Trying something new to start the week...Miscellaneous Monday...a few random thoughts that are not necessarily related to anything else. Let's see how it goes!
*I am having a wedding crash. It's like a sugar crash, only with my sister's wedding. I feel crabby and tearful, and I am extremely tired as the time difference has thoroughly jacked my internal sleep schedule. Really ready for some good sleep and vacation in Mexico.
*Java is acting crazy...I think his dog sitter must have slipped him a tranquilizer or switched him with another dog. He has done nothing but sleep all day. It's amazing.
*Graham and I did a photo shoot with our friend Rachel (www.rachelwalkerphotography.com) before we left for St. Louis and the pictures turned out SO GOOD. I will post some when I get the cd. It is hard not to brag about how adorbs Java is, particularly in these pics!
*I am really over self-obsessed people. REALLY over them.
*It seems I have forgotten how to differentiate between the caps lock key and the shift key. I have had to re-type a million things today-annoying!
*When we get back from vacay, I am determined to get back to meal planning. And I have some new recipes to try that I will blog about. Excited for that.
*The state of Washington says that the G6 is worth$7200. I paid $6k for it TWO YEARS AGO and if we sell for anything less than $7200, we get fined on the difference. We have had it listed for $5400 for 2 weeks and still haven't sold it. Pray it sells soon!
*I have an opportunity in the works...that is hush-hush right now, but it is something I am super excited for and excited to share it with you all...look for the big announcement in July...(and no, I am not pregnant!!!!)
Have a great week!
Monday, May 21, 2012
Friday, May 4, 2012
The weekend of Andy
The main reason for my trip to STL in April was to celebrate my sister! She is getting married (in TWO WEEKS!) to her boyfriend of eight years. That is not a typo. In addition to working on wedding stuff while at my mom's during the week, I also co-hosted a bachelorette party and bridal shower. Here are some pics of the invitation I made for the Bachelorette Party:
These were the invites for the shower, again-ordered off of Etsy:
For the shower favors, I made and canned caramel sauce (for ice cream). We used two different recipes because the first recipe got very grainy as it cooled. The second recipe was much smoother and you can make it here. It is from my favorite website for Real/Whole foods....Heavenly Homemakers. I ordered the labels off of Etsy...here is a close up.
I THINK that is all the pics I have of details...for now. There will be more AFTER the wedding...so stay tuned!
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| The front (most products are from Close To My Heart) |
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| The quote on the right reads, "If love is blind, then why is lingerie so popular?" | I ordered the 'bikini' stamp off of etsy. |
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| We did an "Around the Clock" shower, which was fun theme that was easy to work with | . |
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Look at these cute kids!
One of the reasons that I planned my last trip to STL for the specific dates that I did was to see my brand new "niece," Anna! Anna's big sister, Olivia, is my goddaughter and I adore her, so the fact that there was now TWO little girls to love on...wild horses couldn't drag me away from these two.
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| Anna is the first (and ONLY) baby to ever have a diaper explosion ON the changing table (sans diaper). I bet I have changed over a thousand diapers in my day, and she gets the award for that one. Ah...memories... |
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| Yikes. Anna doesn't seem to be loving this! |
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| I miss her! |
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| My "roommate" and I bonding over cereal. |
Monday, April 30, 2012
PSA: Flying Etiquette
I have been wanting to write about flying etiquette ever since I started this blog, and somehow I always block out my flying experiences by the time I sit down to put thoughts to paper. I realize that many people fly once or twice a year, or even less in this stellar economy...so for those of you who have forgotten the rules of flying or just need a general brush up in how to not be a moron, here are a few tips.
1) Follow the airline rules. Yeah, I know they suck. But when they say you get one personal item and a small carry-on, that means TWO items. Not three. Certainly not four. Let's use the guy directly in front of me in the security line as an example. He had a wheelie suitcase, a garment bag, and a briefcase. How many items is that? Correct, that is three. How many hands did he have? Two. This dude was like watching a train wreck, but I'll get to that in a minute. He got yelled at by the TSA and had to shove his garment bag into his suitcase because he refused to check it. I bet that shirt is going to come out on the other side looking less than stellar. All because the dude didn't want to spend an additional $20 and 10 minutes to check his bag. Ass.
2) Move. As in, your butt. At any given point, more than 100 people are trying to get through security, so this is not the time to monkey around. Again, I'll use the guy from above as an example. (This guy was really helpful in my blog inspiration today!) First, he had all of the aforementioned "items", plus he took FOUR plastic bins. I had two, and would have had one but the surprisingly friendly TSA guy asked me to put the iPad in its own case. Fair enough. So this dude takes his four bins, puts them on the table and proceeds to NOT MOVE. I mean, he is emptying his pockets, which contained an iPhone, earbuds, wallet, keys, chapstick, and no less than $6 in CHANGE. Best part - he didn't put all of that change in a small bowl, he just dumped it in the big bin. The TSA finally hollers at him to move it already, and his first bin FINALLY goes through only to immediately be rejected because it contains (yup) liquids, gels, and foams in the form of toiletries. Those get tossed after he spends awhile digging them out. That suitcase gets sent through, then his briefcase goes through and gets sent back...and a bottle of water gets pulled out and tossed. At this point, the TSA lady loses it and starts yelling at him. She was unnecessarily harsh to the guy, but he was beyond ridiculous. Did he just wake up this morning, empty some drawers into his bags and say, "I think I am going to get on a plane today"? Be considerate of others and know that if you move quickly, you are helping others move quickly and it is a much less painful experience for all involved.
3) You are not special. Nope. No one cares what you do or who you are in real life. Right now, if you are in row 6 and they are only boarding rows 15-25 - sit down. Don't start a line 30 minutes before actual boarding and create a massive bottleneck. Annoying.
P.S. I have caught two flights where I was literally the last person to board - they were shutting the door behind me, and guess what? My seat was still in the exact place it was supposed to be.
1) Follow the airline rules. Yeah, I know they suck. But when they say you get one personal item and a small carry-on, that means TWO items. Not three. Certainly not four. Let's use the guy directly in front of me in the security line as an example. He had a wheelie suitcase, a garment bag, and a briefcase. How many items is that? Correct, that is three. How many hands did he have? Two. This dude was like watching a train wreck, but I'll get to that in a minute. He got yelled at by the TSA and had to shove his garment bag into his suitcase because he refused to check it. I bet that shirt is going to come out on the other side looking less than stellar. All because the dude didn't want to spend an additional $20 and 10 minutes to check his bag. Ass.
2) Move. As in, your butt. At any given point, more than 100 people are trying to get through security, so this is not the time to monkey around. Again, I'll use the guy from above as an example. (This guy was really helpful in my blog inspiration today!) First, he had all of the aforementioned "items", plus he took FOUR plastic bins. I had two, and would have had one but the surprisingly friendly TSA guy asked me to put the iPad in its own case. Fair enough. So this dude takes his four bins, puts them on the table and proceeds to NOT MOVE. I mean, he is emptying his pockets, which contained an iPhone, earbuds, wallet, keys, chapstick, and no less than $6 in CHANGE. Best part - he didn't put all of that change in a small bowl, he just dumped it in the big bin. The TSA finally hollers at him to move it already, and his first bin FINALLY goes through only to immediately be rejected because it contains (yup) liquids, gels, and foams in the form of toiletries. Those get tossed after he spends awhile digging them out. That suitcase gets sent through, then his briefcase goes through and gets sent back...and a bottle of water gets pulled out and tossed. At this point, the TSA lady loses it and starts yelling at him. She was unnecessarily harsh to the guy, but he was beyond ridiculous. Did he just wake up this morning, empty some drawers into his bags and say, "I think I am going to get on a plane today"? Be considerate of others and know that if you move quickly, you are helping others move quickly and it is a much less painful experience for all involved.
3) You are not special. Nope. No one cares what you do or who you are in real life. Right now, if you are in row 6 and they are only boarding rows 15-25 - sit down. Don't start a line 30 minutes before actual boarding and create a massive bottleneck. Annoying.
P.S. I have caught two flights where I was literally the last person to board - they were shutting the door behind me, and guess what? My seat was still in the exact place it was supposed to be.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Door decs
Since the majority of the people that read this live halfway across the country, I thought I would show you what you would see if you came a knocking on our door:
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| A close up of the flowers I made-from scratch! |
Monday, April 2, 2012
Crockpot Chicken
Last week I was researching the best way to cook a whole chicken, as I had not had a lot of luck in the past with the conventional oven method (pretty sure I had salmonella for about 10 days last July). I found an article about how to cook a chicken in the crockpot...and then how to make your own homemade stock from said chicken. Easy peasy-and the chicken was super moist and the broth about a hundred times better than store bought! Here is how I did it:
1. Buy a whole chicken (preferably free-range and organic). Put it in the crockpot for 7 hours on low. Don't add any water, but you can add s&p, paprika, or whatever other spices you like. I just did it up plain as I wanted the freedom to use the chicken however I deemed necessary for future meals.
2. After the 7 hour mark, pull the chicken out (carefully as the meat all wants to fall off the bone), let cool enough to handle. There should be about 1-2 inches of chicken juices left in the crockpot. As you debone the chicken, throw the skin and the bones back into the crockpot. (I cut or broke the smaller bones to get out as much of the good marrow into the broth as possible). Add 5 cups of water. Throw in a carrot, some celery, some onions...whatever you have laying around. Set the crockpot on low overnight (I did ten hours).
3. Wake up to a glorious smelling house. YUMMY! Strain all the veggies/bones/skins out and put the broth into your (freezer safe) containers. I used mason jars and got FIVE pints out of this batch! Let them cool completely, skim and discard fat off top-put the lids on and pop them in the freezer. Here is what my finished product looked like:
I used my first jar of chicken broth last night and it was SO GOOD-I really noticed a difference in flavor!
So, with the crockpot chicken, on the first day I made my mom's chicken pot pie...one of our faves! I froze the rest of the shredded chicken (about 3 cups). Last night I pulled out about 1 1/2 cups to make delicious Chicken and White Bean enchiladas...oh they were so good, and I found the recipe on skinnytaste.com but you can link up to it here.
Looking for other ways to use crockpot chicken? Try a fellow BGHS Alum's recipe for chicken salad here.
Happy cooking!!
1. Buy a whole chicken (preferably free-range and organic). Put it in the crockpot for 7 hours on low. Don't add any water, but you can add s&p, paprika, or whatever other spices you like. I just did it up plain as I wanted the freedom to use the chicken however I deemed necessary for future meals.
2. After the 7 hour mark, pull the chicken out (carefully as the meat all wants to fall off the bone), let cool enough to handle. There should be about 1-2 inches of chicken juices left in the crockpot. As you debone the chicken, throw the skin and the bones back into the crockpot. (I cut or broke the smaller bones to get out as much of the good marrow into the broth as possible). Add 5 cups of water. Throw in a carrot, some celery, some onions...whatever you have laying around. Set the crockpot on low overnight (I did ten hours).
3. Wake up to a glorious smelling house. YUMMY! Strain all the veggies/bones/skins out and put the broth into your (freezer safe) containers. I used mason jars and got FIVE pints out of this batch! Let them cool completely, skim and discard fat off top-put the lids on and pop them in the freezer. Here is what my finished product looked like:
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| Look at the color! |
So, with the crockpot chicken, on the first day I made my mom's chicken pot pie...one of our faves! I froze the rest of the shredded chicken (about 3 cups). Last night I pulled out about 1 1/2 cups to make delicious Chicken and White Bean enchiladas...oh they were so good, and I found the recipe on skinnytaste.com but you can link up to it here.
Looking for other ways to use crockpot chicken? Try a fellow BGHS Alum's recipe for chicken salad here.
Happy cooking!!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
St. Patty's traditions-old and new
St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite food days of the year. Can you guess why? Corned beef, of course! I l-o-v-e corned beef. Def one of my top 5 all time favorite foods. Luckily, hubs is completely on board so he encourages the twice yearly consumption (the other day being new years day). This also had its downside as he makes me share the leftovers. Boo. Anywho. This year I served organic cabbage (steamed lightly) and the. most. amazing. whole wheat Guinness bread. OMGosh. This is amazingly delicious and I highly recommend you plan to make this ASAP.
I lifted the recipe from thischickcooks.net, a really fun whole foods cooking blog that I follow. Here is the recipe this chick uses, but it looks like she snagged it from allrecipes.com:
Guinness Bread
I followed this recipe verbatim. And guess what happened? A large portion of the cake ended up on the 'floor' of the oven and actually burst into flames. PANIC ATTACK ensued. (a moment of silence for all of the deliciousness that was diminished to ashes...). Next time (and there wil be a next time!), I will bake in a regular loaf pan. It would probably even work as muffins, but the baking time would have to be adjusted.
I love trying new recipes, and hubs and I def agree-add this one to the yearly traditional St. Patty's Day meal!
I lifted the recipe from thischickcooks.net, a really fun whole foods cooking blog that I follow. Here is the recipe this chick uses, but it looks like she snagged it from allrecipes.com:
Guinness Bread
1 cup regular rolled oats, plus extra to sprinkle on top
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup melted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
12 ounce bottle Guinness ( its a stout beer)
Preheat oven to 425. Grease an 8 inch pan (I used my cast iron skillet). Mix together dry ingredients. In a seperate bowl combine wet ingredients Pour the flour mixture into the beer mixture and stir just until mixed. Pour the batter into the baking pan and sprinkle the top with oats.
Bake at 425 for about 25 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake an additional 20-25 minutes. Turn the oven off and let the bread cool in the oven with the door open for 30 minutes. Source: Allrecipes.comI followed this recipe verbatim. And guess what happened? A large portion of the cake ended up on the 'floor' of the oven and actually burst into flames. PANIC ATTACK ensued. (a moment of silence for all of the deliciousness that was diminished to ashes...). Next time (and there wil be a next time!), I will bake in a regular loaf pan. It would probably even work as muffins, but the baking time would have to be adjusted.
I love trying new recipes, and hubs and I def agree-add this one to the yearly traditional St. Patty's Day meal!
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