Fashion Friday

And it's really on Friday this time! I'm super slacking this week about posting. Today is super windy. All of the ocean winds are gusting through the neighborhood. When I woke up the house was creaking aaaaaaaand now it's raining a bunch. It hasn't rained in a while so it's a good thing, and it's not like I have anywhere to go today. Everyone is coming to us! Tonight we're throwing a surprise party and one of our friends is bringing stuff to make sushi and wontons from scratch. Delish. I might take some pictures and put the recipes up. I also wanted to make her a frangelico cake because she loves her some frangelico... who doesn't really? I will definitely put the recipe up if I make it.

Anyway... here's my other new fashion obsession: Peacocks...




It was late at night when I made this, but I think I googled it all... How amazing are those shoes?! I know they have those earrings and headband at Claires which is my shameless accessory store (my options are limited down here ok?). The place mat isn't fashion, but it's awesome and makes me want to have a fancy dinner party where people need place mats.... and I think I might really need to own that clutch... if I find one like this...


Can I also mention how crazy good kids are at iPhone games? I babysit my friend's daughter three days a week and she plays on Matt's old iPhone. Cake mania is a really freaking hard game... and she aces it. Now she's playing mariokart on wii, which is a lot harder than game cube or N64... she's in 12th, but hey, she's not falling off any cliffs so she's doing all right!



And in honor of the rain today, I'm posting these totally cool Coach rainboots! Love them!!

Fashion... Saturday...?

Latest obsession is silver. Ooooh the shiny, it gets my eye every time. Especially with my dark hair, I feel like it gives pop to any outfit. Plus, now that the sun is coming out to shine, might as well reflect it off of every surface possible! Behold, my magpie like collection of my favorite silver fashion must-wants.



The flip flops are from Old Navy (the only place to buy flip flops, let's be honest)
The sequin tank is from Forever21
The dress is from Modcloth.com (my favorite place to browse for fancy dresses in hopes I have someplace to wear them too)
The silver skinny belt, silver flower stretch ring, silver angel wing earrings and silver flower headband are googled, but desired just the same. I plan to keep an eye out for these amazing shiny accessories to complete my collection.

I plan on owning most if not all of these by the end of the summer.

Thankful Thursdays

Today I'm thankful for time to remember, time to write. I'm thankful for my creative writing teacher for this exercise, and I'm thankful for my blog so I can write in it.

The Five Senses: Remembering California

See: I see the glowing fountain and city lights from my hotel balcony. I see sets and scenery from movies and TV shows looking strangely familiar, but new and exciting. I see sharp mountain ranges springing out of the highways with short spiky trees leaning to fight gravity. The ocean with it's flat miles of sand and the red and yellow buses. I see little umbrellas in our drinks and the pool shimmering in the sun. I see the letters running together on the pages of my Kristin Chenoweth biography. I see rooms full of famous actors and singers, but they are made of wax. I laugh when I see the pictures of me making faces and dancing around with them. I see the stars trying to shine through the bright lights of the city.

Hear: I hear cars. All the time. Honking or zooming past with their overly loud bass pumping or revved up engines roaring up the street. I hear high heels clacking on the sidewalks and tour guides giving facts. People gasping or chatting about who they can see or if that person is famous. I hear the buses stopping and going with it's clanky bumps over rocky roads and the announcement of different bus stops in a strange recorded voice. I hear laughter at the actors when they make funny jokes off camera.

Taste: I taste the sweet and autum-y pumpkin spice white mocha with whip every morning paired with a soft pumpkin scone. Just the right amount of icing. I taste paninis and salads all fresh and crisp. Combinations of apples and chicken, bacon and lettuce. I taste cranberry with splashes of peach schnapps and pineapple rum. I taste tuna steak with its pink center soft and cool, but hot and seared on the outside and covered in that amazing sweet glaze. I taste a 3 inch tall club sandwhich and an amazingly covered plate of nachos. I taste ice cream and burgers. A huge red velvet cupcake and a fliet mignon that is out of this world. I taste the fame, just a taste of it, living in the town, going to a taping of a show. I taste hotdogs and salt air on the peir.

Smell: I smell fresh clean linens when I walk into our hotel. Car and bus exaust slightly tinges the fresh sea air rolling in from a few miles off the coast. I smell amazing food wafting from the downstairs restaurant. I smell cotton candy and popcorn at Universal and the sterile smell of hospitals at the Grey's set. I smell coffee. Everywhere. People can't live without coffee here. Not to mention the Starbucks in the lobby with it's steamed milk and sticky syrups and grinding coffee smells intoxicating my caffeine addictited nose.

Feel: I feel the warmth of Matt's hand when I hold it all the time. The rumble of the plane taking off into the sky. I feel the wind and sun race to beat at my skin as the Santa Monica peir ferris wheel brings us up over the ocean and back down into the chaos of the fair. I feel my feet hitting all sorts of pavement and ground as we walk to shops and restaraunts around parks and tv sets. I feel excitement that we're so close to where it all happends. To where dreams come true. I feel famous when a taxi driver asks Matt and I if we're actors. I say yes. I feel tired after a day of running and smiling, picture taking and eating, laughing and gasping at the cool things we're learning about and seeing. I feel so in love with the man I married exactly a year ago with millions more to go.

The Time Traveler's Wife

When Henry meets Clare, he is twenty-eight and she is twenty. Henry has never met Clare before; Clare has known Henry since she was six. Impossible but true, because Henry finds himself periodically displaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past and future. Henry and Clare's attempts to live normal lives are threatened by a force they can neither prevent nor control, making their passionate love story intensely moving and entirely unforgettable. The Time Traveler's Wife is a story of fate, hope and belief, and more than that, it's about the power of love to endure beyond the bounds of time.

Would you recommend this book to others:
Yeah, I really would. It was easy to read because of it's chopped up style. You don't need to get too involved in each setting, because it usually changes within a few pages. It's interesting and a hauntingly beautiful portrait of a marriage through good times and bad. I need to see the movie again since I saw it before the book. It might help to watch it first, it was easy for me to jump right into it since I knew the premise ahead of time, but now I want to see it again. The book is always better, but I really enjoyed the movie too.

House Wife at Someone Else's House

Today it snowed about an inch and a half. So naturally, the whole beach shut down, including the schools. We were immediately recruited for babysitting. Most times I really don't mind babysitting. It's like playing house with a real house and real kids. The best part is, when we babysit Matt's cousins, we just go to their house and they play with all of their own stuff (instead of swinging OUR cats around and touching every button on OUR electronics).
Today I woke up really early (which after one of my best friend's birthdays, is usually harder than most) and we headed over. Most of the cars were going so slow I was laughing. It was as if someone had sifted powdered sugar all over the beach and these people are driving like it's lava or solid ice... some people just can't handle the snow...
We get the low down about lunches and homework and the moment she's out the door, I'm off doing my thing. It's not even lunch yet and (providing they don't destroy the house in the next 5 hours...) everything is spotless! The plan right now is to let them play in the snow as long as possible. The more time they spend outside, the less time they are pulling games and toys out inside.
I've sipped coffee and watched Matt help with division problems, I've folded tiny leggings and camouflage pj pants, I've dusted family photos in big black frames, I've bleached the counters, cleaned the dishes, put away puppy toys and hung up backpacks and I'm being totally honest when I say that I loved every minute of it. One day we'll need to do all of those things for our own house. Dust my own face in it's frame and fold my own little one's little clothes. It feels so natural and remedial to clean and put things where they belong. Now the only thing I'm missing is the love of filling bellies (including my own) with yummy lunch.

Snow on the beach seems so surreal to me. Things usually seen covered in tourists with swim suits, or sand were now all white. Sand dunes, signs about driving on the beach, the First Flight Memorial were all covered in huge flakes. The whole way here I wanted to take pictures of everything with it's winter wonder. The only problem is, I only have my stupid camera on my phone. I felt like I was trying to paint a rainbow with 2 colors. You can't do a photo justice on a camera phone. Those are camera's are reserved for taking pictures for myspace or showing your friend's kids pictures of your cats...
I want a real camera that changes focus and lighting. I want to take real pictures.
Plus, what fun is a blog post without huge beautiful pictures?

Well it's time to fill those bellies.

Snow time like the present!

Fifteen Questions!

I was bored, so I stole these silly questions from another blog. Feel free to repost them to yours!! I want to see people's answers!


1. What would you pick to eat if you only had one meal left?
That seems like a question that would change a lot... it's a toss up between something ridiculously fattening, like a big cheeseburger from 5 guys and a large Cinnamon... or something rare and amazing like pasta with truffles...


2. What quality is the most important to you in the opposite sex?
Loyalty. If the whole world goes against you, but the man you love is standing by your side, it's all you need. Physically speaking, the eyes. *Gush*


3. If you could pick your birthday, when would you want it and why?
I love my birth day: may is the best month, it's usually getting warm, it's far enough from Christmas, and every so often, it falls on mothers day.


4. What is your dream job?
My dream dream job is to be a lead on Broadway. Getting paid to live in New York and sing to people every day. Yes please.


5. What is your favorite thing to do on the weekends?
In the summer, the weekends are the busiest, so I will say, make money, and then go to the beach.


6. What's the best book you have ever read?
OH jeez. I'm going to go with Harry Potter....... numberrrr..... this is hard. I'm torn between the 1st and 7th. Either the beginning of the most amazing magical journey ever read, or the end.


7. Biggest Pet Peeve?
Ignorance and/or intolerance. People who hate, fight or kill people for making different choices than their own or even worse, for simply being born a different way.


8. What show can you not miss?
Currently on TV, I must dvr Grey's and How I Met Your Mother.


9. What is your favorite holiday and why?
Christmas. Always. The cheer, the family, the presents, the food, the music. It's all amazing.


10. Do you want a big family?
My family has always been small, but Matt's is huge and I love it. As far as children go, I only want one or two, three seems like a lot to me.


11. What is more important to you, love or money?
Love Love Love Love is all you need. Money can't believe in you or hold you when you cry... love above all things.


12. If you had to live in another country other than America, which would you choose?
I might say England just because I'm not amazing at languages, but if I were, I'd totally pick Italy. Amazing food, wine, espresso, beaches, food, cities, art, food...


13. What is your dream car?
Something blue that doesn't use gas.


14. Which is better, cats or dogs? Please explain why.
Dogs listen better, but cats don't need to be walked... I love animals in general, but I have two cats and I love them very much. They are small and clean


15. If you had to live without either a cell phone or Internet, which would you choose to give up?
Oooh, that's tough. If I could send text messages from a website, I'd get rid of the phone. Or I can cheat and say my phone has internet on it...

Sometimes I try to have it all....

Finished a scarf!!

It only took me a few days once I got into the groove. It's thinner than I wanted it to be. My first chain was pretty long, but I guess my next row wasn't as long and I kept it skinny. It's more of a fashion scarf, but it really does keep me warm.


Here's a close up. The yarn was pre-dyed so the blue just pops up whenever it feels like it. It had a mind of its own. I'm pretty proud that I generally stayed consistent.


Since it was so skinny, I decided to make it really long. This is Bear thinking I'm going to let him into the bathroom (he drinks water out of the sink) but we'll pretend he's modeling with the scarf.

I really want to try something else other than a scarf, but I'm nervous to try anything that's not a straight line... I still need to learn to read patterns. As far as completing one of my 25, this is a check! I'm really glad I braved the world of yarn craft, and I may continue further if I have the patience.

Sipping Saturday!!

Unlike thoughtful Thursdays, I drink everyday... and just tell you about it on Saturdays...

First, I must rave about my favorite tea this week:


Cozy Chamomile. Warm. Satisfying. I think it's really just the name that makes me feel cozy when I drink it... they need to make Bouncy Breakfast Tea or Giddy Green Tea... Anyway... you can't go wrong with a chamomile and honey at any time of the day. Caffeine free! What uppp!

And now the wine!

Matthew Fox Shiraz. I'm gonna be honest, I just kind of pick wines like I pick my PJ pants, whatever feels good at the time. I really just picked this wine because it had Matthew on it... but also because my wine app said Shiraz would go well with red sauce spaghetti. This was my first Shiraz and it really is kinda strange at first sip. It was sweet and then had an almost spicy after taste. I really liked it, but then again, like PJ pants, I really love them all...

Thankful Thursdays

In a world where it's so easy to be grumpy, it kind of feels good to let it out and tell the people who love you most how bad your day was, or how many things you want and can't afford... but then that negativity goes from you to them, and they have their own they want to get out. How about we stop passing the negative crap around, and start being thankful for what we do have. Pass the happy.


[Ok, so yesterday was a fluke, but anything above 40 is a win at this point considering half of the country is covered in snow taller than Shaq]

I'm thankful that the sun decided to show up a little yesterday! It was 70 degrees out!! I hardly had to wear a coat, it was amazing. It reminded me that summertime and warmth (and steadily flowing cash) is on it's way. I almost wanted to clean out my car, but I had a few things to do and by the time I got back, it was dark. Maybe next time it's warm. I feel like the sun gives me motivation and cheers me up. I definitely have some landscaping and car related to do's for the next 70 degree day.



I'm thankful for being active! p90x is still going strong and we are on week 3!! Next week is a recovery week (mostly yoga and stretching) so that will make it a whole month we've been committed to it! Yesterday I went to the gym and ran 2 miles! I really didn't want to keep going after 1.5, I had a cramp from eating too soon before the gym (it was a little over an hour before) and since it was such a nice day, my body decided to sweat WAY more than usual... but then Fighter by Christina Aguilera came on... and I decided to make it to 2! Since p90x, we never go to the gym anymore, so 2 miles after an almost 3 week break from running was pretty good to me. When I don't wake up to go to work every morning, I feel kind of blah. The kind of mentality creeps into my brain like, 'what is stopping me from laying on this couch and eating a whole bag of Doritos until it gets dark again and I go to bed?' (besides the fact that it would make me feel so nasty). So the forcing myself to get up early enough to eat something healthy and digest it before we start working out really helps. Also sweating makes me feel productive.


[yes, meatballs]

I'm thankful for Buy 1, Get 1 Free Meatballs. Especially when they are the kind I love, Mama Lucia. I'm gonna be honest with you, I love meat. I could never been a vegetarian. Every meal needs meat (with exceptions to dessert and between meal snacks). So when we are on a tight budget, the easiest meals are boil pasta, add sauce, eat. Repeat. But, (excuse my 80's commercialism) Where's The MEAT? I'll tell you where it is. It is in BOGO meatballs. PLUS! I can make those amazing cocktail meatballs for the SUPER BOWL! Huzzah!! (While we're at it, Buy 1, Get 1 Free anything is pretty amazing.)



I'm thankful for V8 Fusions! It's the best way to get a lot of fruits and veggies in. I love the pom/blueberry (like in the picture) and my other favorite is blueberry/acai. As much as I love fruits and veggies, this is really delicious and not that expensive! And as I understand, it's one serving of fruit AND a serving of vegetable (so it's ALSO like a BOGO).

Tasty Tuesdays

Sorry it's been forever since I posted! I was being a slacker, plus we had an impulsive over night stay in Maryland, which left me WAY overtired, not to mention working on p90x! BUT I have alot to post about! Including last night's dinner! So yesterday I had no plan of action when I decided to make dinner, we hadn't gone grocery shopping in a week or so and we can't eat fast food after working out (also the little moths in my wallet can't afford it). I rummaged and threw a few things onto the counter and just tossed something together! So Today is Toss it Together Tuesday! I grabbed what I could find and here's what I came up with.




So from some random canned chicken someone gave us, some sauce, a few different left over pasta shapes, 2 garlic breads and some cheese, I decided to make a breaded chicken marinara?! If we had salad I would have added that to it and maybe I would make this an alfredo sauce next time... but here's what I did!




We had some Italian bread crumbs and shredded parm, so I mixed those together! We had weird canned chunked chicken (this was my first time working with it so I wasn't sure how it would take to the mix. I would use fresh chicken breasts next time).





Since I had the chunked chicken I decided it would work better if I shook it up in a bag. But then I had to use a collander to get the exta cheese and breadcrumbs out.




I tossed the chicken into a high heated and 'pam'ed pan to just get it dark on the edges (since it was already cooked) if it needs to cook, I'd put it on a low heat and cover it with foil for a while.




Meanwhile, I heated up the sauce and added a little half and half to lighten it up (and per request, added some more seasonings. I added rosemary, basil, oregano and cilantro)



While doing all of that, I boiled and drained some pasta and added olive oil to keep it from sticking (as well as toasted up some garlic bread).



Grabbed some pasta, tossed some sauce on it, and layered the chicken on top! Add some parm ontop if you wish, and add a garlic bread!



Candles and red wine (to match the sauce) always make it feel a little more fancy.