Searching For Seashells

Another Dream Home Inspiration Board

2011-03-27T00:10:00.004-07:00

Just another Room Inspiration board - It all starts with a blanket I crocheted for Z that is Grey, White and Yellow wavy stripes. The brown touches are because we just purchased a sleeper sofa - the one pictured in the board. As for the pretty chair in the board, I was actually thinking of more of a greyish/brownish linen instead of the print. I actually love the print, but I just don't think it would go with the island feel. What do you think about the room?

The Long Way Around...

2011-03-23T18:27:00.002-07:00

Hello again world!! I'm so sorry I've been absent from blogging for so long! Hopefully I still have a few readers! Needless to say it has been a whirlwind of a year so far. Since I wrote last, Z went to Hawaii to job search and got a dream job as an Assistant General Manager at Ko'olau Golf Course, Z moved to Oahu and found us a quaint studio apartment in the best city on Oahu - Kailua, I went to Texas to visit the family and turned the BIG 3-0, and I moved myself to Hawaii at the beginning of March! Whew!

Like I said it's been a whirlwind, but we are so happy to be back in Hawaii and enjoying walking to the beach and watching the waves and the kite surfers. We just love it here! Since I've been here I have been working hard to reach my goal weight of 110, which I finally accomplished today!!! I feel really happy about that accomplishment and I definitely feel like I'm on the right track of staying healthy and fit. I've also been working hard to find a job for myself. I went on a great interview today and it seemed to go really well, so keep your fingers crossed!

Besides all of that, I've just been getting things settled and taking care of those things that you always have to take care of when you move - car registration, shopping for those odds and ends, and a little bit of furniture shopping. We are hoping that our goods that we shipped will be delivered in the next week so I can get started organizing all of that! Yay unpacking!

Well, that's the ol' update for now and I hope to be back to regular posting again soon! Maybe some Studio Before and Afters! That could be fun!

Love ya!

Happy New Years!

2011-01-07T20:52:00.003-07:00

I realize I'm a little late on the New Years train, but better late than never! So...Happy New Years everyone! We have come up with a few resolutions for this year but we also realized that we actually started a good portion of them last year so it's more of just continuing on the path!

#1 - Stay healthy, eat right, get back into shape! Around Sept of 2010 I started to feel like I was going down a slippery slope with weight gain. We didn't eat horrible and we did workout - however, our portions were a little out of control and it was like 120 degrees outside so it was not conducive to good workouts. All of this led to some extra poundage. I decided that I wanted to lose 24 pounds by the time we moved from AZ. I also decided that I couldn't do this alone. As much as I love my husband, I have a hard time taking his advice when it comes to exercise. I don't know why, maybe it has something to do with the fact that I don't really want him to see that I am struggling with the issue so if he tries to help me than I get frustrated knowing that he knows! Women! I digress....So I sat down and started figuring out what I needed to be successful. I needed a meal plan that allowed me to still eat the foods that I love, like pizza, pasta, and chocolate, and teach me correct portions. I also need to incorporate more veggies and fruit. In order to be successful I would also need someone who would hold me accountable. All of these things led me to calling Jenny Craig. I never thought I would ever join a program like that..I'm not overweight and I can lose the weight on my own, right? Well, I probably could, but it might not have been in the most healthy way and I might not have learned as much. Joining Jenny Craig has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. Besides the fact that I've lost 14 pounds in 15 weeks, I have a whole new attitude towards everything. I don't allow myself to get down about little things anymore and I've learned so much about the proper way to eat! So, in short...this resolution is almost complete!!

#2 - Stay positive. As I said above my attitude has done a 180, so the goal here is to continue on that path. It's a tough road for us at the moment because we feel like we are in limbo a little bit, but we keep remembering that everything will work out wherever we end up as long as we are together!! All you need is love!

#3 - Keep in touch. I think that this is something I say every year, but I'm going to really try to have a concerted effort towards keeping in touch with friends and family.

#4 - Save money! We are very good about not spending money unnecessarily, but this year we'd like to be able to start actually saving money again. Once we get to where we are going and we both have jobs, the savings account will hopefully start growing again and the student loans will hopefully start shrinking!

#5 - Finalize my career plans. For a while now I've been pretty set on going back to school and getting a degree in accounting. That is still the plan, but this year I hope to start getting the ball rolling so I can start school as soon as I gain in-state residency - wherever that may be :)

Dream Home - Guest Room Suite

2010-12-11T19:23:00.011-07:00

Now we are getting into the really fun rooms to decorate - the Bedrooms!! In my dream home I would have a guest suite as part of the main house AND a whole separate guest quarters - like a mother-in-law suite. That will come later, for now, here is my guest suite:

The hubby's favorite color is yellow and I'm loving the yellow and grey combo so I thought this would be fun to have in this type of room. Tying in the touches of turquoise found throughout the rest of the house, I added the tide pillow and a few other accents:

A small turquoise cake stand for jewelry or wallets or pocket lint:

An alternative lamp option is this turquoise coral lamp, but I do LOVE the mercury lamp in the collage:

This fun tray would be nice to have some bottled water and some snacks for guests while bringing a bit of turquoise cheer:

And lastly, a little bluebird for happiness:

Going back to the main color of the room, yellow! I love the seahorse pillow but I was thinking I could paint something similar on some white canvas and voila we have easy and pretty cheap wall art. I think I would stick with a white wall color and white ceiling fan as well.

Here is the guest bathroom:

I love the yellow sliding barn door! How awesome is that! The bathroom would bring out more of the grey color - with a similar grey color on the walls as the barn door picture. I don't imagine the bathroom to be huge or anything, just a simple pedestal sink, white medicine cabinet, shower with the great yellow and grey splash shower curtain and of course a toilet - obviously.

I really like the simplicity of these fixtures from Restoration Hardware:

For lighting, I like the matching sconces with a bright white lamp shade:

I do love the chandelier in the collage, but I also kind of love this one as well:

And who can resist some pretty fan coral on a black and grey background to keep the beachy theme going!

I'm really excited about this suite because I think our guests would be very comfortable and its just a little bit different from the rest of house, so it's a true get-away! What do you think? How do you feel about the resurgence of grey? I think it's pretty great - in moderation.

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Dream Home - Office

2010-12-05T21:09:00.003-07:00

I know, I know...it's taken me way too long to post this but I've been busy finding inspirations and such...so, without further ado, here is the dream board for my dream home office:

I imagine this same setup to be symmetrical on the other side of the room so both the hubby and I have a space and plenty of space for the kiddos one day. The color of the desks and cabinetry would be very similar to what I chose for the kitchen as well. Although I do kind of like that these are a little more turquoise as opposed to baby blue.

One of the must haves for me is a ton of storage space, which is probably what drew me to this inspiration room- there are a ton of cabinets! It'll be perfect for work, crafting, gift wrapping, homework, etc! There is enough room for everything!

As you can tell from the dream board, I love The Container Store!! I love the white lace looking desk sets for myself with a few of the navy blue ones mixed in - of course the opposite for the other side of the room.

I would also like to have some random and quirky office supplies thrown in - I love the little bird paper clip holders, aren't they fun! They are from Cute as Pie Office Supply.

I love the huge cork board hanging on the wall, great place for fun inspiration ideas! On another wall these dry erase wall calendar dots from Pottery Barn Teen will keep everyone on schedule:

What do you think about it?! Does anyone else ever dream about a home office! Ha! What types of things would you need to have to make it functional for you?

Babies, babies and more babies...

2010-12-05T20:50:00.005-07:00

To say that I may be obsessed a bit is putting it mildly, but I'm completely addicted to crochet. I love the fact that I'm creating something completely from scratch. It's pretty awesome and it keeps me busy when I get bored! This is the third blanket I've made so far and it's for another friend's baby boy! Geez..all of my friends have babies, hmmm...

Anywho, I digress...I love the colors of this one, I may have to use them again for something because they are just so bright and cheery.

I didn't use a pattern again for this one, I just made up some stripes of course. However, I did use two different stitches again. This time the double crochet for the colored stripes and single crochet for the white. I like the double crochet a lot, it kind of gives it a little bit more of an airy feel.

It is going to be awhile before I post another blanket because the next recipient is the hubby and he is very tall!! So far I've had to restart the blanket 3 times to make sure its the right size!

Veteran's Day

2010-11-11T10:17:00.004-07:00

Happy Veteran's Day to all of the men and women who serve our country! I'm very lucky and proud to have served with some of the best of them!

My Newest Creation

2010-11-03T19:09:00.004-07:00

Here is my newest crocheted creation. I made it for another one of my friends' babies - but she's not really a baby anymore! Anyway, I went with a little different stitch - a half double stitch. I still did stripes just because it's the easiest for me to do without an actual pattern. Not to mention that I don't always understand the patterns that I find!! I also made it a lot smaller this time...this is more Kelly size than Zoli size.

Dream Home - Laundry/Mud Room

2010-10-20T21:33:00.012-07:00

In my perfect Dream Home there is the entrance that goes into a hallway with a half bath and leads into the great room/dining/kitchen area. From the kitchen/dining room side a hallway leads to the garage (in the front) and then in the back is the laundry room/utility room. There is also an office on this side but that'll be featured next.

In my true Dream Home I would have a nice huge laundry room complete with a mud-room (instead of the craft area seen in this photo) similar to this from My Home Ideas:

But...in the real world, I'll be lucky to just get a small closet with room for a washer/dryer and maybe some cabinets.

Either way, the laundry room will be solely my domain since the Hubby doesn't always pick the right settings so I get very nervous. Because of this I want to decorate with one of my favorite colors - PINK!

I adore this wallpaper from York Wallcoverings:

As for decor, these fashion prints from Chad Barrett would be fun:

As for the washer and dryer - I would like glossy white or a platinum color - of course an energy star appliance as well. Any cabinetry would be white with these very girly knobs from Restoration Hardware:

For the Mud Room side I would like something like this set up from - of course - Pottery Barn:

And for the piece de resistance - a chandelier for the lighting! I know its so over the top for a laundry room, but hey, why not! I would definitely try to find something cheap at a flea market or something and spray paint it white - or maybe even black! That would be fun! The look I have in mind though is similar to this chandelier from Pottery Barn Kids:

The Office is up next and then moving on to the bedrooms!! Yay!

Dream Home - Kitchen/Dining

2010-10-16T19:28:00.007-07:00

Planning your Dream Home kitchen is a tough task and virtually impossible to cover everything, so the following inspiration board gives you the general idea and decor but not all the exact details.

The layout that I imagine is the living area of the great room opens up to the dining area which is right next to the kitchen (similar to the middle Home Idea room). I know a lot of people think that a formal dining room is necessary but if I had to give up a room, that would be the one. I'd rather have a nice big dining table with comfy chairs and bench close to the kitchen so you can actually enjoy your guests company as you cook! That's half the fun!!

For the Kitchen and Dining room I would like the sea blue to take over. I pretty much love everything about the My Home Idea Kitchen at the top left. Those blue cabinets are perfect!! The only thing that I would possibly change is instead of the silver accents it would be bronze/copper. I just love the copper look, but the silver also looks awesome. For the counters, in a perfect world, I would go with the Perla di Sabbia Granite countertop from Granite Transformations and a dark wood butcher block for the island.

I also like the open shelving and cream walls. Speaking of walls - I kind of image the board and batten from the living area with a darker khaki color on top to continue through the dining room and then end once it meets the kitchen and turn in to a shade or two lighter cream but all in the same color realm.

You are probably wondering - "Roosters? Roosters in Hawaii?!" Well, I've always loved the idea of having a rooster decor in my kitchen - not going over board or anything. Two reasons why they will work in this dream home are: 1) it'll tie in the coral color from the living area and 2) if you've ever been to Kauai - well, you know that there are a crap load of chickens and roosters walking around all over the place!!

We already have some good dishes, but there are some that will probably go including our purple, red, and vegetable design bowls. We will keep the cream plates as well as our putty colored plates. I also found some great rooster bowls and mugs at...wait for it....TJ Maxx of all places!! I know we shouldn't have bought anything that we have to move, but I couldn't resist! I think all of these would be perfect with the shiny blue set and a few more cream and sea creature plates shown above..I think they are all from Pottery Barn.

I went ahead and decided to include the dining room in here as well since it is kind of the same room. I LOVE the rustic wood table from Pottery Barn (yes, if I could live in a Pottery Barn catalog, I would!). One side would be a bench and the other I think would be something like these slip covered chairs:

The blue stripes would be fun but I'd have to see if it is maybe too much, otherwise I would go with the cream ones...and yes, I would stain guard them first!!

Lastly, the lighting. I love the pendant lights above the kitchen island and I must have the gorgeous capiz shell rectangular chandelier from West Elm. Isn't it perfect with that table!

What do you guys think? Will it all go with the rest of the house?

My Distraction

2010-10-01T19:10:00.007-07:00

This blanket is what I was completely obsessed with finishing and caused my lapse in writing. I wanted to wait to post about it until I knew my friend received it. So, here is the story behind the whole thing....

One of my bestest friends is expecting her first baby, a little girl, anytime now and I wanted to make something for her. Initially I wanted to cross stitch a baby sampler but I was having a really hard time finding something that would match the nursery which is pink and a brown animal print of some kind. While looking for a cross stitch kit I found this yarn...

I decided that I would learn how to crochet and make a baby blanket! That wouldn't be too hard, right? Well, the first night I tried I could not for the life of me figure it out. After a temper tantrum and calling my mom to complain about the fact that I couldn't figure it out, I decided to give it one more try and I figured it out! Well, I only figured out how to single crochet but I figured that would be fine. Here is a close up of the single crochet...

I started out with 300 stitches, which I thought would be a good length. I wasn't using a pattern or anything, I was just going to make a small baby blanket with the Neopolitan yarn. Well, I soon figured out that it was really really long and an entire blanket of that same colored yarn would be boring. So, I decided to make stripes with the solid colors...

Needless to say the blanket turned into an adult size..it was actually perfect size for my hubby whom is 6 foot 2! Oh well, the little one will grow into it!

Now that this project is done, moving on to finishing the Scrapbook!

Dream Home - Great Room - Living Area

2010-09-13T11:27:00.007-07:00

I apologize for the delay in posts, I've been completely consumed by a new project of mine which I will post about later once it's complete. In the mean time, here is the inspiration board for my Great Room living Area.

I'm going with the 60/30/10 rule. Sixty percent browns and khakis, thirty percent blues, and ten percent coral. I would love a couch similar to the one above from Pottery Barn in a camel color. I love the chaise lounge aspect to it, so that is a must. Z must have a nice leather recliner so I'm thinking a chocolate brown color would be perfect. For the island aspect, I'll include the pretty rattan side chair as well, Pottery Barn, World Market and Pier 1 all have some great options.

As accents to the seating area I would go with the neutral sea creature pillows mixed with coral pillows and some blue striped pillows (I love stripes!).

The painting of Pele - Hawaiian Goddess of fire - is the perfect piece for over the TV stand from World Market. The coordinating shelves will be perfect places for our keepsakes from around the world - which I have pictures of but they are on our external hard drive and I am feeling lazy right now.

To tie everything together, I think this rug from MItchell Gold and Bob WIlliams would be awesome:

Lastly, I absolutely adore this look of board and batten, but with a khaki wall color:

What do you think? Next up, the kitchen....

Dream Home - Half Bath

2010-08-21T16:19:00.011-07:00

This is the inspiration board for my Dream Home Half Bath:

I'm sure you are saying to yourselves - "What is with the stripes?!" But, I figure that it is more likely for me to get a half bath or guest bath than a separate entryway so I will definitely have these beautiful Chocolate stripes!!!

I basically adore everything about the idea bathroom that I found at My Home Ideas. The stripes are perfect and I thought I could use some vintage Hawaii posters or even postcards as decoration. I found the awesome vanity and great lighting at good old Pottery Barn. You may be wondering why I didn't go with a round sink similar to the one in the Idea picture. Well, I used to want one and I do think they look great, however we have one at work and I don't actually love it. So, I have started to go away from that look. Besides I love the idea of the sink being so huge! You don't have to worry so much about cleaning a counter top and the clutter that can build up. (Is this a sign of laziness?)

I was thinking this mirror would be awesome. I might even be able to make something similar myself. This particular mirror is called Rock Candy Mirror from Marjorie Skoras Design (same place as the Entryway Chandelier).

The floor is an awesome custom colored bamboo from NikzadFlooring. It is a frosted white micro bevel and would really brighten it up I think.

To finish off the look, I would use some pretty monogramed plush towels from Pottery Barn.

I think that I might actually be able to pull off this look, besides the flooring which is a little on the expensive side, but where there is a will there is a way!

P.S. I apologize for the dramatic use of the word "awesome" in this post - but lets face it, the room is pretty awesome! Ha!

Awesome Idea

2010-08-17T21:27:00.005-07:00

Just to make sure no one freaks out - NO, I am not pregnant and this is not my child! But I will have one of my own someday, hopefully, and I saw this awesome photo project at Young House Love.

They take pictures of the their cute baby girl every week on different fabrics with a simple white onesie. Then, they photoshop the week number on the onesie. It is so cute and an awesome idea. Check it out here:

Young House Love: Where Do Baby Photos Come From

Scrapbook Project

2010-08-15T13:13:00.011-07:00

I know that you are all waiting on pins and needles for My Dream Home - Hall Bath, but I'm having some troubles finding certain items so you will have to wait a little bit. In the mean time, I'd like to share with you my latest project - Scrapbooking!

I've always been a scrapbooker, I have a Scrapbook for each year of college + other events that seem to be eternally in progress! Currently though, I was asked by my Step Mom to make a Scrapbook for my beautiful and talented step sister whom is graduating from High School this year! Ah! She is on a dance team at school called the Trojan Belles. They are pretty great and have been around for a LONG time so as you can imagine an organization like that tends to take over your High School experience....ie, she has a lot of stuff - I mean memories - that would probably just end up stored away in a box and forgotten. Enter the scrapbook:

I usually try to organize my scrapbooks in chronological order but this time I think I'm going to go with events - Football games, competitions, shows, trips, etc...

These are the stacks of things I'm going through, just waiting on some more pictures and then we can actually start designing pages!

I'm going for a girlie and glitzy feel while also paying homage to the school colors (blue and gold). I found this great scrapbook and solid paper at good old Michaels:

And then of course I like to throw in some fun paper and stickers and Bling!

You always need Holiday stuff and they sell poinsettia's at Christmas as a fundraiser - I'm pretty sure they hold the market for poinsettia sales in Austin! Ha!

Can't go wrong with Football (and pink glitter letters)!

They took a fun trip to New York her first year on the team, so this is crucial (again glitter is a must)!

This paper is just awesome! It's perfect for competitions or their shows!

And some fun girlie items are always necessary (who doesn't love zebra print paper)!

Hopefully this will all work out and come together nicely! I think it's going to be fun! I'll post my progress and some of the fun pages periodically!

My Dream Home: The Entryway

2010-08-09T13:45:00.014-07:00

Welcome to the first installment of My Dream Home Design:

We are going to start the tour in the entryway. Obviously it's a little difficult to provide specifics since I have no idea what the layout is actually going to look like. Throughout my dreaming process I have basically had two visions. One is my actual dream house - one that we build from scratch and I get to include everything I really want. The second is a more realistic house. So, I will start with explaining the layout of my dream house but I will highlight items that no matter what the real room looks like are must haves.

The Entryway:

My dream house starts with a beautiful Koa wood door with thin tempered glass panels on the sides, with of course, a pineapple knocker which is the universal symbol of "Welcome."

As you open the door, you enter into a circular vestibule style entry that opens up into a hallway which leads to the great room. Approximately a space that is similar to this (without the stairs):

I would love to have that star design in the flooring. It's like the North Star leading you home!

Speaking of flooring, I would love to have Tiger wood or Koa wood floors throughout the whole house. Yes, I realize its expensive, but we are talking about my dream house here!

Assuming that the entryway is a somewhat separate vestibule type area, I would like to paint it in very thick (12-18in) horizontal stripes in a cream color and a milky aqua color. Similar to these Valspar colors:

The white color is called Honeymilk and it is actually much more white than what that picture shows. Here is a picture of it from Young House Love (It's the lighter shade):

For lighting, I found this awesome photo at My Home Ideas:

I must have that chandelier no matter what!! After some google searching I finally found it at Marjorie Skouras Design.

I must also have a small chest that has some kind of drawers or doors. Something similar to this chest from Pottery barn would be perfect:

I must have something like this because when I grew up we had a small chest with a door on it in our entryway. For some reason I felt that it was this magical little hiding place. I firmly believed as a child that it held many secrets. It also was what I thought to be a perfect hiding place for my special little trinkets. So, I would like to have something that my children can use to hide their trinkets as well. On top though, I would place some fresh flowers and maybe some candles or something. On the wall above the cabinet, I would place this awesome sea shell mirror from Pottery Barn:

Those are the basics of my dream home entryway. What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Here is the look all pulled together:

Next week - the half bath! Get excited!

My Dream House

2010-08-08T18:47:00.008-07:00

I am a freak when it comes to decorating and designing houses. I absolutely love doing it and I am obsessed at looking at design sites and DIY blogs. Unfortunately, I just haven't lived somewhere long enough or with the idea that I would be living there for very long to actually design my space. That certainly hasn't stopped me from dreaming of my perfect house. And, well, even just my permanent house. So, I have decided to share with all of you my ever elusive ideas of my future house in a several post series. Keep in mind that my dream house is going to be in Hawaii, which is the reason for the tropical, beachy feel.

First, I'd like to give you a glimpse at some of the key pieces that MUST be in my house!

This tile is a must. It's gorgeous. I've always pictured it in a bathroom but I bet it would look pretty nice as a backsplash as well. The tile is from Oceanside Tile.

I adore this bed. It is the perfect compromise between my husband and me. It's the beachy tropical touch I want in a sleigh bed which he really wants. It's from, of course, Pottery Barn.

Capiz shell lighting just screams Hawaii to me. West Elm has a variety of Capiz shell lighting in all different shapes and sizes.

I'm in love with this countertop for my Kitchen. It's recycled glass, so it's environmentally friendly as well as gorgeous. I won't go much further because I'll give away my dream Kitchen! This can be found at Granite Transformations and is under the Trend Glass collection. It's called Cosmic Brown! Love it!

And last, but certainly not least...this gorgeous painting! It is a painting of Pele the Hawaiian goddess of Fire. We have a poster of it which we tried to frame very nicely to class it up a bit. That is what we will have to start with until we can maybe, one day, afford to get an actual painting of it. This will be the centerpiece of our family room.

Hopefully this gives you a nice peak into my dream house. I'll be posting one room at a time once a week! I hope you enjoy and let me know if you have any ideas!

Coupons!

2010-08-06T15:50:00.004-07:00

For those of you who don't know, I am an extremely avid couponer. Obviously to save money, but it's also just awesome when you get great deals. You feel like you've won a competition or something. Well, today, I won big time!!

I mainly stick to CVS and Walgreens because they offer the Extra Care Bucks and Register Rewards respectively. I always get help on these deals from SouthernSavers - (you don't have to live in the South for all of the deals). If you want to learn to be a super couponer I would suggest checking out the site. They have a ton of printable coupons as well as going through ads and giving examples of the deals you can get.

Here are the awesome deals I made today:

Walgreens:

Gillette Fusion Razor (normally $12.99) on sale for $9.89
Burt's Bees Lip Balm (not on sale but a must in this household) $2.99
6 Pack highlighters $0.19 (what a steal)
4 Powerades at $0.75 each - $3.00

Which means I owed $16.07
Minus $12.00 in coupons (including previous Register Rewards)= $4.07 (+ tax it came to $5.28)

Wait, that's not all - I got $5 back in register rewards, so I got all of that for only $0.28!! Awesome!

CVS:

Bonnie Bell Lip Smack in Dr. Pepper of course - $1.89
Venus Breeze Razor - $9.79 (normally $9.99)
Bic Soleil Shimmer Razor - $4.99 (normally $6.99)

Total - $16.67
Minus $14.00 in coupons (including previous Extra Care Bucks) = $2.67 (+ tax it came to $4.14)

Wait again! I got $5 back in Extra Care Bucks, which means I got this stuff for FREE!!!

Best coupon day so far!!

The great thing is that even if I didn't get the rewards, it still would have been awesome deals considering one of the razors alone is over $9!

Yay!

Heirloom Tomatoes

2010-08-05T18:36:00.008-07:00

One of the greatest things about summer time is the abundance of corn that is available. But that's not what this blog is about.

This blog is about another great thing that summer brings us - tomatoes!! I've been craving heirloom tomatoes since I saw a recipe for an heirloom tomato salad, however I couldn't find regular sized heirlooms. I did find grape heirlooms!! They are so adorable and sooooo yummy!

What did you do with the heirlooms? you ask. Well, I made bruschetta! Yum!

Here are all of the tomatoes combined with their friends garlic, basil, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

Here are all of the tomatoes on top of their other friend - french baguette.

Don't they just look so delicious!

Yummm...

I want some more but I can't find the little fellas anymore. Very sad.

So, the moral of the story is that if you can find them in a grocery store near you - BUY THEM AND USE THEM! You can thank me later.

For those of you who are not inclined to cook without a specific recipe (ie my sister - Kim) here you go:

- Quarter a cup, or as many as you like, grape heirloom tomatoes
- Mince a clove of garlic per cup of tomatoes
- Chop 3-4 leaves of basil based on how much you like
- Add a tablespoon of olive oil and balsamic vinegar (taste it and adjust from there)
- Add salt and pepper if you like
- Slice a french baguette and toast it under the broiler
- Spoon the tomatoes on top of the toast. Eat with a glass of your favorite wine
(You can also add some parmesan cheese shavings if you are feeling super naughty!)

Enjoy!

Love,
Kelly

Linked up at Tatertots and Jello

P.S. So sorry about the horrible photography! My kitchen lighting is horrible and it was dark outside!

Cool Blogs

2010-08-01T17:19:00.004-07:00

I've been looking into some new blogs lately - especially ones that have some cool redecorating and fun crafty projects.

Here are a few of my new favorites:

The Dress-Up Drawer

The Tidy Nest with this cool kitchen makeover

{cowboy} phraseology with this awesome bead board project

Sometimes on a Tuesday with this pretty office/guest room makeover. I love the colors!

Thrillingly Thrifty with a cool T-shirt butterfly mobile. She also links to an awesome polka dot mobile that I would love to try to make for a friend, but it's probably a little beyond me.

And of course Our Mush Push - my cousin's blog! She always has some good stories or great projects going on!

Hope you enjoy!

Weird...

2010-06-30T20:07:00.003-07:00

There are two meals that I just absolutely love! I've made them both the last two nights. One is a simple chicken salad with whatever you have in your fridge but it has to have Honey Mustard and Cheddar cheese. The other is Cheese tortellini in mixed pasta (spinach, wheat, etc) with pesto and some parmesan. Both are super easy and delicious. Now what's weird about it is that I started loving these while I was on deployment in Iraq. I pretty much had the salad every day (of course the chicken was usually fried - hey, I didn't have a lot of options people) and the pasta was a go to when there wasn't any chicken or anything else.

Anyway, random post, I know, but I just had to say that I LOVE these meals. So yummy, but they always make me think about deployment and the Navy.

That is all. Kelly out.

In case you were wondering...

2010-06-26T07:26:00.001-07:00

...I did run again on Thursday, but this time it was only 98 degrees! It was still pretty sucky, but slept like a baby!

Running when it's 100 degrees outside...

2010-06-24T19:03:00.002-07:00

I get bored with the gym and running on a treadmill very easily, so I decided that despite the crazy temperatures out there I'm just going to suck it up and run outside. Here is the progression of my workout and post workout:

1/10 of a mile - It's hot, but I can do it

3/10 of a mile - I should probably find a route thats not by asphalt

4/10 of a mile - I think the asphalt is melting

5/10 of a mile - Is my skin melting?!!

8/10 of a mile - Pick up the right leg, now the left, now the right...

1 mile - ....

2 hours later - water has never tasted better

5 hours later - yummy water - I have to pee

5.5 hours later - I have to pee again

6 hours later - ugh, I'm exhausted

7 hours later - hmm, my skin looks fantastic - Vitamin D and workout glow is amazing!

8 hours later - s-o t-i-r-e-d

8.5 hours later - drink more water so I can do it all again tomorrow!

Awesome Handwriting Tool

2010-06-23T21:19:00.003-07:00

I found this great website from another blog that I read called Benign Objects, that allows you to capture your handwriting and type handwritten letters! Isn't that amazing! All you have to do is print out the template from the site, fill it in, scan it or capture it via webcam or digital camera, then it will allow you to save it as your handwriting and start sending e-mails! Go here to learn more!

My New Favorite Necklace

2010-06-17T10:06:00.004-07:00

I made this necklace for my lovely cousin whom has a great blog - Mush Push - and she posted a link to my Etsy shop to help me promote my necklaces. So, I made this necklace for her which is my new favorite one:

I was holding off posting about it because I wanted to make sure that she received it before I put the pictures up!! I might have to make another one for myself!

Memorial Day

2010-05-31T10:23:00.002-07:00

To all those who have served this country; past, present and future...we remember:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

LOST - A Love - Hate Relationship

2010-05-24T10:56:00.006-07:00

Last night was the LOST finale - like you didn't know! Ha. Anyway, it was so bittersweet. As usual they left it open to interpretation and questions still unanswered, but in the end, the characters have moved on and I guess it's time we do to. We were both a little sad afterwards, feeling upset that the suspense each week that we held for Lost is gone. We've been watching LOST for the last 4 years - yes we came to the program a little late, but thanks to our friend Colin we got caught up quickly. LOST has been with us through it all, marriage, deployment - yes, I did download the 5th season of LOST while I was in Iraq and yes it did take 36 hours per episode, moving to Arizona, losing jobs, and finding jobs. I love these characters and I loved seeing Hawaii every week. I will mss them but I really hope they don't try to take it any further with a movie or a spin-off. It won't be the same and I refuse to watch it unless all of the same cast are involved!!

I'm sure that the ending of LOST will be debated forever, but what's nice about it is that you can make it mean whatever you want. Personally, I think the island life was real and at some point they all died, and once they finally realized they died and remembered all of the people that mattered the most they found peace and redeemed themselves.

Loved it! and I will miss my Tuesday night Lost!

On the other hand....part of me hated it. While the finale answered a lot of questions posed in the final season concerning the Flash-sideways as the "afterlife" but what about the Island. Where is it, what is it? What is the light? How did the Man in black become the smoke monster exactly - I assume its the electric event combined with his magic powers, but why does he have magic powers? Who and where did the original protectors come from? If the flash-sideways was the afterlife and the Island was real, why is Michael destined to be one of the "whisperers" of the island?

As you can tell, so many questions remained unanswered. Yes, the characters' story is over and explained, but the Sci-Fi part of the show was far from resolved.

Hated it ...but I will still miss my Tuesday night Lost!

Necklace Giveaway!

2010-05-17T20:53:00.002-07:00

In order to get the word out there about my Etsy shop I am having a necklace giveaway! Anyone who posts about my necklaces and the link to my Etsy shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/knkaggie) on their blog or Facebook will receive a free 16-18 inch necklace in the color of your choice.

Leave me a comment where you've posted the link, a way to get in touch with you, and your color and length choice.

My Favorite One So Far

2010-05-14T13:23:00.002-07:00

Here is my favorite necklace I've made so far. I really wanted to keep it, so I might just have to make another one!

Thanks to everyone for their support and keep watching my Etsy shop! I'm working on five more as we speak...I mean, type!

Handmade Necklaces

2010-05-13T21:00:00.007-07:00

I recently started making handmade necklaces. For my first batch I used one of these bead kits and they were ok, but not amazing. Then I decided I should just go for it and start something from scratch. Well, for those of you who know me you can only imagine what happened next...I became addicted! I absolutely love it and I've found that I can make much better and more creative necklaces than you can ever purchase in a name brand store. I've made so many that I just can't justify keeping them all for myself so I've decided to try to start selling them on Etsy.com. Here are the pictures of the ones I'm selling on my Etsy shop:

This is my Green Multi-Strand Starfish:

Brown Multi-Strand:

Amethyst Asymetric Multi-Strand:

Natural Stone Asymetric Multi-Strand:

Multi-Strand Dove:

If you are interested in any of these items, check out my new Etsy store and please share with your friends!

First Days....

2010-04-02T10:55:00.002-07:00

I think that no matter how old you are or how much experience you have, you always get nervous on your first few days of something new. Whether that is a new job, a new relationship, starting new classes, or moving someplace new you always get those little butterflies and wonder if you made the right decision.

I started a new job on Tuesday and it's not a hard job by any means, but like any new venture there are a lot of things to learn. I know that within the week I'll be more comfortable and all the butterflies will be gone, but in the mean time I'll continue to have a case of the "First Days."

A Great Meal

2010-03-30T18:38:00.015-07:00

I absolutely love pasta. I can't get enough of it. If I could, I'm pretty sure I would have some kind of meal that includes pasta in it every night, however that is not so waist friendly. Once a week or every two weeks is ok, right? Hello? Right!!?

I recently discovered a great and very easy bolognese sauce. It's a Kraft Food recipe and soooo delicious (I'll include the actual recipe below). Normally we just have the spaghetti and call it quits, but since I was feeling very generous today and Z got a job, I decided to indulge in some homemade garlic bread!!! Yay!

As I type there is a scrumptious italian bread loaf sitting cut in half lengthwise with melted butter mixed with roasted garlic spread all over it!! I roasted the garlic with olive oil and S&P in a 325 degree oven for 50 minutes. Then, I mixed it with some softened butter. I was a little eager and just threw it all together and then mashed it up, but I would suggest mashing up the garlic first before mixing it up with the butter. Then I just spread it all over the bread. It smells so delicious!!

Just look at all those chunks of roasted garlic!

To start this scrumptious meal, you will cook some Zesty Italian dressing with a small chopped onion until the onion is nice and tender. Then add in a pound of extra lean meat.

Cook until the meat is browned and add in a can of tomato sauce and a can of diced tomatoes.

Mix it all up nicely and bring it to a boil. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Place the bread in the oven.

In the meantime, hopefully your pasta water is boiling so you can cook the spaghetti according to the directions on the package. (Please don't judge me by the quality of my photos, I haven't quite mastered the whole cook with one hand and take pictures with the other!)

Once the pasta is al dente, drain it and then sit around and wait a few minutes until your husband comes home from the driving range.

Take out the garlic bread from the oven (I cooked the bread in a 400 degree oven for about 8 minutes and then I turned off the oven and left it in there to keep it warm without it getting too brown.)

With the heat on low or off, mix in the cream cheese and parmesan cheese. Once the cream cheese is completely melted and mixed in, add the spaghetti and mix it up.

Serve with some garlic toast and you could even serve it with a side salad if you wanted to pretend to be healthy!

This is one of my most favorite meals and I hope you enjoy it too!

Spaghetti with Zesty Bolognese (6 servings):

Ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup Light Zesty Italian Dressing
1 lb extra lean ground beef
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
3/4 lb (12oz) spaghetti (we use whole wheat)
2 Tbsp Light Cream Cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

How to Make it:

Cook and stir onions in dressing in large skillet on medium heat until crisp-tender. Add meat; cook on medium-high heat until browned, stirring frequently. Stir in tomato sauce and tomatoes. Bring to boil; simmer on medium-low for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, cook spaghetti as directed on package.

Remove sauce from heat. Add cream cheese; stir until melted. Drain spaghetti and place in large bowl. Top with sauce and parmesan.

Enjoy!

I wish..

2010-03-26T08:44:00.003-07:00

I wish that we never had to leave here

I wish we had a house with a view like this

Luckily, I don't need to wish for this

because I have everything I need.

Waaaayyyy Tooooo Long!!!

2010-03-24T19:05:00.005-07:00

I know, I know, it has been way too long since I posted anything. So, I am now going to make up for it. First off, I did get my hair cut actually at the end of January because Aveda had an awesome deal going where you could get a free conditioning treatment with any service. Isn't that sweet. Anywho, here is the picture:

It looks pretty close to the Heidi cut don't you think? I liked it a lot, however it has officially grown out and doesn't look like this anymore. It doesn't look bad, but its not this good.

Secondly, I did go to Maryland a few weeks ago and it was great to see my friends again. It had been way too long since I'd seen them and I hope that we will keep in touch better until we see each other again. What was also really awesome is getting to see the babies!! Page has grown up so much, she is almost 2 and I finally got to meet Jacob, who is 6 months. Here are some cute pics:

Lastly, it has been a tough few weeks. I unfortunately was laid off from my job because the practice was essentially sold to another practitioner and they didn't need an additional employee. Also, our lease on our apartment is up in May and when we went in to renew it, the shortest lease is through March, which is 3 months longer than we were hoping for. Also, Z and I have both been a little under the weather. Good news is that we are together and things really really aren't that bad. I have two interviews tomorrow and Z had a great interview today with Golfsmith. We have also worked out the issue with the lease, we still have it through March but we figured out some options. And, I'm starting to feel better, hopefully Z will also soon!

So, now I've updated you on my hair, my friends, and complained to you about our silly little issues. I think we're caught up for now!

Love ya!

2010 Want, Need, Must Have List

2010-01-22T09:59:00.004-07:00

Since Z and I are on such a tight budget this year I can't just go out willy nilly and buy or do things for myself or for Z, however everyone needs something to look forward to every month. So, I've created this list of items or events that I will get or do each month. Of course, as we all know, my mind changes a lot so these might not hold true but hey, at least I have something to look forward to!

January: We found a great, fun, cheap place to hang out with a very dear and old friend - Juan Jaime's Tacos and Tequila! It sounds yummy doesn't it, and guess what - it was! Although you might want to learn to say, "No more margaritas!" if you want to get out of there alive! Ha! Z and I went there with a very dear friend of mine whom I have known my entire life. Unfortunately she is leaving us to go to another job in Maryland! But we sure had fun with Tacos and Tequila!!

February: I haven't had my haircut since April, can you believe it!!! So, I have decided to get a haircut and maybe even highlights done this month. I'm thinking something like this picture of Heidi Klum. I could pull it off right?

March: My three bestest friends and I are going to meet up this month for a girls getaway. I'm very excited cause I haven't seen them for over a year!! AND I finally get to meet little Jacob!!

April: April showers bring.....This month I will be rewarding myself with the super luxuriant Kiehls Creme De Corps Nurturing Body Wash Creme - yum, I sense a lot of wonderful showers/baths this month.

May: ....May flowers. I absolutely love having flowers around the house, however when on a budget they are very unnecessary, however this month I'm going to treat myself and our apartment with a stargazer lily bouqet!

June: It's time to get some new running shoes! Maybe these from New Balance?!?

July: The sun is shining and the temperatures are rising! It's time for a new bathing suit just in time for the 4th of July. I love Victoria Secret bathing suits, maybe something like this one:

August: Z and I are going to try to go to Hawaii for a week so that he can pass around his resumes and get his name out there - and just enjoy the island!! However, if we can't do that, we WILL have our very own AZ Luau!

September: I imagine that we may still be recovering from our trip to Hawaii so this month we are just going to enjoy a nice Movie and Dinner date!

October: I'm thinking it might be time for another haircut? Or at least some new hair products from my favorite store, Aveda!

November: Hmmm, I can't think this far ahead. My brain hurts!

December: Well, this is an easy month! Go home for Christmas!!! It has been way too long!

Ten of My Favorite Things

2010-01-13T11:11:00.011-07:00

Today I am going to write about some of my favorite materialistic things. I've been itching to do some shopping, but I really don't want to spend any money, so I decided to compile this list of all the really wonderful things I already have. Most should have pictures, but for those that don't, "I'm workin' on it!"

#1 - Knee High Black Boots - They are from the Naturalizer, which I normally would associate with older ladies, but lets face it, we are all getting older and I require comfortable shoes. I have never really been able to wear heels successfully, despite the fact that I am five foot nothing and married to a man that is over six feet tall!! So, when I found these wonderful boots which have a heel and I can wear them around all day everyday, I was very excited.

#2 - Jewelry - I just started wearing real jewelry again, as in earrings, necklaces, etc. There are certain pieces that I have really really been liking lately, so I am going to include them here. First, my pearl earrings, which I have always loved and were pretty much the only earrings I have worn in the past 5 years until recently. I have really loved pairing them with an old choker necklace of my grandma's. It has pearls and rhinestones all over it and I love it! Lastly, these chandelier earrings, which are super old and I'm sure really cheap, but for some reason I'm loving them right now!

#3 - Bath and Body Works Wild Honeysuckle - This is just an amazing scent and I can't get enough of it. It reminds me of Hawaii - I don't really think it smells all that tropical but I started wearing it there so it takes me back - and it smells really really good when mixed with sandy beaches! (It's too bad that we don't have scratch and sniff computers!)

#4 - Candles - I love all candles, especially Yankee Candles because they smell so freakin' yummy!! I love the Vanilla Cupcake candles because they smell like 3000 calories without the guilt! For Christmas time I always try to get a Balsam scent so that it smells like Christmas trees and for the Fall a Pumpkin smell is a must have!! Oh, and word to the wise, do not, I repeat DO NOT go to the Yankee Candle website because you will see all these wonderful scents that they have and you will want to buy them all - I know because I just made that mistake!!!

#5 - Nail Polish - Now that I am no longer in the Navy I can paint my fingernails any friggin' color I want! Ha! Take that Navy! Ok, so now that that little tantrum is over, I just got some new polish from Ulta. They are a brand called China Glaze, which had nail hardeners in it and it provides very nice sheen and coverage. The first color is called Let's Groove and is a deep purple and the other is called Cords and it is a kind of a gun metal silver. Very nice for winter!

#6 - Cardigans - I know, I know, I sound like an old lady, but I do love Cardigans. They are great for layering and can be casual, great for work, and even nice for going out. My favorite one that I have right now is a magenta 3/4 sleeve sweater from Talbots. It is perfect!! I would like to have one in every color, but well, that is just excessive! (I don't have a pic of this one, sorry!)

#7 - Black Velvet Corduroys - Over Christmas break I purchased some great black velvet cords from Banana Republic. They were on sale and I could have gotten more, but I decided that they probably wouldn't be short enough for me and I would either have to get them altered or return them, so I only got the one! Ahh!! After one washing they were perfect length (when wearing my awesome knee-high black boots) and now they don't seem to sell them anymore! Crap! (Don't have a pic of these either, well I do, but it's not very good, they just look like black pants)

#8 - Mix and Match PJs - I love pajamas!! Just ask my Mom! Every year for Christmas she gets my sister and I a new set of PJs and well, this year she went over board and got three sets! But what is super wonderful about them is that they all mix and match!! Two of them are pant sets and the other one is shorts, but the shorts go with the other two tops and the short set top goes with the other two pants! Love it!!

#9 - Nora Roberts and Andrew M Greeley Novels - Lately I've been on a kick of reading books in a series. These aren't like Harry Potter or Twilight series because each book is technically independent of the others and you could probably just read one and be ok, but well, you know me I am a little OCD and I must read them all!! I love Nora Roberts, in particular her Wedding Quartet. It is about 4 best friends who own a Wedding Planning company and each book takes one of their perspectives. The other series I love is the Nuala Anne McGrail series from Andrew M Greeley. There are a ton of them and I've read about 5 of them back in the day, but since then he's put out quite a few more and thanks to my wonderful local library I am able to start reading those again. They are about an Irish couple who solves crimes in Chicago (I know, a little far-fetched but I love them anyway).

#10 - Aveda Hair Care Products - Some of my favorites from Aveda are the Rosemary Mint Shampoo and Conditioner, a mix of Smooth Infusions Style Prep Smoother and Light Elements Smoothing Fluid (two pumps of each) which add shine and controls flyaways, and lastly Brilliant Damage Control which I use as a detangler on my wet hair.

Sorry for the huge gap in posts, I will try to be better, but my life is pretty boring! Love ya!

Deployment Memories, 2nd Edition

2009-12-11T18:43:00.008-07:00

I just realized that I didn't post any pictures of people, whom are the reason for all the fun moments!

Ok, not the greatest picture of Ali and I, but it is the only one on my computer at the moment of us from deployment. We were just having a silly night in the old metal box we called home.

My buds...on their Boy/Girl Band CD cover. Don't they look like NSYNC or something!

Some more buds...how cute, they are using the box that I painstakingly created for their mission as a stool...

Oh, well, I lied. Here is Ali and I at Abraham's House.

One of my favorite crews! (I don't have a full picture of my other favorite crew - sad - tear)

Well, that is it for now. The other pictures that I have aren't on my computer right now.

Love ya!

Deployment Memories and Day 30 - 33, December 8th - 11th

2009-12-11T09:41:00.011-07:00

After a recent trip to my local VA clinic and seeing all these great old vets and talking with my Dad about how he is reconnecting with some of his old Air Force buddies, I started thinking about my last deployment. As much as I didn't want to be there and I wanted to be done with the Navy, I wouldn't have changed a thing. There were some very stressful times, hard times, lonely times, painful times, but there were also ALOT of fun times. Here are some of my favorite photos from my Iraq Deployment (I wish I could take credit for these, but I stole them from a guy in our squadron!)

This was the entrance to the Navy Compound

It's actually very pretty isn't it

We are the Skinny Dragons (the one on the far right)

That's the Mighty P-3 Orion - under the actual Orion Constellation

Then there are these awesome photos of the Ziggurat and Abraham's House (yes, the ACTUAL Abraham!)

The Ziggurat

Stairway to Heaven

Oldest Arch in the World!

The House of Abraham

Despite the long days, the sand storms...

It looks like Mars!!

Despite being away from friends and family, I can only hope that the work we were doing made a difference in people's lives and hopefully even saved a few.

I always have a prayer in my heart for all the soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen deployed oversees and I wish them good health and a safe return home!!

Day 25 - 29, December 3rd - 7th - Gift Wrapping Extravaganza!

2009-12-07T09:02:00.005-07:00

Once again I know I haven't been very good at keeping up with the daily diet log, but lets face it, they can be pretty boring if I don't have anything else to talk about, so I am grouping up days as I go. From last Thursday to today, Monday, I have been doing very well on my diet. The diet has stayed in tact, however I did have a little hiccup with my workouts due to a late doctors appointment. I didn't get home until 7:00 from it and I just wanted to eat dinner, but I forgive myself, so you should forgive me as well :)

Todays topic is Christmas gift shopping and wrapping. I have been doing some Christmas shopping for the last few months (just little things) so that I wouldn't have to spend everything at once. This Saturday we shopped all day to finish up the list. We have everything we were going to buy and all we have left is some delicious food gifts. Besides the food gifts and one very oddly shaped item, I finished wrapping everything as well! I know, it's crazy!! But, we do have to ship everything so I felt like I needed to get all of this done as quickly as possible.

Have you noticed that way too often we tend to spend just as much money on the gift wrap as we do on the gift itself? Well, this year I decided to take some advice from a budget saving article and got some solid color gift wrap (on sale), some floral accents on sale, and then I splurged on some ribbon and gift tags. The great thing about the solid color gift wrap is that you can use it all year for any occasion! Here is the outcome of my fun day of gift wrapping:

Day 24 - Wednesday, December 2nd

2009-12-03T10:59:00.005-07:00

Back to the old boring posts : ( I wish we could go on road trips everyday so I would have exciting pictures to show everyday. Wednesday was just a regular old hump day. However, we did get to watch Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer!!

I love that movie, but man, Santa sure was a meany!! Luckily, everything worked out alright in the end - hehe. However, we noticed that the movie got the amount of reindeer wrong. Isn't there 8 reindeer + Rudolph - "Now Dasher, Now Dancer, Now Prancer and Vixen! On Comet, On Cupid, On Donner and Blitzen!" ? The sleigh only had 6 + Rudolph! Craziness, anyway let me know what you think? Is it 6 or 8?

Day 24:

Breakfast - Cereal + Tea
AM Snack - Protein Snack Bar
Lunch - Protein Meal Bar
PM Snack - Cereal Bar
Dinner - Bean and Ham Soup

Workout - 5 minute warm up, 20 minute interval jogging, 5 minute cool down and abdominal strength training.

No Christmas movie tonight, but maybe some Christmas decorating!

Days 19 - 23 and The Grand Canyon!

2009-12-02T09:29:00.016-07:00

I know that I have been a little lax lately - ok, a lot lax - about posting the last few days, but you know how it goes when you are traveling and you have family in town. Believe it or not I actually kept up with my diet throughout this time. The only thing that was difficult was the work outs - driving a few hours everyday wasn't very conducive to the gym. But, the good news is that we picked it back up on Tuesday with a good 30 minute jog and upper body strength training.

Now, on to the important stuff - our road trip!!

On Friday, we drove up to Flagstaff. We visited the Riordan Mansion, which was beautiful. It is a log cabin home that was built and occupied by the Riordan family, whom basically put Flagstaff on the map with their lumber company. The house is 13,000 square feet and was occupied by 2 Riordan brothers who married 2 sisters. Each family occupied separate sides of the house which were connected by a large gathering room (you can kind of see it from this picture).

We couldn't take any pictures of the inside, but it was beautiful. It was an amazing example of the Arts and Crafts movement of bringing the outside in. Trust me on this one!

On Saturday, we drove up to the Grand Canyon. The North Rim was already closed for the season (and it was an extra 5 hour drive) so we just stuck with the South Rim. What can I say about the Grand Canyon besides...

Beautiful.

Majestic.

Vast.

And cold! I look like a marshmallow all bundled up in my layers!

Towards the end of the day it started snowing! It was very light and melted immediately, until we woke up the next morning to this....

It was so beautiful and exciting. You have to remember that we are from Texas and we have spent the last 4 years in Hawaii, so yes, snow is very very exciting!

Flagstaff is such a quaint little town and it just looks right when there is snow all over the place!

It was all light and fluffy and perfect for making snowballs - unfortunately I don’t have any pictures to show you our snowball fight - well, ok, I was the only one throwing them at Z. He is a very polite gentleman that didn’t throw them back at me. Ha - I win!

And last, but not least, I leave you today with this amazing wall mural...

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Day 18 - Thursday, November 26th

2009-11-28T20:52:00.004-07:00

Thanksgiving went really well. Everything was delicious and the timing worked out ok. We had some issues with the rolls, but we think it was due to some bad yeast. I wish I had taken pictures of everything, but once we had made everything we just wanted to eat it up!

I am very thankful to my wonderful family and friends. I wish that we could have been with all of you, but we are always together in our hearts. On Friday we headed to Flagstaff and then on to the Grand Canyon on Saturday. My next post will be about our trip and include pictures, it was majestic!

Day 18:
Thanksgiving!!!

Day 17 - Wednesday, November 25th

2009-11-26T10:33:00.002-07:00

The day before Thanksgiving!!! Yay, we are super excited about all of our fixins!! Since my mother in law was coming in to town on Wednesday I decided I would get up early and work out. Now, if you know anything about me you will know that I say that a lot and never actually get up. However, I actually did it today!!!! Yay!! Needless to say, I was pretty proud of myself!

Day 16:

Breakfast - Cereal + Tea
AM Snack - Mocha Bliss Bar
Lunch - Protein Shake + Grapes
PM Snack - Cereal Bar
Dinner - Chicken with Mashed potatoes

Workout - 5 minute warm up, 20 minute interval jogging, 5 minute cool down. Abdominal strength training.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and then we will be off to Flagstaff to check out the Grand Canyon. My posts will probably be delayed until we get back!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Day 16 - Tuesday, November 24th

2009-11-25T08:30:00.003-07:00

Tuesday was a good day. We were very busy at work which made the day go by much faster, I thought of some fun gift ideas for family and I had a good workout and dinner with my hubby, it can't get much better!

Day 16:

Breakfast - Protein Meal Bar + Green Tea Latte
AM Snack - Mocha Bliss Bar (Yum!)
Lunch - Protein Shake
PM Snack - Protein Snack Bar
DInner - Taco Salad

Workout - 5 minute warm up, 30 minute cardio (split between elliptical and bike because the treadmill was taken) and 5 minute cool down.

Tomorrow (as in today, Wednesday) I am going to attempt to wake up early and go workout! You will have to wait on pins and needles to find out if I actually did it!

Day 15 - Monday, November 23rd

2009-11-23T13:21:00.002-07:00

It has been two weeks since I started this challenge and so far things are going well. I have lost a total of 3 pounds, which is awesome. But besides that, I feel great and I am in much better moods these days.

Day 15 - Weight - 120 (Total loss of 3 pounds!)

Breakfast - Cereal
AM Snack - Cereal Bar
Lunch - Protein Shake + Grapes
PM Snack - Protein Snack Bar
Dinner - Taco Salad

Workout - 5 minute warm up, 20 minute jog, 5 minute cool down, upper body strength training.

Day 14 - Sunday, November 22nd

2009-11-23T10:40:00.001-07:00

Today was the usual errand day and massive cleaning house day. So, in other words, very boring and unexciting!

Day 14:

Breakfast - Cereal + Tea
AM Snack - Cereal Bar
Lunch - Protein Shake
PM Snack - Protein Snack Bar
Dinner - Turkey Burgers and Baked Potato wedges

Workout - Off!

Thanksgiving Run Down

2009-11-22T12:16:00.003-07:00

Thanksgiving is fast approaching and the prep work is starting. I've decided to give myself a run down of our Thanksgiving prep schedule so that IF it works, I will have something to go off of next year. We are somewhat ambitious, but I think everything is going to be delicious!

Sunday - Grocery Shopping (wait, that's today, ahh!)

Monday - Take the Turkey out of the freezer

Tuesday - Nothing

Wednesday:
- Make the Mini Pumpkin Pie Bites and Butterscotch Pecan Pie.
- Chop the onions and celery for the stuffing.
- Make PW's Creamy Mashed Potatoes.

Thursday:
- Zoli will be making PW's No Knead Rolls.
- Put the turkey in the oven when the rolls are done.
- Make the Apple/Cranberry Stuffing and Green Bean Casserole.
- Put the stuffing in the oven towards the end of Turkey time.
- Put in Mashed Potatoes and Green Bean Casserole after the Turkey comes out.
- Zoli makes the gravy from the drippings (yuck).
- Everybody eats!!!
- Aggies beat t.u. - Ha, well, one can dream!

Alright, well we will see what happens. I think it will go well...fingers crossed.

Day 13 - Saturday, November 21st

2009-11-22T09:14:00.002-07:00

Where did the day go!! Saturday went by pretty fast, maybe it is because I slept in really late, but whatever. We went to a Phoenix Coyotes game. It was kind of sad because the arena was so empty which made it very apparent why they are going bankrupt. However, they did win, 3 - 1 against the Philadelphia Flyers. It was fun anyway, but not as much fun as the Red WIngs vs Stars game that I went to with my good ol' Dad many years ago. Go Wings!

Day 13:

Breakfast - Cereal
AM Snack - No snack cause I woke up too late
Lunch - Protein meal bar + honeydew (once again, it was actually cantaloupe)
PM Snack - Protein Snack Bar
Dinner - Half a big pretzel, some popcorn and cereal

Workout - 40 minute cardio

Day 12 - Friday, November 20th

2009-11-21T10:54:00.002-07:00

I am starting to freak out about Thanksgiving! Although there is absolutely no reason to. We are adding in one dish this year, green bean casserole, which is very easy so I'm sure we will be fine. I think its more just the cleaning and the laundry and the planning and the blowing up air mattresses and the grocery shopping and the....I'm a little dramatic sometimes, Ha! Z's mom is totally cool and laid back, so basically I'm just being my ridiculous self. I am going to go and continue to stew about this now.

Day 12:

Breakfast - Cereal
AM Snack - Strawberry Cereal Bar
Lunch - Protein Shake and honeydew (actually it is cantaloupe, but I call it honeydew because it is orange - duh)
PM Snack - Protein Snack Bar
Dinner - Turkey Burgers and baked potato strips

Workout: 5 minute warm up, 10 minute jog, 5 minute cool down, lower body strength training.

Day 11 - Thursday, November 19th

2009-11-20T12:35:00.004-07:00

Why is it that it seems to get more and more difficult to plan meals as the week goes on? We plan all of our meals over the weekend and do our grocery shopping and put the meat that will be used later in the week in the freezer. Well, whenever Thursday rolls around we have inevitably forgotten to defrost the meat or we didn't give it enough time. Why am I rambling on about this? Well, it happened to us again on Thursday. We ended up getting Quizno's, which is good, but man a turkey burger sure would have been better!!

However, I did get some awesome knee-high boots on sale at Naturalizer! Which totally made up for the dinner mess up!

Day 11:

Breakfast - Cereal + Tea
AM Snack - Bliss Bar
Lunch - Protein Meal Bar + Grapes
PM Snack - Protein Snack Bar
DInner - Quizno's

Workout - Off day!

Day 10 - Wednesday, November 18th

2009-11-19T09:19:00.003-07:00

Hump day! I started coming down with a cold or allergies or something today, which made an interesting time of jogging since I couldn't really breathe through my nose! But, I just kept telling myself that I just have to get through Wednesday and Thursday is a day off.

I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving next week! It's been two years since I had a real Thanksgiving, although last years turkey day was fun with Ali, Sparkling Grape juice, and a haji dressed up as a turkey! Z's mom is coming over to visit this year, so I am going to try really hard to make all the Thanksgiving fixin's. This weekend I will be rigorously cleaning the house, grocery shopping, and doing all the prep work so that it appears that I have everything under control on Thursday! Ha, that'll be the day!

Anywho, on to the diet, Day 10:

Breakfast - Cereal + Tea
AM Snack - Protein Snack Bar
Lunch - Protein Shake + Strawberries
PM Snack - Crackers
Dinner - Left over Pork Chops (note to self, the pomegranate juice sauce will melt your tupperware if you leave it in the microwave too long!)

Workout: 5 minute warm up, 10 minute interval jogging, 5 minute cool down, and abdominal strength training.

Day 9 - Tuesday, November 17th

2009-11-18T08:52:00.005-07:00

Today was a boring day. On my drive home from work I was trying to think of something random that I could talk about, but all I could think about was going home and making my dinner. It was a new recipe that I actually got from the Special K website. It was awesome. But, you will have to wait to hear about it. Ha! Evil laughter...

Day 9:

Breakfast - Red Berries Cereal + Chai Tea Latte
AM Snack - Raspberry Bliss Bar (it really is blissful)
Lunch - Strawberry Protein Bar with of course, Strawberries
PM Snack - Italian Tomato and Herb Crackers
Dinner - Pork Chops with a Pomegranate glaze and roasted potatoes!!

Workout - 5 minute warm up, 20 minute jog and 5 minute cool down.

Dinner was totally awesome. Basically you get some nice pork loin chops, about an inch thick. You rub them with some salt, pepper and cinnamon. Cook them in a skillet until they are very close to being done. Remove them, but keep them warm. In the same skillet, pour in a cup of pomegranate juice, 4 teaspoons of sugar, and about a quarter of a small onion diced (this is for about 4 servings). Let that mixture come to a boil and boil it for 3 minutes or until the sauce reduces. Put the pork chops back in to the skillet and finish cooking them. Serve them with some roasted potatoes and be sure to cover them with the remaining sauce. It is delicious!!!

Day 8 - Monday, November 16th

2009-11-16T18:41:00.005-07:00

Today was definitely a Monday. I walked in to work and the internet wasn't working properly. So I spent the first hour of work on the phone with the internet company and going back and forth to my computer and the modem. I eventually got it up and running, but it was annoying. Of course that put me an hour behind on catching up on everything from the weekend. Oh well, the good news is that I got everything done and then some.

Day 8: I've lost one pound, I'm at 122 today!

Breakfast - Go Lean Crunch Protein Bar + Grapes + Chai Tea Latte
AM Snack - Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Snack Bar
Lunch - Chocolate Protein Shake + Strawberries
PM Snack - Strawberry Cereal Bar
Dinner - Vegetarian Chili with Homemade Tortilla chips

Workout - 5 minute warm up, 10 minute jog, 5 minute cool down and upper body strength training.

I'm glad Monday is over!

Day 7 - Sunday, November 15th

2009-11-16T18:38:00.003-07:00

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! Sunday's are our chore and errand days. In other words, very unexciting.

Day 7:

Breakfast - Red Berries Cereal + Chai Tea Latte
AM Snack - Raspberry Bliss Bar
Lunch - Red Berries Cereal (It was supposed to be Chocolatey Delight, but somebody ate it all!)
PM Snack - Italian Tomato and Herb Crackers
Dinner - Home Made Pizza

Workout - Off! Yay!

Day 6 - Saturday, November 14th

2009-11-15T10:23:00.008-07:00

Today we went on a hike at Pinnacle Peak Park. First of all, I never thought it would be so hard to find a state park! Our GPS couldn't find it and they really didn't have that many signs out there for it, however we eventually got there. The hike was nice, it was a 1.75 mile out and 1.75 mile in hike. There was a good variety of ups and downs, however the stairs were a killer! It was very interesting to see how different this hike was compared to hikes in Hawaii. Obviously the scenery was different, this hike overlooked Troon Golf Course in Scottsdale and all of the crazy huge houses surrounding the course. But the people on the hike were very different as well. The majority were there strictly for the exercise, which is always nice on a hike, but not so much for the scenery or just for the joy of being outdoors. Overall, it was really great exercise.

Day 6:
Breakfast - Red Berries Waffles + Chai Tea Latte
AM Snack - Raspberry Bliss Bar
Lunch - Protein Bar
PM Snack - Italian Tomato and Herb Crackers
Dinner - Yummy cheeseburger and fries

Workout - Hike!

Sunday is a day off, so I will be running around doing errands and the usual Sunday chores!

Day 5 - Friday, November 13th

2009-11-14T10:17:00.002-07:00

Day 5 was a good day, nothing too exciting though. This is one of those days that if you actually read my blog, you can just skip over this post. This is purely for my own log keeping.

Day 5:

Breakfast - Red Berries Waffles + Chai Tea Latte
AM Snack - Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Snack Bar
Lunch - Vanilla Protein Shake + Grapes
PM Snack - Strawberry Cereal Bar
Dinner - Chipotle - Carnita’s Burrito Bowl with no rice or cheese

Workout:

20min jogging and lower body strength training.

Day 4 - Thursday, November 12th

2009-11-12T18:56:00.003-07:00

Yay! It’s Thursday which means that tomorrow is Friday!! Today was a really good day. I watched this really amazing documentary called War Dance which is about 3 children in Northern Uganda. The documentary follows their journey to the Ugandan National Championship of Song and Dance. Absolutely incredible and so touching. These children are beautiful, strong and so courageous. Their story makes any of our “challenges” seem pretty easy to handle. Even though their story is sad at times, in the end it is a beautiful story about life, family and friends. If you would like to learn more about it go to Shine Global.

Day 4 of my Special K Challenge:

Breakfast: Chocolaty Delight Cereal + Chai Tea Latte
AM Snack: Chocolaty Dipped Raspberry Bliss Bar
Lunch: Go lean Crunch Protein Bar
PM Snack: Strawberry Cereal Bar
Dinner: 3 Cheese Wheat Ravioli with Chunky Vegetable Marinara Sauce + one slice of garlic toast

Workout: Off day! Yay!

Today was a day that proves that Life is the journey, not the destination. Be happy with yourself and who you are and enjoy the ride!

Special K Challenge - Day 3 - Wednesday, November 11th

2009-11-11T18:20:00.001-07:00

Today was one of those really tough motivation days. I just wasn’t feelin’ it, but I did it anyway. I followed my workout and my diet, although I did eat a very small piece of bread after I got home and before working out.

Concerning the diet, it does include a lot of bars and I agree with you Linda that bars are not always so good. Pretty much the only time I eat protein bars was for Breakfast which was a habit I picked up on deployment because it was just easier. However, my office doesn’t have a microwave and I was having trouble coming up with creative alternatives. So, I started getting a case of sandwichitis and boring saladitis which then led to the trips to Schlotzky’s and Arby’s. The Special K Bars are very convenient, affordable, and they satisfy my chocolate cravings!!

Day 3:

Breakfast - Special K Red Berries Cereal + Herbal Tea
AM Snack - Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Snack Bar
Lunch - Vanilla Protein Shake + Strawberries
PM Snack - Italian, Tomato and Basil Crackers
Cheat Alert - Small piece of bread : (
Dinner - Turkey Burger topped with Guacamole and black bean, corn and tomato salad

Workout: 5 min warm up, 10 minute interval jogging, 5 min cool down followed by abdominal workout.

Today was a tough day because I wasn’t feeling very well, but I’m proud of myself for following through on the workout today. Tomorrow is an OFF day, yay!!

Special K Challenge - Day 2 - Tuesday, November 10th

2009-11-10T19:14:00.003-07:00

I wanted to do a little more explanation on the Special K Challenge today. Technically the challenge is to follow the diet for 2 weeks and drop a jean size. I’m planning on doing this for 6 weeks (minus Thanksgiving of course), but that doesn’t mean I think I am going to lose 3 jean sizes (honestly, I don’t think that would be very healthy for me anyway). I just need to tone up a bit and get back to my “fighting” weight, or so they say and hopefully get into some better eating habits. I was going a little overboard with the sugar...but really, I blame my mother’s side of the family. They have the sweet tooth, but honestly I can’t really only blame them, my grandfather on my dad’s side did eat ice cream every night. Well, I was cursed from both sides, not too mention the fact that when I was a baby my sister poured chocolate syrup all over my face. I have always said that she was trying to drown me in chocolate (not such a horrible way to go), but she claims that my parents made her a sundae and she thought I would want some too. Well all I have to say to that is, “What about the ice cream! Hello!”

OK, so now on to today’s efforts.

Day 2:

Breakfast - Red Berries Waffles w/ Lite Syrup and Strawberries and Herbal Tea Latte
AM Snack - Chocolatey Raspberry Drizzle Bliss Bars (This was ok, it ended up being crunchy which surprised me a little)
Lunch - Go Lean Crunch Bar (I have a few that I need to finish off before I buy the Special K Protein Meal Bars) and Grapes
PM Snack - Strawberry Cereal Bar (This was ok as well, not my favorite)
Dinner - We made turkey burgers (topped with guacamole) and baked fries. Always a favorite!

Work-Out: 20 minute jog with interval inclines (while watching Barefoot Contessa - one of my favorites especially since she has been adding in somewhat healthier meals)

Well, that’s it for today. Overall, a good day with good amount of self motivation. Instead of being hungry later in the evening, I was hungry at lunch. Weird since I had a bigger breakfast.

Special K Challenge - Day 1 - Monday, November 9th

2009-11-09T20:07:00.002-07:00

This week I've decided to start the Special K Challenge. It's amazing how easy it is to slip into laziness when it comes to work-outs when you are no longer on deployment and very angry! On deployment I was working out like crazy because 1) I didn't have anything else to do and 2) It was the only way I could sleep well and 3) It was the only way to get my anger out (Anger just goes with deployment). So, because I was working out so much I could really eat anything I wanted, especially since I usually only got 2 meals in a day. Well, that time is well over and I need to start reigning myself in before it gets bad. So, Special K Challenge and a new 6 week work-out program has started. I have decided that I might try to write about my 6 week experience here, just to keep myself motivated. My goal is to lose around 10 pounds, but really the poundage doesn't have to be exact, just need to tone up a bit.

Day 1: I unfortunately didn't weigh myself today because I didn't think about it until I got home from work, but I'm pretty sure it's around 120ish.

For breakfast I had yummy Special K Red Berries Cereal and some Hot Chocolate. Unfortunately I didn't eat my serving of fruit so I ended up being hungry later in the day. Morning Snack - Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Snack Bar (delicious!). Lunch - Vanilla Protein Shake (not as bad as I thought it would be) and Grapes. Afternoon Snack - Italian Tomato and Basil Crackers and Herbal Tea. Dinner - Open Faced Roast Beef sandwich with Black Bean, Corn and Tomato Salad.

The food was good, but I was really hungry after my workout. I am going to have to be super careful to make sure I eat everything I'm supposed to.

For my workout, I did 20min cardio (jogging) and an upper body workout. All in all, it felt good to be back in the healthy swing of things.

Wish me luck on Day 2!! All cardio day and I have to actually warm up breakfast and go in to work a little bit early, so we will see if I actually follow through on the scheduled breakfast of waffles. Sounds so good that it might just work!

Halloween Treats

2009-11-01T11:32:00.010-07:00

Last night Z and I made some Halloween brownie bites! They were delicious. I copied the recipe from Bakerella's blog for Spider bites. Well, instead of spiders we went simple and just decorated with Halloween sprinkles. Bakerella also made her brownies from scratch, but I decided to just use a boxed brownie....Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge brownies to be exact.

Then we used some semi-sweet bakers chocolate to dip them in. Z had the job of adding the sprinkles. Didn't he do a great job!! Not only is Z a cutie, but these brownie bites are pretty darn cute too!

These are so super simple and very versatile, they are perfect for every occasion! Check out all of Bakerella's ideas, she is a genius. Here is the link to Bakerella's version.
Happy Late Halloween!

Blog GiveAways

2009-10-27T17:59:00.003-07:00

One great thing about blogs are giveaways!! They are awesome because all you have to do is read your favorite blogs and you can win free stuff!! This week, my wonderful Aunt - ok, actually cousin, Linda is giving her first blog giveaway. She has a great blog about all the wonderful things in life and some zany things as well, which I adore reading. I think you would enjoy it as well. For her first giveaway the prize is The Pioneer Woman Cookbook!! If you don't know anything about either of these blogs, start out at Linda's: http://www.ourmushpush.com/

Have fun!!

My favorite things

2009-09-14T13:46:00.003-07:00

One of my most favorite things to do is to decorate, well ok, think about decorating. We live in a great little apartment right now and I think I've done pretty well with what we had, but I really can't wait to have a house of my very own to decorate. Well, the next best thing is my very own office! The business that I am working for is currently moving offices. We are moving from a small one room locale to a much larger two room plus locale. So that means I get to use what we currently have and furnish and decorate the rest of the place! I'm so excited about it, I can barely contain myself. I really hope I get to start looking for some stuff soon! I already have some great ideas to make it a great and much more professional office. Oh, did I also mention that I love to organize, so yeah, there is going to be a lot of that going on very very soon. I will post pictures as soon as I can get started! Wish me luck!

Whole Wheat Pasta with Spinach and Walnuts

2009-09-01T19:26:00.005-07:00

Tonight Z cooked up the delicious Whole Wheat Pasta with Spinach and Walnuts from Ellie Kriegers, "The Food You Crave." It is probably the best pasta salad I've ever had. We used to make this all the time in Hawaii and we never ever got sick of it. It is a combination of whole wheat pasta, garlic, red onions, spinach, walnuts, feta cheese, and a yummy dressing of red wine vinegar, olive oil, and dijon mustard. Now, Ellie says to put the pasta in the fridge after it is done cooking, but we love to keep it out so that it is a little bit warm when you mix it all up. It wilts the spinach just a little bit and it makes it all that much better! Be careful about the vinegar usage in the dressing. It is supposed to be a little bit tart I think, but if you don't get the proportions just right it will be too tart.

This is another super simple recipe that is really delicious. You don't even realize that it is actually healthy! We are lucky that we have two more meals left with this recipe! Yay! This weekend will be the Summer Corn and Vegetable Soup. I know you are as excited as I am!

On another note, Isn't it interesting how messy men are when they cook! Water all over the floor as well as onion peels. Oh, well, he's still the best guy in the world!

Buffalo Chicken Salad

2009-08-30T18:25:00.006-07:00

Tonight we had the delicious Buffalo Chicken Salad from Ellie Krieger's book "The Food You Crave." It's basically like eating buffalo wings in a salad. It has the spice, the blue cheese, the carrots and the celery, all in one. As Z put it, "It had the right combination of creamy and spice." The only hard part was pounding out the chicken. Since we don't have a meat mallet, that meant Z went to work with my pink handled hammer! Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of that one!

The total recipe only took about 20 minutes and afterwards the kitchen was already clean, so it really didn't take much. If I had to do it over again, I would add a little bit more Chalula, just because I love it when it is super spicy. Have fun with this one!!

Next up, Whole Wheat Pasta Salad with Spinach and Walnuts, Yum!!

Let's Get Back to Cooking!

2009-08-29T12:32:00.005-07:00

One of the reasons why I started this blog was because I wanted to do a little Julie & Julia, but with Betty Crocker, however it's been a little slow going. Z and I also decided that since we are trying to eat healthier, cooking from a Betty Crocker cookbook might not be ideal. BUT, do not fear, we have come up with a great solution. I will be cooking one complete meal with dessert from the Ellie Krieger cookbook, "The Food You Crave," each week. There are approximately 168 recipes (minus the seafood ones).

This is the first week and we are breaking the rules a little bit because there were three dinners that we really wanted to make, so dessert and sides will have to wait until next week. The three recipes that we will be making are a Whole Wheat Pasta Salad with Walnuts and Spinach, Summer Corn and Vegetable Soup and Buffalo Chicken Salad. Buffalo Chicken Salad for Sunday dinner! Yay! Our cooking experience and pictures will be arriving Sunday evening!

Oh, and since we are on the subject of cooking, if you haven't ever read the Bakerella blog, you must! Everything looks so delicious!!

Certified or Certifiable?!

2009-08-26T19:35:00.008-07:00

When Z and I moved to Arizona we decided we would try to get by with one car, however since I ended up having to get a job further away from home we had to get another car. Initially we were going to go to a used car dealership and get an affordable car that we could pay-off immediately without having any payments. Well, we ended up going to about 6 or 7 dealers, test drove about 10 or 12 different cars and only 3 were OK. The first was a cute little VW Bug, great car, but not worth what they were asking for...and they wouldn't haggle! The second was a Dodge Neon - perfect price, but the AC didn't work and for those of you who know anything about Arizona, that wasn't going to work. The third was a 2005 Toyota Corolla. Both Z and I fell in love with it, however we were at one of those places that don't put the price on the car so they just rattle off a whole bunch of prices. There were two Corollas at that dealer and we got the two mixed up, our Corolla was way more money than we were willing to spend on it since it did appear to have maybe been in an accident at some point. So, what did we do you ask? We freaked out!!! Then, calmer heads prevailed and we decided to go check out a Toyota dealership and take a look at the Certified Pre-Owned Corollas. Of course, we fell in love with one. She is a beauty and we got her at a great deal, not too mention peace of mind in knowing that she was in perfect condition. The only thing left to figure out is her name. Z thinks Blanche because French for white is Blanc. I don't really like that idea. She is really zippy and perky, with a hint of sophistication. What do you guys think? Powder? Iris? Snowflake?

Julie & Julia - Great Movie!!

2009-08-09T10:32:00.003-07:00

Z and I went to see Julie & Julia this weekend as kind of a celebration for finally getting a job and I have to say that it was a great movie!!! I really didn't think it was going to be as good as it was. I was really interested in the Julia (Meryl Streep) parts and I was worried that it was going to be mainly Julie (Amy Adams), but it turned out to be pretty even and both stories were equally intriguing. Not only was it a well done movie - following two completely different stories, yet somehow making them coincide - but it was hilarious! Meryl Streep was amazing in it. She's a wonderful actress and really did Julia Child justice, showing her truly kind, energetic, and down-to-earth personality. My favorite scene is when Julia and her husband, Paul, are sitting in a restaurant and Paul asks her what she really likes to do (I'm sure this isn't the exact quoting, but you get the gist)-

Julia - "I love to eat. And I'm so good at it!"

Paul - "You are, you are great at it"

Julia - "Look, I'm growing in front of your eyes!"

Ha, it was hilarious!

Ok, so, I know that there is a lot of talk out there about the fact that Julia Child didn't like the actual Julie Powell blog, bringing a lot of people to think that this movie won't do Julia Child justice. But, I guarantee that anyone who loves Julia Child, will love the My Life in France parts. (And you might just think that the Julie Powell parts are pretty funny - and just maybe she will put into words your love of Julia Child.)

Enjoy the movie and let me know what you think!

Life Is Good

2009-08-04T13:04:00.003-07:00

Yay!!! I finally got a job! So, I had an interview on Friday and then they called me back on Monday saying that they were going to offer it to someone else that had more experience. I was upset at first, until I got another call for a phone interview later that day. The phone interview went well and then I got a face-to-face this morning. The funny part of all of this is that they called me and offered me the job, which I took immediately and then the first job called me and said that they were going to offer the job to me now! I guess when it rains it pours (well, if you can call two jobs rain). Anyway, life is certainly looking better with a job!! This means Z and I can actually go to a movie or a real restaurant every once in a while! Well, after over 200 job applications the job search is finally complete! Thanks to everyone for all of your support during this transition.

HOT!!!!!!!!

2009-07-27T15:06:00.002-07:00

Arizona is crazy hot. When my husband, lets just call him Z, and I decided to move here we knew it was going to be hot, but we did not expect this. We moved from Texas to Hawaii to Arizona and somehow while we were in Hawaii we forgot what 115 degree temperatures felt like. People also lied to us when they said that it would be a dry heat. Ha! It doesn't matter if there is humidity or not when it's above 100 degrees people!!! It gets so hot here sometimes that we can't even go to the pool because the water burns you! The good news is that I'm sweating my butt off! Who needs exercise when you can just lie there on your micro-suede couch and sweat it off!!

I love the Public Library!

2009-07-23T14:28:00.003-07:00

My husband and I recently reintroduced ourselves to the public library. I remember during the summers when I was little my mom would take my sister and me to the library every week so that we could load up on books. That was the greatest, I loved that about summer time. I guess as we got older we forgot about the simple things and felt that we had to own things to show some kind of status or something. Well, we are done with that and we are now going back to the library! It's still really great, however it has become self service checkout, so I do miss going to the librarian and having her stamp your card. I loved the stamp and I loved seeing when the book had been checked out last or by whom. Besides that though it is still the same old lovable library. There are still all those wonderful books waiting for you to open them and start exploring.

Turkey Galore

2009-07-23T11:26:00.002-07:00

Since my husband and I were apart for Thanksgiving and well, we just had a hankering for some turkey and mashed potatoes, we decided to have a mini-Thanksgiving last weekend. We roasted up a turkey breast, made some garlic mashed potatoes and corn on the cob. Not exactly traditional, but it worked for a July Thanksgiving. All of the leftover turkey made me think what a great idea this was. You could get a whole turkey or whole chicken and make tacos, salads, pizza toppings, and we are even making empanadas from everyday ingredients, turkey and frozen pie crust. Anyway, it's so easy, so delicious, and so budget friendly! What's not to love!

Green Tea Chai Latte

2009-07-22T09:07:00.002-07:00

Back when I had a job and some money to spend I was enjoying Starbuck's tea lattes. I was going back and forth between Green Tea Latte and Chai Tea Latte. They were delicious but I kept thinking how good they would taste if they were combined - a Green Tea Chai Latte. I also could have sworn that Starbucks used to sell these. So, just to make sure I wasn't completely crazy I went in and asked a barista if they used to sell these. Well, the lovely barista said that she didn't think they did and wasn't sure they would even taste good together. I, somewhat sadly, just shrugged my shoulders, left enjoying my Green Tea Latte, and kept thinking they would taste great. Well, I go to the grocery store and what do I find? Yep, Green Tea Chai Latte!! And yes ladies and gentleman, it is delicious!! It is really great in the morning with some toast and a cup of fruit. What a great way to start the day!