails done last week and this is OPI Maraschino Cheery. I love this color for a darker red option for fall. I think it looks a little better as gel- the color just looks richer/pops more but I have been doing dip lately and still like the color! 

Loving II: This feels very random, but if your dog needs his 'glands' expressed, you should check out this Glandex treat. Before Henry, I had never heard about the glands needing to be expressed because our dog Mac didn't have that issue. Henry does and during the pandemic when we weren't able to get them expressed as much, it started to become an issue. I saw someone recommend these treats and then I called our vet to ask about them to make sure they would be OK for Henry. They said we could give him them and we have been giving him them ever since. This particular brand is more expensive than some of the other brands out there but I did a lot of research on this type of product and these are the 'cleanest' ones out there with the highest quality ingredients. Anyway, I won't go into more detail because it's just downright gross, but if you know what I am talking about, you get it, haha! Always ask your vet about something first, this is just what has worked for Henry but I would have never known about it had someone else not posted about it! It reminded me to share with you all because I just had to order another tub of them this week! 
Wanting: These Christmas stockings are just BEAUTIFUL! 

Amazon Rec: Just ordered another pack of these athletic socks. I love them so much. Pricier than my Costco favorites but these are nicer! You can find more of my Amazon favorites, here!

Smelling: Bloomingdale's friends and family sale is going on right now. You can get 25% off many of the items on their site. Included are Nest candles which is a brand with some of my favorite scents. At 25% off, this is a nice time to snag a few as hostess gifts. I know candles can be a boring gift, but I do think they can be a nice, 'safe' gift if you don't know the recipient very well. I also personally still love to be a gifted a candle! My husband just burned the birchwood candle that we have and I forgot how much I love that scent! I kind of chuckled when he chose that candle to burn because it's more of a holiday scent with fir/pine in it but I didn't mind! 

Quoting: 'Staying positive doesn't mean you have to be happy all of the time. It means that even on hard days, you know there are better days to come.' // See more of my favorites, here.

2 comments:

Molly said...

I am having the same issue with Instagram! My account has been disabled twice in the past week or so. I only have 300 followers, a private account, and rarely post. I'm so worried I'm going to lose all of those memories! Did you find a support email or phone number to contact?

Susan R said...

You will love Harry Connick Jr. His was the first concert my husband and I went to when we were first married. He was very entertaining and had such a great sense of humor and that voice. Dreamy.

 

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