ass factory

GUYS... I FOUND THE PLACE WHERE YOU CAN GET A NEW BUTT.

sunshine fall from the sky

Last week I took a planned vacation day and among other piddling errands I FINALLY went to Cactus & Tropicals.

I say FINALLY because the lovely Kalie and Jason got us a wedding gift card to Cactus & Tropicals.  You know... that wedding that happened almost 2 years ago?  I was afraid to shop at a garden store until the recent success of my indoor office windowsill herb garden (thanks in part to Annie):

Yaaaaaaaaay.  And so I thought that maybe I could... er... BRANCH out (ha ha) to other herbs.  Groan.

I wasn't thinking this would be that big of a deal and then I stepped inside and I fell in LOVE.  It was a mixture of warm slightly humid air, the 1920s garden cottage feel, the soft classical music, and all the beautiful flowers.  I think I broke any black thumb I had left in me.  I didn't want to leave.

I wandered around for almost an hour until I finally settled on mint, rosemary, and a blue ceramic pot.

I will so be going back there.  Thanks Kalie and Jason!!... and TESSA!

Chicken Mirabella

Chicken Mirabella

• 6 chicken breasts, trimmed
• 2 TBS Crushed Garlic
• 1 TBS Oregano
• 1/4 C Olive Oil
• 1/4 C Pitted Prunes
• 10 oz jar Green Olives with juice
• 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1 C White Wine
• Black Pepper

Directions:

1. Mix olive oil, garlic, wine, and brown sugar in a mixing bowl.  Pour a few TBS in a 9X13 baking dish and set aside remaining mixture.
2. Place chicken breasts in baking dish.  Sprinkle with pepper, oregano, and prunes.  Pour olives and juices over chicken breasts.  Finally pour oil/wine/garlic/sugar mixture over the chicken breasts.
3. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes turning chicken breasts half way through.

Serve over couscous or wild rice with sauteed carrots or butternut squash.

Kitchen: Stage 2

The last time we saw the kitchen on this site it looked something like this:

There really wasn't much to do with the kitchen past painting.  We did get the kitchen sink replaced (porcelain... seriously?!?!), got some barstools, and made more use of the counter space.  Here's what it's looking like at the moment:

Not a huge difference but I'm just in love with not having that heinous porcelain sink anymore!

mopatrickto

My St. Patrick's Day Mojito creation:

MoPatrickto

1 oz lime juice
2 oz Whiskey
3 oz Ginger ale
12 mint leaves

Muddle lime juice, 10 mint leaves, and whiskey (or if you are feeling lazy you can add to a blender and pulse a few times).  Add mixture to two tall glasses over ice, evenly distribute ginger ale to the top of each glass, garnish each with a mint leaf.  Enjoy!

Spring Cleaning: The Fridge

I saw a post on pinterest about organizing your fridge - a task I thought was impossible.  Even reading about it got me slightly excited but I was sure it would be expensive or just wouldn't work out.  But the local Wal-Mart had the supplies my trusty tape measure confirmed everything would fit.  So with all the pieces in place I got up the energy to really clean out the fridge and get organized.

What I started with (please don't judge too harshly)

The messy kitchen and supplies:

And the finished product ... the functional fridge!

I grouped like things and things that get used together like beverages and mixers, or breads and sandwich stuff.  The handles make it easy to retrieve and put back when I'm done.  Chad loves it because I never ask, "Where did you put the...?"

The best part is that these containers come from Wal-Mart and they're ridiculously cheap.  A seriously fun and cheap project for the organizing fiend in your family :)

Master Closet

The closet was one of the things I hated the most about the condo when we moved in.  I hated the paint, the carpet, and the whole closet system.  I HATED trying to come up with ways to best use the space and no matter what I did things always got lost in that closet.  For 2 years I've put up with it now, I must stop this Christmas thing from coming... but HOW?!  Ahem... sorry, got carried away.

This is what we were dealing with:

What WAS working - the extra space to put unused hangers, the up high storage for luggage.

What WASN'T working - purse storage, shoe space, the strange shelving up the left hand side, and (not pictured) the long hang on the right wall of the closet hid about 2 feet of the short hang portion so the corner was a bermuda triangle of clothing.

We tore everything out, patched up the holes, painted, and installed a custom closet from The Container Store.  Here is the (almost finished) closet:

What I'm in love with: the floor length mirror, the sock jar (it really frees up drawer space!), the shoe storage, how much more functional the closet is.

What I still need to work on: purse storage, chalkboard tags for our sock jars, and a chandelier.  Ok, maybe not the chandelier part :)

master bedroom: stage 1

Sooo... I am just going to show you before and after pictures of the bedroom and we'll all just pretend the "after" hasn't been looking like that for 11 months.  Ok?  Ok.

When we moved in this is what we were dealing with:

And so we painted, put in a ceiling fan (no pics on that) did a little decorating and ... voila:

CAN I TELL YOU HOW GLAD I AM TO BE RID OF THE TAN TAN TAN ALL OVER EVERYTHING???  I'm not done with the wall hangings and I'm tired of the bed frame ... but it's just fine for now.  The carpet is definitely going to have to go - ugh, but that will be worried about later.

It's actually hard to pick it apart when compared to what it was when we moved in :)

Yellow Dress / Blue Accessories Wish List

let the sun shine by formosaspain featuring tote hand bags

otherwise we'd spoil it

I am seriously lazy.  That is the only way that I can explain my need to make every thing in my life as efficient as possible.  It always bothered me that there are things that I need to do on a monthly, tri-monthly, or bi-annual basis that I just can't remember to do - a whole 5 months might go by before I change my toothbrush for instance... oh, the horror.

So this is what I do (which I'm sure has been thought of and done before - in fact YOU probably already do this, but my sister gave me such an odd look about it I thought I'd share just for kicks)...

• Things that need to be replaced monthly I replace the first of the month (contact lenses, baking soda in the fridge, vacuum filter, and I wash my makeup brushes).

• Things that need to be replaced every 3 months I replace Jan-March-June-Sept (toothbrush, mascara, oil changed, and I get my ring cleaned).

• Things that need to be replaced every 6 months I replace in March & Sept (running shoes, socks, sports bras, I get my tires rotated, and vacuum serviced).

• Every two years I replace (and this is staggered) towels, pillows, bath rugs, and sheets.  These I usually do in June (wedding season) or January (after Christmas sales) and it's easy enough to remember if I didn't replace it last year then I need to replace it this year.

And that's my little system.  I think for the most part it keeps me in good running shoes and with a vacuum and car that work.  Everything else is just a bonus :)