Something Like This

You Know You're Getting Old When: You Hate Day-Drinking

2012-02-02T17:29:00.001-06:00

My friend and I have been talking about this very topic a lot lately as we've been invited to a number of outings where day-drinking will occur or is the main source of entertainment. I would always tell (probably more like whine) to Ben that day-drinking is dumb whenever we'd get invited to a casual gathering with friends. Sure, I enjoy a few glasses of wine with dinner or a nice mixed drink when out celebrating with friends, but that's about it. I'm not really a casual drinker. On one recent day-drinking trip, I thought, "Everyone else my age does this basically every weekend and they seem like they're having a great time, so I'll give it a try."

Probably not a good idea to promote your affinity on your vehicle

I definitely had more fun just chatting with my friends than throwing back beers. What resulted was me being more tired than inebriated, and wanting to go to sleep at 5:30 in the afternoon. My stomach hurt, my head was foggy and I accomplished nothing that entire day. I think that's what most upsetting about day-drinking is that you ruin your motivation to do anything beyond sitting around and drinking and eating for the rest of the day.You can either give in to your sleepiness and go to bed at 5:30 just to wake up confused as hell at 10 p.m. not sure what day it is, or you drink yourself sober just so you can rally and go out drinking again later that night.

Not if you've been day-drinking!

Ugggh day-drinking! You'll rue the day you stole my Saturday from me!

Pee-wee's Big Adventure in Dallas

2012-01-13T13:21:00.000-06:00

Last night Ben and I went to the Texas Theatre to see Pee-wee's Big Adventure on the big screen. It was actually my first time to the theater (I know...) and I instantly fell in love. It was Ben's first time to see any Pee Wee movie (I know!) and I knew he would love it. They were playing Pee-wee's Playhouse episodes in the lobby area and had a costume contest before the movie. This one couple even brought their replica of Pee-wee's bike! It was pretty rad. It was so cool watching the movie on film, skips and all, and laughing out like Pee-wee whenever anyone said the magic word (bike). Ben loved every minute of it. I think the best part was when the whole theater joined in on this:

349/365

2011-12-15T21:26:00.000-06:00

Our office had a cookie exchange today and it was a massive sugar overload. I have quite the sweet tooth and sometimes forget that I'm diabetic and really can't indulge like other people. So after just two tasty treats, I was definitely feeling ill and spent the rest of the day paying for the lack of restraint I seem to have adopted this month. Sometimes it's hard remembering you're different and have to be more responsible even about little things. But tomorrow is another day and a chance to get back on track and take a step in the (hopefully) right direction.

335/365

2011-12-01T22:32:00.000-06:00

I came home to this beautiful sight tonight. Ben finished putting up all our Christmas lights and had them all aglow to surprise me. Sometimes I'm still in shock when I realize we've only been in our home for a few short months and have already done so much. This is like a big month-long celebration to come home to every day. I love December.

334/365

2011-11-30T22:00:00.000-06:00

Ben and I have been grossly sharing germs the last week. What I assured myself was allergy problems was probably a yucky cold and I now feel super guilty that I've given it to Ben. Also kind of funny that a huge germaphobe like me isn't grossed out with the idea of passing germs back and forth. Time for my soup and hot tea!

333/365

2011-11-29T22:22:00.001-06:00

OMG. I made the best turkey soup tonight. We had so much delicious turkey meat left from Thanksgiving and Ben and I have both been under the weather so soup seemed like the most logical use for all our meaty leftovers. It turned out amazing and we have gallons left over to get through the rest of the week. Total #win! Below is my version of the original recipe.

Homemade Turkey Soup

Ingredients
2 quarts chicken broth
1 turkey carcass, all meat removed
1 onion, quartered, plus 1 onion, minced
10 baby carrots, halved, plus 10 baby carrots, sliced
1 whole stalk celery cut into fourths, plus 1 more stalk, sliced
1 bay leaves
3 cups white and dark turkey meat
2 garlic cloves, smashed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bag frozen peas
Salt and pepper

Directions
Put chicken broth, turkey carcass, onion quarters, carrot halves, celery stalk fourths, and bay leaf in a large stock pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer about an hour.

Dice the turkey meat. Make sure meat pieces are no larger than the size of a soup spoon.
Before straining broth, remove large bones and carcass with tongs. Strain the broth through a sieve and discard the solids. Transfer broth to a bowl and set aside.

In a large soup pot, heat garlic cloves in the olive oil. Allow to brown slightly and add sliced carrots, sliced celery, and diced onion. Sweat over medium-low heat until softened, about 7 or 8 minutes.

Add turkey brother and bring to a simmer. When simmering, add peas and diced turkey meat to the soup. Bring it back up to a simmer. Finally, add salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer for 5 more minutes and serve. Shred a little bit of fresh parmesan cheese on top and let it melt into the soup.

I made some Spanish rice and served it on the side, but it's so good when you add into the soup!

332/365

2011-11-28T22:47:00.001-06:00

We've hit another major milestone in our first few months of home ownership. We went to Lowe's and after spending too much money on holiday decorations, had the major task of putting up Christmas lights on our house. It's still sort of a work in progress - but it's actually kind of fun. Soon we'll have our own version of the Griswold's house on Christmas vacation.

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2011-11-27T23:59:00.000-06:00

Suddenly our house feels more like a home now that we have a decorated Christmas tree in our den. I always get super emotional around Christmas. Probably because of all the traditions I insist on keeping in our new family that just reminds me all the fun I had when I was a little kid. Plus being in a different city than my immediate family is a bit heartbreaking at times. But having a tree that looks so much like the one I grew up with makes it feel like my family is here in my home.

330/365

2011-11-26T16:17:00.000-06:00

One of the best parts about the Thanksgiving holiday is pulling out all the Christmas decorations and slowly putting things up around the house. Every year I seem to add more and more items, but I think this wreath just took one of the top spots on my list of favorites.

329/365

2011-11-25T17:02:00.000-06:00

We were walking around West Elm today and I cam across this book. The quote caught my attention and then made me stop and reflect on myself for a moment. All the craziness I've been putting both me and Ben under to get our house in shape the past two months doesn't seem to be worth it if we can't actually enjoy it. We've decided to stop with all our crazy to-do lists and to just enjoy this time in our life. Funny how it took a design book in a home goods store to bring me back to reality.

Life is...

2011-10-06T13:15:00.003-05:00

...CRAZY!

I promise to find a way out of all the moving boxes and decorating madness that has consumed my life the last three weeks and update with fun tidbits and awesome pictures very soon!

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2011-09-15T22:01:00.000-05:00

We closed on our house today! We had to snap this picture with our realtor right after we signed all our documents and were handed the keys. It is such an amazing feeling being a homeowner!

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2011-09-14T23:23:00.002-05:00

We'll be doing some serious painting this weekend for our new home and I'm actually kind of nervous. I love painting and love colors. I've gone two separate times to pick paint swatches, but now I'm second guessing everything. Sarah and my mom have been super helpful giving gentle reminders about all the supplies we need for painting AND Sarah even offered to help us paint this weekend which is awesomesauce. But before all that, we have to go buy our paints tomorrow so I'll need to finally commit to some colors. We'll see how long that takes.

256/365

2011-09-13T23:22:00.001-05:00

I saw this recipe on one of the blogs I read and was super excited. It seemed so easy and I like when we have vegetarian meals every now and then. This turned out amazing and was instantly requested to be added to our dinner night repertoire. One try of this and I'm sure it will be in yours too! I changed a few things from the original recipe and it turned our excellent!

Eggplant-Zucchini Lasagna with Fontina

Ingredients
About 1/2 cup of olive oil
1 large eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch slices
2 large zucchinis, cut on the diagonal into 1/2 inch slices
Kosher salt
28 oz can of diced tomatoes, drained
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
9 sheets no-boil lasagna noodles
12 oz ricotta
3/4 tsp. ground oregano
8 oz fontina, shredded
2 tbsp. parmesan, freshly grated

Directions
Preheat oven to 400. In a bowl, toss zucchini with one tablespoon olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and cook for 15-20 minutes until brown. Remove to a plate lined with a paper towel and let cool. In the same bowl, toss the eggplant with two tablespoons of olive oil and 3/4 teaspoons of salt and a 1/4 teaspoon of garlic salt. Make sure the slices are coated and place in a single layer and roast for 20-25 minutes until brown. Drain on a plate like the zucchini.

In a bowl, add the tomatoes, minced garlic, two teaspoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon ground oregano, 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes. Really, these just need to be flavored to your liking but just make sure they're super flavorful.

In a small bowl, combine ricotta with oregano and 1/2 teaspoon salt and stir.

In a 9x13 pan, pour about a 1/2 cup of tomato mixture, then layer three lasagna sheets, top with eggplant in one layer, spread half of ricotta and sprinkle with a quarter of the fontina. Do this sequence again using the zucchini instead. Place another layer of noodles, dice up any leftover eggplant or zucchini and spread any remaining sauce and top with remaining fontina.

Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with parmesan and bake another 25 minutes until cheese is browned. Let rest for 10-15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

255/365

2011-09-12T22:48:00.000-05:00

I wanted to commemorate our recent anniversary celebration and trip to San Francisco and decided to put a small video together. What I thought would just be something fun for us to have ended up being something that is so perfectly us and shows just how much fun we had. I smile every time I watch it.

254/365

2011-09-11T22:08:00.000-05:00

I can tell you exactly where I was 10 years ago today. I first heard about the attacks while I was in my band class (my junior year) on stage practicing for our upcoming concert. The band director came in really flustered and upset and mentioned something about attacks on the twin towers in New York and then ran off stage. We had no idea what was he was talking about and went into the band hall to see what was going on. There were people huddled around one of the ancient TVs and that's when I first saw the smoke coming out of the buildings. It was unreal. The rest of the day we only watched TV during class and talked about what was going on. Seeing the second plane crash into the tower is what really jarred me. I still hold my breath every time I see the footage and let my mind wander to what it may have been like for those people in and around the buildings when they collapsed. So many emotions today. I can't believe it's been 10 years.

253/365

2011-09-10T23:23:00.000-05:00

We officially started packing this weekend. And now our small little apartment has been made even smaller with all the boxes scattered around our living room. Moving is definitely near the top of my Most Hated list. I guess we could make a cool fort with the piled up boxes?

245/365

2011-09-02T15:35:00.000-05:00

To kick off the fun week ahead, I thought I'd send Ben an anniversary surprise at his office - warm cookies and milk! Needless to say, he was thrilled and called me immediately with the biggest smile I could hear through the phone. It's fun to kick off our one year anniversary with something small and old school us to remind us of how far we've come and how much we have to look forward to!

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2011-09-01T22:21:00.000-05:00

Ben and I spent the evening planning all the fun things we're going to do while we're in San Francisco in a few days to celebrate our one year anniversary. We've been gathering restaurant recommendations from anyone we know. I even turned to my Twitter friends for their recs. I'm so over the moon excited for this trip. It's even more fun to travel to a city that will be new for both me and Ben. I couldn't have hoped for a better way to celebrate our one year anniversary together!

243/365

2011-08-31T21:16:00.000-05:00

They announced the Fried Food Awards for the State Fair of Texas today. See full list here. I'm intrigued by the Fried Salsa and Fried Bubblegum. Also, Fried Bananarito? Yes, please! This is one of my favorite times of the year to be a Texan in Dallas!

242/365

2011-08-30T23:14:00.000-05:00

When I was little my parents (especially my mom) would make funny voices and scenarios for animals when we'd watch animals on TV. I always got a kick out of it and continue to do it even on my own. So imagine my delighted surprise when I came across Animals Say the Wildest Things on the Nat Geo Wild channel. It's a bunch of comedians from the UK doing amusing voices and giving funny background stories to all the animal footage. It's ridiculous and hilarious. Plus it's good to have a mindless, silly laugh every now and then.

241/365

2011-08-29T22:05:00.000-05:00

We love turkey in our house. So much so that I keep trying to find new recipes with turkey. Then I heard about Sloppy Janes and was shocked I had never tried them. Of course they weren't exactly like the Manwich version I grew up with, but they were still super yummy!

Sloppy Janes

Ingredients
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 1/2 lbs. lean turkey
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. onion powder
1 tbsp. paprika
4 large cloves of garlic
2 green bell peppers, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
28 oz. crushed tomatoes
14 oz. tomato puree
1 cup ketchup
4 tbsp. brown sugar
3 tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Directions
In a large dutch oven, heat the olive oil and add ground turkey, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt and pepper and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic, bell peppers and onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables soften, about five minutes.

Add crushed tomatoes, tomato puree, ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce and simmer, stirring occasionally until sauce thickens - about 10-15 minutes. Serve on hamburger buns. Enjoy!

240/365

2011-08-28T20:29:00.000-05:00

Ben and I are trying to shop for the furniture we know we'll need to fill the home we're waiting to move into. We had to stop by the Apple store and saw a furniture showroom that had really good looking furniture. I'd never been into Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams before but as soon as we walked in, I fell in love with everything. They have so many mid-century designs which is exactly how I want to decorate our house. I think we found a new place to add to our payroll...

239/365

2011-08-27T23:37:00.000-05:00

Tonight Laurel, Ben and I went to Dallas' first Food Truck Festival. When you go to a first time event, you expect some definite hiccups and organization problems, which this one definitely had. First of all, they way underestimated the amount of people that would attend. We got to the Sigel's parking lot where it was being held and the lines were super long and moving at a snail's pace. Actually, I think a snail may have gotten to the truck before we did, but that's neither here no there. So we waited in about four lines between the three of us but only ate at two of the spots (3 Men and a Taco and Mister Cool Ice Cream). Since we were still hungry after waiting for over two hours for a few bites of food, we finished the night at Plucker's (don't judge) laughing over beers and finishing our progressive dinner.

238/365

2011-08-26T21:05:00.000-05:00

We had a potluck lunch for one of my colleague's bridal showers today and made some yummy finger sandwiches. They were a huge hit and flew off the plate. It's a little dangerous how easy these are to make but they're so good!

Pimento Cheese Sandwiches

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup real low-fat mayonnaise
4 oz jar chopped pimentos, drained
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
14 slices wheat bread

Directions
Pulse cheese, mayo, pimentos and cayenne pepper in a food processor until combined. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and chill for at least three hours. Once chilled, spread some pimento cheese on one slice of bread and top with second piece of bread. Cut of crusts and cut entire sandwich diagonally to make two triangles. Continue making sandwiches until all the spread it used. Enjoy!

Turkey Tea Sandwiches
Via Ina Garten

Ingredients
12 oz reduced fat cream cheese
1/2 cup green onions, white and green parts, chopped
7 slices of roasted turkey, freshly sliced
1 loaf cinnamon raisin bread, sliced
Bunch of fresh basil
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Directions
Combine cream cheese, green onions and salt and pepper with an electric mixer, but don't whip. Lay out 14 slices of bread and place a single layer of turkey meat on half the slices. Place a full basil leaf on top of the turkey. Spread the cream cheese mixture on the other slices of bread, cream cheese side down. Cut off the crusts and cut each sandwich diagonally to make two triangles. Continue making sandwiches. Enjoy!

237/365

2011-08-25T23:08:00.000-05:00

Ben and I had a fantastic date night tonight. We went and saw Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers at the DSO. It was so much fun! It was a night of bluegrass music with some silly Steve Martin humor sprinkled in throughout. Just a really good, foot-tapping time and one of our best date nights in a long time.

236/365

2011-08-24T18:50:00.000-05:00

Ben and I headed back to work today after being out the last two days for my grandfather's funeral. I was so happily surprised to find this cheerful basket of flowers on my desk from the entire team at work along with a card. I was so touched. They even sent a condolence card to my family. Peoplelike this make it easy to come back to work after a tough few days.

235/365

2011-08-23T20:52:00.000-05:00

My grandfather was buried at Sam Houston Military Cemetery today. I'd had never been to a military funeral before. It was very moving. Despite the unfortunate circumstances that brought our whole extended family together, it was good to see all my cousins that I don't see that often. My brother and I are the tall ones on the right.

234/365

2011-08-22T23:45:00.000-05:00

I decided it would be okay not to have a photo for today but to still post. My grandfather passed away this past week and we're in San Antonio for his funeral service. While I was not super close to my grandfather, it's still devastating since it was so sudden. He was my last remaining grandparent and the blow this has taken on my dad and his sisters, our family and all my other relatives is heartbreaking. Just need time to be with the family for now.

233/365

2011-08-21T19:18:00.000-05:00

I got luck this weekend. I found this beauty of a table at this antique/salvage store kind of in the hood of Dallas and fell in love. Perfect little mid-century modern table to for our soon-to-be home! I think it's the first official piece of furniture we've bought for our house and I can wait to clean it up and proudly display it in our formal living room.

232/365

2011-08-20T23:47:00.000-05:00

Sarah and I had a much needed girl date tonight. We walked over to dinner (I sure am going to miss that once we move) and had so much fun giggling about silly things over drinks and appreciating that we can still hang out and talk just like we use to when we were in middle school (but we were probably drinking Kool-Aid back then). We went and saw Crazy Stupid Love afterwards and it was actually a really great movie! I didn't really know what to expect but it was delightful. It didn't really have a clear ending which usually upsets me but I didn't mind it one bit in this movie. Sarah and I were a bit of a giggly mess by the time the movie ended. As we walked back home not really caring how loud we were laughing or talking, I couldn't help but appreciate just how wonderful it is to have a this special time and a awesome friend to share it with.

231/365

2011-08-19T22:11:00.000-05:00

I read this article today and actually totally bought into the idea. Wouldn't you want to get dressed up in crazy clothes, full zombie makeup and stumble around Deep Ellum? Exactly. Ben is down for the idea too due to his love of The Walking Dead, but we'll see how he feels closer to October 15. If nothing else, it will at least be fun to drive the streets and see all my fellow crazies.

230/365

2011-08-18T22:33:00.002-05:00

My friend Laurel had an early birthday celebration today since she'll be out of town on her actual birthday. She and I have a bond over Prince (Duke?) William and it seemed to get stronger because of the recent royal wedding. She and I gushed about it for awhile, so I knew a royal wedding themed gift would be perfect for her birthday. After much searching, I found the bobblehead couple she'd mentioned she wanted and her reaction when she opened the gift was totally worth all the digging. It was the perfect gift for my Anglophile friend. Happy birthday, wife-in-law!

229/365

2011-08-17T14:04:00.001-05:00

I had to run a bunch of errands for work today which unfortunately meant I had to go to Walmart (least favorite place to deal with). It was depressing enough seeing the stereotypical people walking around, but as I was walking toward the door, I saw this lovely typo in the parking lot. Way to be a cliche!

228/365

2011-08-16T11:24:00.000-05:00

Ben and I had to stop by our future home today to measure for some items we're trying to buy. I love being prepared and bought this funny little measuring tape that wants to be a giraffe at Pier 1 and it has definitely come in handy with all this house stuff. Although I do have to sometimes give in and use a regular measuring tape that reaches at least 12 feet, it's not as fun as using this little guy. It's important to add some funky style to anything you do, even if it's measuring for a new front door.

227/365

2011-08-15T22:50:00.032-05:00

I don't really watch that much reality TV. I am a sucker for all the Karsashian shows and love me some DWTS, but that's really where my reality TV watching ends. I absolutely do not understand the whole appeal of the Jersey Shore or any of those Jersey or housewives shows. Guess I'm the odd man out. Anyways! I decided to see what all the buzz was about on the new Most Eligible Dallas show. I didn't have very high expectations, which was good. I was thinking this would be a younger group of "friends," but they seem to be in their "late twenties" and 30s and I swear one of the women on the show has to be pushing a rough 40 but still dresses like she's 20. Bleh. So the show was a total train wreck and I couldn't look away. Ben kept voicing his unhappiness with the fact that I was watching this on our main TV. It was funny seeing the places the "friends" went to on the show, and the way the cameras and video editors managed to make certain places look a lot swankier than they really are. It was a total joke, and everyone on Facebook was commenting on it throughout the night. But even despite all the griping, I let my DVR schedule a series recording. Only because there's nothing else on Mondays...I swear...

226/365

2011-08-14T22:02:00.001-05:00

Very exciting news on the new home front. We bought our new kitchen appliances today and are the proud new owners of a new refrigerator, gas range and micro-hood. It was crazy how excited we were about appliances, but we knew it meant we were just one step closer to moving into our dream home!

225/365

2011-08-13T19:26:00.001-05:00

I decided to clean out my closet and drawers today since we're having a clothing drive at work and we'll soon be moving to our new house. What I thought would take one to two hours at the most ended up taking a whole afternoon! I realized I never cleaned out old clothes when I graduated from college and then never really took time to do it since then. That's like four years of clothes hoarding! So needless to say there was a lot of clothes and I quickly filled two huge bags. The picture above was like a halfway mark. So I'm glad I got rid of a lot of old clothes (and opened up a lot of closet space), have a lot of items to donate and can start fresh in our new home!

224/365

2011-08-12T23:28:00.027-05:00

Being one of the first couples in our friend group to get married, we've definitely been trying to find more married friends to hang out with, share war stories and just have fun relating to one another. We recently heard one of Ben's high school friends (and groomsman in our wedding) and his wife Rebecca moved back to Dallas and we were so excited when they invited us to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. We talked about funny things that go along with married life (like we do with our other fav married couple) and me and Rebecca bonded over our love/need to nest and our obsessive shopping on One Kings Lane. It was so much fun and we were happy that we were starting to build a new group of friends in our life.

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2011-08-11T23:10:00.013-05:00

I really love being on Tumblr and finding all the fun, random and awesome things people post. Today's find was no exception. This amazing picture of a floppy-eared bunny with a hilarious expression on its cute little face made me scream out loud with cuteness overload. I about died. My mom and dad swear I had a bunny for a pet when I was little, but I don't remember it at all. Not even a flash memory. If I do get a bunny one day, I really hope it looks exactly like this.

222/365

2011-08-10T22:34:00.011-05:00

We had our book club meeting to go over our August book - Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. The book was definitely not what I was expecting, but I'm not sure what I was expecting really. It was a lot more historical then I was expecting. The footnotes the author includes were so meticulous that they seemed so true, but c'mon...the book is about vampires! It was a book I definitely would not have picked up if it had not been picked by our book club, but I'm excited to be reading weird and unusual things that make you a more open-minded reader. Have you read this one? What did you think? Can you believe they're going to make a movie out of this book?

221/365

2011-08-09T19:56:00.000-05:00

Via TheBloggess.com

I don't claim to be s super awesome blogger (though I really wish I was!). I think I tend to be more self-deprecating and awkward then clever and witty. So when I do read super funny and clever blogs, I always end up feeling inadequate and wishing I had written that awesome post I just read. So when one of my friends shared this article by the hilarious Bloggess, I fell in love. This woman is hilarious and I feel like I have so many wonderfully crude posts to catch up on. Hopefully some of her amazing blogging skills will rub off on me.

220/365

2011-08-08T22:48:00.013-05:00

We had contractors go out to our house to give quotes on how much it would cost to make the repairs we'd need once we got the house. Unfortunately, I was so slammed at work I couldn't go, so Ben went on his lunch break to meet with everyone. We talked about things we wanted to check and measure since we wouldn't be back in the house for awhile, so of course being the list-obsessed person that I am, I made of list (a honey-do list?) for him to take care of while he was at the house. One of his to dos? Check the doorbell! I didn't think to check the wonderful sound we'd hear when the plethora of visitors we'll undoubtedly stop by our house. The above note is B's explanation of what it sounds like.

219/365

2011-08-07T23:04:00.023-05:00

Fruit Pizza

Ingredients
Pillsbury Sugar Cookie dough
8 ounces fat free cream cheese
1/3 cup vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Sliced fruit (I used strawberries, blueberries, a nectarine and a kiwi)
2 tablespoons apricot jam
2 tablespoons water

Directions
Roll cookie dough out into a thin layer onto a pizza stone or baking sheet sprayed with cookie spray. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Meanwhile, whisk cream cheese, vanilla sugar and vanilla until smooth and spreadable. Once the cookie crust is completely cool, spread the cream cheese mixture on top leaving a slight edge. In a small saucepan, mix the jam and water until it's a thin, syrupy mixture. Place the sliced fruit on top of the cream cheese in a nice pattern. Then brush the jam mixture onto all the fruit to give it a nice shine and seal everything together. Enjoy!

218/365

2011-08-06T23:00:00.014-05:00

It officially started today. We're now one of those couples that spends their weekends at home improvement stores. Granted we were just getting ideas of what we'd need for our soon-to-be house and getting paint and design ideas, but I kind of giggled inside at how excited I was to be walking around and looking at everything and remembering how bored me and my brother would be when we had to go to these stores with our parents. Yes, a new chapter has definitely started.

217/365

2011-08-05T22:58:00.031-05:00

Since we're getting closer to finally getting our dream home, I've now become obsessed with finding design ideas. So I've ceased recording house hunting shows and now have our DVR set to record boocoos of design shows. I've watched tons of episodes of Candice Olson's show, and am crazily ripping up magazines and collecting images for more idea inspiration. I just want the house now so I can start nesting! Do you have design sites or shows that you recommend? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated to enable my new obsession!

216/365

2011-08-04T22:56:00.012-05:00

Another big milestone today in our house hunting adventure. We had our home inspection and were relieved to here that all the fixes needed were very minor! For the brief few moments Ben and I were alone in the house, we just looked at each other and smiled realizing we were one step closer to being home.

215/365

2011-08-03T23:44:00.017-05:00

Via CocoaLikesThis.com

Sarah and I finally found time in our busy schedules to get together tonight and have some girly time. Bascially we giggled about boys and gawked at all the latest news in each other lives before delving into two glorious hours of Dawson's Creek viewing. Time with your BFF really helps make everything better and more fun.

214/365

2011-08-02T23:19:00.017-05:00

When Maria and I went antiquing on Saturday, I found this awesome glass pitcher and I had to get it. Not only because it was an awesome green, but because it was exactly (except not yellow) to this glass pitcher I grew up with at home. I remember drinking homemade lemonade, sweet tea and Kool-Aid out of that pitcher and knew I needed one of my own for when we get our new house to make it feel more like home.

213/365

2011-08-01T21:51:00.000-05:00

Dallas has officially reached a new level of hot. It's just so hot outside and the whole city is being threatened with blackouts unless people can conserve energy. I don't remember it being this hot during the summer when I was little. Global warming? I can't wait for the fall.

212/365

2011-07-31T22:39:00.015-05:00

Exciting news! We finally put an offer in on a house and the sellers accepted! We spent the majority of today freaking out and negotiating with the sellers through our realtor. It was nerve-wrecking and exciting at the same time. When we finally got the okay from our realtor, we screamed, I cried and we hugged for a long time. All our searching and we finally found our dream home! Much more grown up decisions to come this week, but for now, we're on cloud nine!

211/365

2011-07-30T19:59:00.001-05:00

Maria and I went to the Design District today so she could get ideas for her new home and I could fulfill my nesting need through her. After seeing fancy schmancy chandeliers and furniture in the $30,000 price range, we decide to opt for antiquing and had the most fun looking a cool, funky furniture. I fell in love, multiple times, with brightly colored and fun patterned chairs. I really can't wait to find a house so I can buy furniture!

210/365

2011-07-29T22:59:00.001-05:00

Ben and I met our favorite married couple, Maria and Andy, for a super fun double date. We went to Scalini's in Lakewood since we've been wanting to try it for quite some time. It was soooo good! I had their vegetarian pizza and it was pretty much life changing. We spent many hours visiting with our friends talking even more about houses, family, funny little things we've encountered in our marriages and laughing at how similar our lives are sometimes. I just love having this super sweet and funny couple in our lives as we're all taking leaps into our grown up lives.

209/365

2011-07-28T23:00:00.037-05:00

I found another fun event for Ben and I to go to for our date night. We went to the Kessler Theater to see Bottle Rocket. It was part of FrontRow's film series: 'Dallas, Outlaws and the American Dream.' We love Wes Anderson's movies and were happy to see his very first film. We were surrounded by hipsters, cinephiles and the like. Peter Simek, D's arts editor, was there too and it was cool just being around people who appreciate film and want to celebrate this awesome city.

208/365

2011-07-27T22:30:00.002-05:00

Work and life stress has really had me down lately. I've been so busy at work that I'm too exhausted to do anything after work - much less exercise and focus on better myself and my health. I know I shouldn't get down in the dumps too often, but sometimes you just want/need to have a pity party. I did see this picture today which reminded me to put things in perspective and get over the stupid little things that I let bother me sometimes. I'm sure tomorrow will be better, and the weekend will most likely recharge me, but sometimes it's just hard to get over the midweek blues.

207/365

2011-07-26T20:56:00.007-05:00

Sometimes the simple things in life make you the most happy. Ben knows how much I love popcorn (we call his version BenCorn) and makes some super yummy popcorn from scratch. Yes, some crunchy, salty goodness makes a terrible Tuesday all the better.

206/365

2011-07-25T21:48:00.000-05:00

I found this fun print on one of the blogs I follow on my Tumblr. I loved how it was a cute reminder in awesome fonts so I bought it off Etsy. Nothing like a pep talk on my desk to keep me going at work!

205/365

2011-07-24T22:57:00.044-05:00

I saw this recipe from Big Girls Small Kitchen a few weeks back and had been dying to make it. I finally went to Central Market to get all the various spices needed to make homemade chai tea, and it was worth all the effort. This is now my new favorite beverage! I made this for me and Ben today with soy milk and we couldn't get enough. I loved how it wasn't too sweet and that it sort of tastes like Christmas. You can even warm it up in the winter for a warm mug full of comfort. You've got to try this!

Iced Chai Tea Latte
Courtesy of: Big Girls, Small Kitchen

Ingredients
Chai Tea Concentrate:
3 tablespoons sugar
8 cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick, snapped in half
1 slice ginger, peeled
5 whole cloves
4 whole black peppercorns
2 black teabags
1 tablespoon honey

For Latte:
1 cup of any type of milk (I used light soy milk)
Ice cubes

Directions
Combine all ingredients, except honey, in a small pot. Add two cups of water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower slightly and let simmer for five minutes. Turn off the heat and let steep for five minutes. Remove the teabags, squeezing out any liquid from them. Let the spices steep for another 15 minutes. Strain, removing all the spices, add honey and stir. Taste to see if you need to add more honey. Cool completely. The rest of the concentrate can be kept in the refrigerator.

Add six tablespoons of concentrate of a cup with ice. Add milk and stir until combined. If you use a sweetened milk, you may want to use less when mixing with the tea. Serve immediately.

204/365

2011-07-23T17:48:00.001-05:00

Williams-Sonoma was having a crazy sale on their pastries recently, and I was feeling like a generous fat kid and bought some Morning Buns for Ben and I to enjoy on various breakfast occasions. I made our first batch today and they are pretty amazing. So simple to make and you feel like a cook even if all you did was turn on the oven and make a pot of coffee.

203/365

2011-07-22T23:43:00.025-05:00

I love Dallas. While I'm not a Dallas native, I came here for college and stayed after graduation, and fell in love with everything this city has to offer. I still get excited about all the attractions and events in Dallas, and absolutely love the Best Of Big D issue D Magazine puts out every year. It highlights the best restaurants, venues, shops and everything else people do in Dallas. It's even more exciting when things we love about the city are featured and are loved by everyone. I love it and I love this great city!

202/365

2011-07-21T23:54:00.014-05:00

I've been having the weirdest dreams lately. I have a dream dictionary that says what certain things in your dreams mean but that book has been trouble since the day I bought it (like 10 years ago) - everything ends up being a bad omen! It's fun to keep a dream journal though and write about the dreams you just had. I used to do one and it was crazy looking back at the random dreams. You'll always remember them. With all the random, and sometimes funny, dreams I've been having lately, I think it's time to start another dream journal!

201/365

2011-07-20T21:46:00.023-05:00

I have been in love with both Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake for the last 12 years. My feelings for Jimmy may be a smidge stronger, but still, my love for these two guys just gets strong with the more silly things they do. They teamed up and did a History of Rap performance last year, and recently made a second version. I can't get enough. The crazy dancing and awesome covers of all the songs....total swoon!

200/365

2011-07-19T21:32:00.002-05:00

I walked into our apartment from work today to this lovely surprise. Ben wrote the sweetest note that actually brought me to tears. We've been dealing with stressful things lately like trying to plan for our future and searching for a house but we're both trying to remain optimistic and keep things in perspective for one another. Having such a supportive and loving hubby really helps the "downs" seem not so bad, and the "ups" even better.

199/365

2011-07-18T23:17:00.003-05:00

I was very excited today when I was finally able to create a Spotify account. I love music so much and find any reason to listen to it throughout the day at work and at home. So with the new Spotify I can listen to any song at any time. Super fun and a little dangerous since I am not spending time trying to create the perfect playlists. I love being a pseudo DJ.

198/365

2011-07-17T21:18:00.001-05:00

I finally went to see the final Harry Potter movie today with Ben. In our excitement to get to the theater, we didn't realize we were arriving for the 3D version. So despite the need to wear glasses that sorta made us look a little like Geordi La Froge from Star Trek, we absolutely loved the movie. I cried a bit and couldn't believe it was actually over! What did you think of the movie?

197/365

2011-07-16T18:17:00.017-05:00

Ben and I went hunting for houses again today. Bringing out total number of houses viewed to 20. Uggh. We walked into one house that had this cool framed chalkboard in the dining room and it had the above note written on it - I thought it was pretty cute. We did find one house today that is a strong possibility but now we're freaking out that we actually have a strong possibility and need to decide what to do! This is such a frustrating process. I'm constantly on emotional highs and lows which probably just makes Ben feel like he's in an emotional low. At least we're lucky and have a very cool and supportive realtor who is positive and isn't pressuring us into doing anything we don't want to do. I just hope we don't end up being one of those couples on those house hunting shows that sees over 70 homes and still can't find one they like. We always used to be baffled by those people, and that could very well be us soon! The horror!

196/365

2011-07-15T22:02:00.017-05:00

A few months ago, I mentioned a design competition we had a work to redesign our entrance area. Well, I was crowned the winner (taking home the Great Indoors gift card - shweeet) and we ordered all the items and finished redoing everything today. Above is my original sketch and some pictures of the final outcome. What do you think?

195/365

2011-07-14T22:57:00.035-05:00

It had been awhile since our last date night so we both got out of work on time, got dressed up and headed to a lovely dinner at Alma where we had some of the yummiest gourmet Mexican food I've had in a while. Then we headed to the Angelika to see Horrible Bosses despite the poor reviews. We totally loved it! It's definitely not as raunchy as some of the other R-rated comedies that have been out lately, but still just as funny. And I really love Jason Sudeikis and Jason Bateman. It was silly fun and the movie had some good music, which made knee-slapping laughter and holding hands in a dark theater even more enjoyable.

194/365

2011-07-13T21:55:00.001-05:00

Crazy Hair

I had long hair ever since I was little, all the way until the second to last day of high school. I then promptly chopped it all off into a bob and it's been that way ever since. I did grow my hair out for the wedding last year, but it barely reached my shoulder until I chopped it off again after the honeymoon. So now I'm starting to have a change of heart. I feel like my super short hair doesn't let me do much and sometimes makes me feel ugly and unfeminine (and makes me look like Javier Bardem from No Country for Old Men). Ben also mentions from time to time how much he loved the long hair I had for the wedding. So I'm torn. I know it's easy to grow and cut hair, but it's also something so personal! To cut or not to cut?

193/365

2011-07-12T21:42:00.002-05:00

Via NatalieDee.com

I seriously love popsicles. Lately, I've also found that they seem to have healing properties. If I ever have a tummy ache, headache or anything like that, a fruity popsicle instantly makes me feel better. I seriously can't get enough popsicles - especially since we've had over 100 degree days for almost two solid weeks. I get the classic Popsicle brand kind (sugar free, of course), but do you have a favorite you recommend?

192/365

2011-07-11T23:25:00.004-05:00

To celebrate making it through Jury Duty today, I decided to bake some cookies tonight. I found a recipe for four ingredient peanut butter cookies (wow!) but decided to make them even tastier. What's even better about these cookies is that they're gluten-free and are really peanuty. You have got to try these!

Simple Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup natural peanut butter
1 cup vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg slightly beaten
Mini chocolate chips, optional
Fruit jelly, optional

Directions
Combine peanut butter and sugar until well mixed. Add vanilla and egg until moist. Use a small cookie scoop or rounded tablespoon measure and place on ungreased baking sheet. You can make the classic peanut cookie with the criss-cross design using the tongs of a fork. Or! You could make thumbprint cookies by pressing your thumb into the center of the dough ball and filling the indention with a little bit of jelly for PB&J cookies! I also rolled some of the dough balls in mini chocolate chips for that classic combination. Bake these at 350 for 10 minutes until the edges are golden brown and enjoy!

191/365

2011-07-10T22:44:00.002-05:00

I got together with some of my lovely ladies today (Tricia, Jill, Yates and Tatum) to celebrate Jill's birthday. We met for a fun lunch then went to the Japanese Gardens in Fort worth (Jill's favorite place) and walked around. It was beautiful and we had fun feeding the fish and taking silly planking pictures. We went out afterwards and enjoyed a few drinks and serious laughs. I just can't get enough of these ladies' company and each time we get together I feel more and more lucky to have them all in my life!

190/365

2011-07-09T22:36:00.002-05:00

I took another grown up step today as I decided to retire my old pair of glasses (I've had since high school!) and get a nice, grown up pair that I can wear to work. I kept getting drawn to the oversized hipster glasses, but finally found a fun pair that wasn't too crazy, but I did get the frames with the green transparent edging. Gotta try and keep my cool kid street cred.

189/365

2011-07-08T11:46:00.001-05:00

I gotta say, one of the latest trends I'm SUPER onboard with this year are the trouser shoes. I seriously can't get enough. I bought this pair at Nordstrom and just bought another pair online. Wearing these cute shoesies with my rolled up skinny jeans today was seriously one of the best things about my day today. The other is possibly looking at our dream house this afternoon!

188/365

2011-07-07T22:12:00.003-05:00

I found one of the funniest websites today - Animals Being Dicks. It's a bunch of GIFs of animals doing stupid or mean things and I just couldn't stop watching it today. I'm probably the busiest I've been at work in a long time, but still couldn't resist watching page after page of these videos and actually fighting back tears from laughing so much. Seriously. It's my new favorite website.

187/365

2011-07-06T22:39:00.001-05:00

The BFF signal was turned on tonight and I went to rescue Sarah. She was in the ER for a severe case of strep throat and they were going to give her some morphine for the pain. She threatened me with my life if I took a picture or her so I instead took a pictures of my badge (above). While we unfortunately waited, and waited and waited for the nurses to finish administering Sarah's fluids and medication, and for the doctor to discharge her, it gave us time to catch up. By the end of the night we were laughing and found ourselves going through a drive-thru for some late night relief for my weary friend. While it was an unfortunate way to get together with a friend, it was still great getting to spend time with my pal and hopefully getting her back on track to feeling better.

186/365

2011-07-05T23:46:00.030-05:00

Packing up to return home from a vacation is really one of the biggest bummers about vacations. We had to pack up and head back to reality. We enjoyed our last views of the mountains before we headed back to flat Dallas. It was great celebrating the fourth enjoying natural beauty (and seeing my first shooting star!) and taking a break from our daily grind. I feel reinvigorated - let's do this, July!

185/365

2011-07-04T23:42:00.022-05:00

Our last full day of vacation was filled to the brim! We visited a ghost town that was once inhabited by miners living in Colorado during the gold rush, visited the city of Cuchara for a fourth of July celebration (and some pretty tasty BBQ), went exploring on four wheelers (complete with a visit to Lovers' Leap) and had fun making and eating dinner and listening to music. This adventurous day was the perfect ending to our vacation.

184/365

2011-07-03T23:39:00.011-05:00

We spent today enjoying a nice hike around our cabin and explored the city of La Veta with Ben and his parents. We walked around the Art in the Park fair, looked at all the cute stores with the ecentric locals and Ben and I enjoyed the nice rocking chairs out on the porch, having wine and reading. I think this has been the most relaxed I've been in a very long while!

183/365

2011-07-02T23:36:00.016-05:00

Watching the sun set from our cabin

Our first day in Colorado flew by! After a very early, but very quick, plane ride to Colorado Springs, we spent time enjoying the scenery during a train ride through the Royal Gorge, a scenic drive to La Veta and relaxed outside enjoying the much cooler weather. The sunset wasn't bad either. Looking forward to a fun weekend!

182/365

2011-07-01T23:25:00.000-05:00

We had to pack tonight for our upcoming trip this weekend. I tend to procrastinate and almost every time I'm packing the night before a trip (and trying to get to bed early), I'm usually up until midnight or later trying to get organized. But luckily I have this fun little packing list that helps me count everything and (hopefully) get to bed at a normal time. But either way, 5 am is still going to come too soon.

181/365

2011-06-30T23:10:00.000-05:00

We had our first book club meeting tonight at Starbucks! A small group of us met up and discussed American Wife over yummy drinks and snacks (notice Ashlee brought the cute Texas flag cookies - they're very Ashlee and also kinda tied to the book in a way since it was inspired by Laura Bush). We had a great time discussing certain parts of the book and laughing at realizations we made while reading. I was somewhat giddy inside taking a step back and hearing the conversation topics and seeing the people I was surrounded by - such smart and funny women. This book club has me totally jazzed. Our next book: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Have you read it?

180/365

2011-06-29T22:30:00.000-05:00

I love homemade gifts. So when I saw this recipe, I knew it would come in handy when I needed a quick and delicious treat for friends or family. It's so quick and easy and super tasty. I made a batch tonight for tomorrow night's book club meeting!

Vanilla Almonds

Ingredients
1 egg white, beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 cups whole almonds
3/4 sugar (I used homemade vanilla sugar)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Beat egg white and vanilla extract in a medium bowl until frothy. Add almonds and stir to coat. Add sugar, salt and cinnamon to almonds and stir until well mixed. Place on a single layer on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake for 20 minutes and let cool on baking sheet. Once cooled, break into clusters and enjoy!

179/365

2011-06-28T23:04:00.001-05:00

I love accessories. No matter how gross or unattractive you feel, hats, jewelry, sunglasses or any other accessory is an instant mood booster. I noticed recently I've been buying many hats and other fun things. The latest? This bitchin' pair of Betsey Johnson leopard sunglasses. Instant happiness ensued. My summer just got more fun!

178/365

2011-06-27T22:11:00.001-05:00

Dinner for One

Ben spent the evening hanging out with some friends while I headed home for some me time. That time has been hard to come by lately since work and other things going on in our lives has been so crazy. It was nice having tonight to make a meal for one, watch my random TV shows and read. Sometimes it's nice to unwind with yourself.

177/365

2011-06-26T23:08:00.031-05:00

We saw a crazy amount of movies this weekend. We didn't really plan it this way...it sorta just happened. It also occurred on a weekend we realized we had a trial weekend of HBO. So this weekend we saw:

I'm sure some people can see a lot more movies than this in a weekend, but it was fun seeing new and old movies together that were all really different. Plus it was a great reason to stay indoors since it was so hot all weekend.

176/365

2011-06-25T17:12:00.007-05:00

Ben and I had an early start to our Saturday since today was our first official day to tour houses with our realtor. It was so exciting having specialized attention and viewing all these houses with just the three of us (and the few animals that were chilling at the homes we visited). We found a couple of homes we like and are planning another visit sometime this week. It's crazy knowing our dream house is out there right now waiting for us. I just hope we come across one another soon!

175/365

2011-06-24T22:12:00.000-05:00

My mom and I were talking about teapots the other week when we were hanging out and how excited I as to have friends and family over for tea parties whenever we have a house. I pointed out a tea set I liked in one of her magazines and I was thrilled when she surprised me and ordered it for me. It's bright yellow and has cute bumble bees on it. I can't wait for its inaugural usage!

174/365

2011-06-23T22:09:00.001-05:00

Ben got exciting news at work today which was definite cause for celebration. I picked up some champagne and we had a nice toast to all of his hard work and accomplishments. Being married has made me (both of us really) see and feel the impact of our life decisions and milestones on each other. Which is why we both try to celebrate the big and little things to put things in perspective and keep us close.

173/365

2011-06-22T21:37:00.001-05:00

I got my first jury summons today. I felt so grown up and American being chosen, but I'm also dreading it since I've heard so many horror stories from friends and colleagues. Time to do my civil duty! Any tips for a juror noob?

172/365

2011-06-21T22:36:00.021-05:00

Today is the first official day of summer (even though it has felt like summer for the last month here in Dallas). One of my favorite things about summer (not surprisingly, it ties to food/eating) is watermelon! I bought a quarter watermelon on Sunday, cut it up and totally pwned it completely tonight. I think Ben may have had three small little cubes, but, let's face it, it was all me. Needless to say, I will probably just buy a complete half (or maybe just buy a whole one!) this weekend so I can try and be a normal human being and spread my watermelon love throughout a whole week. What's your favorite thing about summer?

171/365

2011-06-20T22:51:00.040-05:00

I was very adventurous tonight for dinner night. Ben and I love spicy tuna tartare with avocado, so when I saw this recipe from Ina Garten, I knew I had to try it one day. We weren't particularly hungry so this was more of an appetizer for dinner type meal, but it was still so amazing! Below is my version since Ina's fed 50. Mine will feed about 4-6 people.

Tuna Tartare

Ingredients
1 pound fresh tuna steak
1/2 cup vegetable oil (using olive oil could increase the mercury in the fish)
3 big limes zested and juiced
1 tsp. wasabi powder
1 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp. hot red pepper sauce (Tabasco)
1 tbsp. kosher salt
1 tbsp. fresh ground pepper
2 green onions, green and white parts, finely diced
2 big jalepeños, seeds removed, minced
1 big avocado, diced

Directions
Cut the tuna in 1/4 inch dice and place in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine oil, lime zest, lime juice, wasabi, soy sauce, Tabasco, salt and pepper. Pour over tuna and add the green onions and jalapeño and mix well. Carefully add the avocado and stir until combined. Let mixture sit in refrigerator for an hour so flavors can blend and mixture can chill. Serve on crackers or with tortilla chips (our choice!) and enjoy!

This was such a yummy, rich and amazing recipe! If you're feeling adventurous and open to eating fresh tuna like this, you should definitely give this recipe a try!

170/365

2011-06-19T22:46:00.012-05:00

The whole family spent the entire weekend relaxing and enjoying everyone's company, but it was also an elongated celebration of Father's Day. I was so glad I was able to spend Father's Day with my dad, watch him open his gift and just spend time talking and catching up on the little things that I may not think to update them on when we talk over the phone. I'm so glad my family is so close and that I have such a fun and supportive father that's there for all of us. I love you dad!

169/365

2011-06-18T23:40:00.018-05:00

After enjoying a little too much time by the pool enjoying a drink or two, reading my book club book and listening to music, I realized I was completely scorched and in need of some serious TLC. After Googling a million supposed remedies, I just settled and bought some aloe. Now it officially feels like summer!

168/365

2011-06-17T22:39:00.012-05:00

We had a super fun day of shopping all along The Strand in Galveston. My mom and I bought lots of fun little trinkets and accessories, and I got a steal on this black and white big brim hat (love!). After a few drinks, lots of yummy food and a round of putt putt, this is definitely feeling like the vacation we've been in need of for quite some time.

167/365

2011-06-16T22:02:00.012-05:00

Ben and I packed up when we got home from work tonight and headed to Galveston for our first round of family vacations. My family rented a condo in Galveston were me, Ben, my mom, my dad, my brother and his girlfriend would stay for a nice long weekend. As we drove out of Dallas and headed to the coast, I was a little giddy inside that the place we used to vacation at when I was a little kid was now the place I was taking Ben. This will be a great weekend focused on family, fun and making new memories!

166/365

2011-06-15T23:13:00.032-05:00

I've been giggling a little bit to myself lately as my friends have started to ask me things about social media and blogging and have dubbed me the Social Media Queen in our circle of friends. I laugh because I became an early adopter to all the social media channels for work. I immersed myself in it all and instantly became obsessed. Now I get to do social media strategies and campaigns for clients and am inspiring my friends to try new things on this crazy medium.

165/365

2011-06-14T22:51:00.003-05:00

I love breakfast for dinner. It's so quick and easy and super comforting any day. I've been meaning to try this recipe and thought tonight was the best night. And our tummies were so happy I did. Below is my version:

Frittata with Asparagus, Tomato and Gruyere

Ingredients
6 eggs
2 tbsp. cream
1/2 tsp. salt plus a pinch
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
1 bundle of asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tomato, diced
1/2 cup gruyere cheese, grated
1 tbsp. parmesan, grated
1 green onion, diced

Directions
Preheat broiler. Whisk eggs, cream, 1/2 tsp. of salt and pepper together and set aside. Heat butter and oil over medium heat in 10-inch skillet that's oven proof. Add asparagus until crisp-tender (about two minutes). Raise heat to medium high and add tomatoes and pinch of salt and cook two minutes longer. Pour egg mixture over vegetables and spread with rubber spatula. Cook for a few minutes until the egg starts to set. Sprinkle Gruyere on top and reduce heat to low until egg is almost completely set (but still a little runny on top). Place skillet under broiler (be sure you leave the oven door open so you can keep an eye on your frittata) and broil until top is golden brown (about five minutes). Let frittata stand for two minutes. Using rubber spatula, loosen the frittata onto a serving dish and garnish with parmesan cheese and green onion. Enjoy!

164/365

2011-06-13T21:40:00.012-05:00

I was given the day off since I had to work on Saturday and spent my day pampering myself and doing everything I wanted to do, which included going to a "Strictly Core" class at Uptown Yoga. I'd been too scared to go to one of these classes, but figured now was the best time. I so happy I did - what a workout! I've definitely been feeling it since I left and know tomorrow could be even worse. But I'm so glad I got an ass-kicking on my Me Day.

163/365

2011-06-12T23:31:00.010-05:00

Ben and I went to a Matt and Kim concert tonight at House of Blues and it was AMAZING. It was fun to stand in a crazy crowd of people, jumping and dancing and having a sweaty, fun time singing all of their songs. This was one heck of an evening!