Monday, October 29, 2012

Meatless Monday: Brownies

On Thursday Chad scurried to my work from his mountain biking class, picked me up, drove home, dropped me off and then sped back to school for his Japanese class at 5:15. Since he's running around like a crazy person I try to have dinner made for him when he gets home, and not pass out on the couch until Rukia wakes me up announcing that dad's home. Because that never happens.

On this particular Thursday we had nothing to make for dinner. Seriously. We didn't buy groceries for the week and had managed pretty good so far, but I just couldn't handle eating another salad for dinner. We didn't even have bread for PB&J, things were looking grim.

Chad and I love brownies. L-O-V-E. We have our favorite, right out of a box. They are awesome! We haven't tried a recipe yet that even compares to these lovelies. We have been on the hunt though.

I decided that Thursday would be a great time to try out another recipe, hopefully it would be wonderful and distract from the lack of dinner. Much to our surprise, they were! They weren't dry, or tasteless or crumbly, they were lovely. They were quick and easy, and really are The Best Brownies. Don't you just love when you find an awesome recipe on someones blog!? I feel like it's a green flag to the rest of their recipes, letting me know that all the recipes they post will be something amazing and delicious. I can't wait to try out more recipes from Everyday Reading!

Photo courtesy of everydayreading.com
The Best Brownies
 
 
Makes one 9x9 pan
 
Ingredients:
 
  • 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
  • 4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
  • 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 3 eggs
  • 2/3 cup flour (I always use white-wheat, as if that makes them at all healthy)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Directions:
 
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9x9 baking sheet with tin foil (with enough overhang on two edges that you can pull the brownies out after baking) and spray with cooking spray.
  2. Melt chocolate and butter in large-ish saucepan over medium-low heat until completely smooth, stirring very frequently to keep from burning.
  3. Remove from heat and whisk in sugar and vanilla.
  4. Add the eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each one before adding the next. Whisk until mixture is completely smooth.
  5. Add dry ingredients (with the salt and baking powder on top of the flour), and stir until well combined.
  6. Pour batter into prepared pan; bake until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in center comes out with wet crumbs, 35-45 minutes (it's always 35 minutes for me).
  7. Cool brownies in pan on a wire rack for five minutes. Use foil handles to pull brownies from pan. Cool on wire rack for at least 15 minutes.
  8. Cut into 16 squares and serve warm or at room temperature.
As a side note, it's Monday morning and an old confused lady has already attempted to punch me in the face. Hopefully your Monday is shaping up slightly better. If not, make these brownies tonight!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Awkward and Awesome Thursday

Remember how I said there were no pictures of me during the whole wisdom tooth removal thing? Yeah, apparently I lied. So many awkward things going on in this one photo. Your Welcome.
Awkward:
  • Eating too many cold, fried, popcorn shrimp from WalMart and getting an upset stomach (uh, duh). Which led me to unbutton my pants on the drive home from our picnic, which led to me standing outside our car to get gas with my pants practically falling off my butt. Classy. Luckily it didn't take me that long to figure out what was going on. Chad on the other hand, knew immediately what was happening and just watched it unfold.
  • Chad drinking too much water and eating too much before his Mountain Biking class. He's a workout puker... so... there was this whole projectile vomiting episode during class. Nice impression on the first day.
  • I brought workout clothes to work so I could run home while Chad was in class (Luckily Chad got out early and picked me up a half a mile into it!) After being home for hours and finally changing into something other than workout pants (are pink sweat shorts really any better?) I found a sock in my pants behind my thigh. Ugh. How did I not feel a bunched up sock stuck behind my leg?!
  • Driving around our apartment complex with a giant bowl full of water, our car getting pelted with water balloons and our window down screaming "don't hit me in the face!". Just in case you missed it, we are knocking on the door of a pranking war with 3 teenage boys. Where are Will and Jared when you need them?!

Awesome:
  • Asn and Pat spending the night with us last week! We had mexican food and ice cream and Ash and I fell asleep on the floor while we watched Adventure Time.
  • Banana shakes. We went there with Nikki and Matt and I got a cookies and cream shake, Chad got snickers, and Matt got banana. Gross. Why in the world would you get banana when candy and cookies are available? Turns out, the banana shake was better than both of ours. And now I'm addicted. Thanks Matt.
  • I mailed in my request for an absentee balott. I figured Michigan could use my vote more than Utah. And it seemed like too much work to register here because I'm crazy lazy. But the first reason sounds so much better, so I'll stick with that.
How's your week? 

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Dressed Up for the Dark




Shirt: Down East, Jeans: Target, Boots: TJMaxx
 
Does anyone else find it silly to dress up to go sit in a dark theater? Do your hair, makeup and put on your best.... jeans. Ok, so I'm not really that dressed up, but I still think that if we are going to go sit in the dark and eat junk food we should just commit, go all out, and go in our pajamas. And maybe bring a blanket, because my theater is c-o-l-d! Anyone else with me? I think Stacy and Clinton just had a heart attack.


Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Pranks

Starting around 7pm Friday night we started getting ridiculous knocks on our door. I would corral the puppy and Chad would go to the door and.... surprise!.... no one would be there. After the third time Chad turned off all our lights, opened the door and sat in the opening with a glass of water. Don't prank the prankster.

Unfortunately they had moved on at that point. But it started up again around 9. By this time we knew it was some Young Men from church having some fun with their leader. Since we are both really feel like teenagers still we decided to play along. We left a little present in their car, ahem, Rukia left a little present in their car (It was in a bag, we aren't that mean). And after that went back and forth, the water came back out and Chad raced all over our complex with 3 teenage boys trying their darnedest to catch him. Never happened. Don't prank the prankster kids.

We couldn't do anything too wild and crazy, we are the "adults" in this situation after all, so here's how it ended:
 
Cotton balls were really the only thing we had in our house. We were working with nothin'!

Then it started again. Because while we still feel like teenagers, they actually are teenagers. Which means they have way more time on their hands, get bored easily and have no interest in watching the presidential debate.























So while we attempted to watch the debate, clean up from dinner, cut the pups hair, and blog, this was happening outside. Yes, we heard it. Yes, we were smart enough to stay inside while the crazy occurred. I was NOT getting hit in the face with a water balloon.


Chad attempted to get them with a bowl full of water. It didn't happen. We were at a real disadvantage. We had nothing to work with. Chad gave it his all with the bowl but ended up breaking it in the end.

So while we won the first round, they definitely won the second. And now the balls in our court. And while my inner teenager wants to do something awesome, my inner adult knows that these kids have got us beat in the time and boredom category. But when have we ever acted like adults... :)

Monday, October 22, 2012

"Fall" & Meatless Monday: Banana Bread

Sunday afternoon we decided that if Fall wasn't going to come to us then we would just go to Fall! We packed up a picnic, grabbed our cameras and dog and headed out to Cedar City, about an hour north.



Apparently Fall has come and gone for Cedar City. It was a giant fail. We still had a picnic by the river, Rukia ran around to her hearts content and we snapped a few pictures anyways.


Need something to make your Monday better? This will definitely do the trick! I made 2 loaves of Banana Bread last week and threw one in the freezer for this week. I broke that guy out of the freezer on Wednesday and it was finished up on Saturday. We love our banana bread, even more if it's got some chocolate chips thrown in ;)


Best banana bread trick? When your bananas start to get real ripe, like brown, throw them out there no good here come the flies, brown... peel them open and throw the guts into a plastic Ziploc baggie and then throw that guy in the freezer. No wasted bananas and banana bread anytime you like without waiting for ripe bananas.




Banana Bread:

Ingredients:
  • 2/3 C Shortening
  • 1/2 C Sugar
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 3/4 C Flou
  • 1 t baking powder
  • 1/2 t baking soda
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 1 c mashed banana
  • 1/2 C walnuts... or chocolate chips :)

Directions:
  1. Cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs and beat well
  2. Sift together dry ingredients. 
  3. Add dry ingredients alternatley with bananas, blending well after each addition.
  4. Stir in walnuts or as many chocolate chips as you want! Or both...
  5. Pour into a well greased loaf pan.
  6. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes



Friday, October 19, 2012

Five Things {I am} Friday

Last Friday I read this post from Katie at Peace Love and Oats about what she is. She is great by the way, I read her blog everyday! Her post was all about her feeling like she's in a funk, her clothes are a little snug, and she was feeling out of sorts. The crazy part? She just ran a marathon. Seriously, a full marathon. She's awesome. She realized that she was so much more than she was giving herself credit for and I think that we all are so much more than we give ourselves credit for most of the time.

So she made a list of things that she is. It was a great idea, and helped me to focus on the things that I am. There may be a lot of things that I am not, but there are plenty that I of things I am (big and small) that I love.

1. I am a wife to a fantastic husband.

2. I am a pet owner to my dog and 2 cats.

3. I am a pianist.

4. I am cake and cookie decorator.

5. I am runner.

Does it mean that I am perfect at these things? Heck no! As I was typing up my list I found myself qualifying each thing. "I am a pianist, no matter how out of practice".  I don't have to be perfect to be these things. I just have to do them, and love them! So take some time today and focus on what you ARE. What you LOVE about yourself, and all the good that you have in you! And then share one or two things :)

Who are YOU? What things do you love about yourself?

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Awkward and Awesome Thursday


Awesome: How seriously we took racing through this giant inflatable course at trampoline land. Awkward: Accidentally putting Chad's watermark on this picture like it's something to be proud of.
 
Awkward:

  • Going into a man's room at the nursing home and finding a wall full of deer antlers. On the other wall? A dozen calendars full of... boobs. Lots and lots of boobs. Bikini boobs, costume boobs and hunting boobs. It was an impressive collection.
  • Trying to confirm a patient's appointment only to get a "message phone". Huh? The woman on the other end just kept saying, over and over, "this is a message phone". Yeah, I don't know what the heck that's suppose to mean. And I don't think anyone else does either.
  • Having a random stranger wander into the nursing home, find the activities room we were working in and asking to be seen. Thinking he was a resident of the nursing home we took care of his feet. When we asked the facility for his insurance information they said they had no record of him being there, possibly he was there visiting someone. Creeper...
  • Presidential Debates. I don't care who you support, it's awkward.

Awesome:

  • Puff Pastry
  • Chad taking care of me when my wisdom tooth was yanked out. He was awesome. He made me stay on the couch, waited on me hand and foot, and "made" me take naps. Love him. 
  • TCBY yogurt is sold in grocery stores. Why did I only just find out about this?
  • Sleeping with the windows open and having it be just cold enough to have to snuggle all night to keep warm. It doesn't help with the getting out of bed in the morning though. 
  • Speaking of colder weather, it's getting cold enough outside to start killing off the cockroaches. Leaving our house in the morning we'll often find a few roaches dead, unable to make it through the night. Woot!
  • Ash and Pat are coming to visit tonight! Super excited to hang out with them!
 
Your turn!

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Liebster

A big thank you to Meg for this nomination!
The Liebster Blog Award “is all about discovering blogs, and helping those with less than 200 followers to get recognized."
The Rules:
  • Each person awarded must post 11 facts about themselves.
  • Answer the 11 questions the nominator has set for them.
  • Create 11 more questions for the bloggers they will nominate.
  • Choose 5 bloggers to nominate.
  • Let the lucky bloggers know.
Not going to lie, I feel a little like I'm in 5th grade and someone just handed me a chain letter :) After a little googling I found out that I won't die in 7 days, never find true love, or loose my family to zoombies if I don't play along. But it seemed like good fun so I'm in ;)
11 random facts about me:
  • I would rather run in peace and quiet than listen to music.
  • I hate taking showers, they are one of those things I would love to not have to do.
  • I love organizing! And Lists! Almost as much as Liz Lemon.
  • I love decorating cakes and sugar cookies.
  • Rainy days full of hot chocolate, pj's and tv are my favorite.
  • I hate talking on the phone (unless it's my family!), I don't even like ordering a pizza on the phone.
  • I would love to learn to sew.
  • I hate getting my hair done, I get way too stressed out about it.
  • I don't like pop. I'm a water gal except....
  • I love redbull!
  •  I eat a spoonful of brown sugar anytime it's called for in a recipe. Ok, 2.
Meg's Questions for Me:
What is your favorite song at this very moment? We Are Young, FUN

What is your favorite perfume? Whatever I happen to get at Bath and Body Works, or another kind that I swooped from my sister in law, Tracy, before I was even married ;)  Not a huge perfume gal due to being in small rooms with patients, their perfume is usually waaay too much without me wearing some as well.

What is your favorite quote? I don't know if this is so much a quote... but I like it :)

Pinned Image


What is your comfort food? Mexican! Nachos with queso and guacomole, OMG.

What is one thing that can make you laugh, no matter what mood you're in? Chad, even when I'm mad at him he can get me to laugh, which is quite irritating at the time :)

What is something that you are afraid of? Heights, spiders, cockroaches, Chad's driving (LOL, just kidding...), I'm a worry wart.

What is something most people don't know about you? I've had gray hairs forever. I remember my hairdresser pulling them out when I was little. Chad would do this too until there were just too many...

What is one thing you wish was a trend in fashion? Over sized sweatshirts and pajama pants. I'm classy like that.

What is the story behind your blog url? Chad and I are the two love birds (awwww) and at the time we were moving across the country for him to start school. We knew that we would be moving around for the next decade or so (med school is in our not too distant future) and that we would be without a permanant home, or nest.

What is your favorite movie? I'm one of those people who isn't a huge fan of re-watching movies...

Do you have a favorite constellation? If yes, which one?  LOL, I can't even find the big dipper in the sky!

I nominate:

Sonja @ GingerSnap
Melanie @ Me&Mr

The lovely questions are:

  1. What are you being for Halloween?
  2. What's your favorite Dessert?
  3. Favorite item of clothing?
  4. What is your dream job?
  5. What is your favorite thing about yourself?
  6. Why did you start blogging?
  7. Where would you live if you could live anywhere?
  8. What reality show would you be on?
  9. Favorite Vegetable?
  10. What would be your dream pet?
  11. What's your perfect day?

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

My Phone has Eyes


Guess what? I put on my big girl pants and acted like a responsible adult again this weekend. Well, most of the weekend. Ok, when I wasn't staying up all Friday night, watching movies, eating pizza, skipping church, and snacking on junk.... I was being a responsible adult.

The house is once again clean peeps! Three loads of laundry done, and put away (which is the real kicker) dishes done, and floors swept, mopped and vacuumed. Dinners have been prepped. Beans made, veggie burgers assembled and froze, mac and cheese readied, banana bread baked. Lunch and Dinner was made last night. Gasp! That's right, we didn't have ice cream or cereal for Sunday night dinner! Mostly because we don't have cereal and I ate all the ice cream last week due to the whole wisdom tooth thing. I also used that as an excuse to wear my pink sweat shorts and ratty t-shirts all weekend, ok all week after work too. Chad's one lucky guy.













Friday, October 12, 2012

Five {Confessions} Friday

1. I love donuts. I know, I know, everyone loves donuts. But I LOVE donuts. The best out there? Krispy Kremes. Hello lover! When we were visiting Ashley and Patrick one of my "must do's" was to go get a fresh, hot donuts at Krispy Kreme. If only there was a way to know if the Hot and Fresh sign was on? Oh wait, there's an app for that! Isn't technology wonderful?

While the hot and fresh and clearly the best donuts ever and krispie kremes will do. The Maverick gas station also has my beloved krispie kremes. We have been there enough to now know that they get delivered fresh from Vegas every night at midnight. We are now BFF's with the midnight Maverick workers. Awkward, maybe. Awesome, um.. yeah.

Let's be clear, I love all donuts. I am not a donut snob. Those cheap-o donuts covered in chocolate? Yum. The crumbly ones that come in a 6 pack? delish. The only donuts I don't like? The filled ones. Not my cup of tea. I don't need anything getting in the way of my beloved donut. 3 paragraphs later I realize I have a problem. My name is Danielle, and I am a donut addict.


2. The New Adventures of Old Christine is hysterical and one of my favorite shows, ever. Of course we love Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead and other such epic shows, yup I said epic. But there's just something about Old Christine that I just adore.



3. I cannot for the life of me ever "prove that I am not a robot" in under 5 attempts when trying to comment on people's blog! Does anyone else have this problem? Is there something wrong with my eyes/brain? Seriously, sometimes I just give up and don't comment on blogs because I can't pass the robot test. Maybe all the donuts are going to my brain...

 

4. Dinner and a Movie Dates are the best. Yeah, it's obviously fun to do other things too, and we do, but there's something awesome about this simple date. When we were first married I would get out of work at noon on Fridays. We would head out to El Patio, a tiny little Mexican restaurant right across the street from the movie theater, and stuff our faces full of chips and salsa and enchiladas and tacos (mmmm). We would get the cheaper lunch special and then get the cheaper, early tickets at the movies.

I can't ever understand when I hear people complaining that all they ever do on a date night is dinner and a movie. Maybe it's because this kind of date reminds me of our newly married days. But mostly I think we just love eating and movies! Ok, maybe a little of both ;)
.
5.  I have lost the ability to drive. Yup, it's gone people. First, Chad drives everywhere. And it's awesome. What's better than a handsome chauffeur? Second, we don't have to drive like we used to in Michigan. We don't ever have to get on the highway unless we are taking a serious road trip. There's nothing around St. George. It's all right here, or what there is, is all right here! And if I do happen to drive on the highway, it's a straight shot in any direction with pretty much no traffic, ever.

No longer do I have a 40 minute commute to work each way on 1-75 where it's survival of the fittest. I used to be a great driver, I didn't have a choice. Before the 40 minute commute I was driving down to Detroit everyday and that took a lot longer than 40 minutes. I was a lane changing, merging, aggressive :) driving queen. Now I can barely make the 8 minute drive to work on Friday mornings.



Anything you'd like to confess? ;)

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Awkward and Awesome Thursday

There will be no awkward pictures of me post wisdom tooth removal. Lo siento friends. lol

Awkward:
  • We stopped to pick up something really quick at Walgreens, when we were checking out the credit card machine asked us if we wanted to donate money to some charity. It gave 4 monetary options including none. We are poor so we chose "none". Then the machine froze. It seriously wasn't going to let us continue because we were cheap. Then the whole computer froze. We were laughing hysterically that we wouldn't be allowed to purchase anything because we wouldn't donate anything. The long line forming behind us didn't find it quite as funny as we did.
  • Friday night we ran up to the gas station to grab some fresh donuts (oink, oink) but the fresh donuts hadn't come yet, it was midnight. So what do we do? Wait until 1 o'clock in the a.m. to go back and try again! We are crazy, we are addicted to donuts, and we don't ever sleep on the weekends. The gas station people are our new BFF's and think we are quite funny as well.
  • Finding a cute outfit on pinterest and repinning it. Then realizing that it was first pinned by a ten year old girl I taught in primary. I'm glad that my fashion sense is that of an elementary school girl.
  • Getting my wisdom tooth pulled and then needing to get my prescriptions filled. Chad was in class and I figured I probably needed my pain medication fairly soon. So I strolled through the whole of Costco with gauze sticking out of my mouth and an ice pack on my cheek. I apologized profusely to anyone I had to interact with and most people were very nice. Some were extremely concerned for my well being and others looked at me like I was going to give them an infectious disease. Thanks Costco for making me wait 45 minutes to get my medication and making all of your other customers afraid of the diseased girl.
Awesome:
  • Novocaine.
  • Nitrous Oxide.
  • We can sleep with our window open at night, it's so nice and cool!
  • Watching Rukia freak out after a bath. She's too funny to watch tear through the house throwing herself on the ground, rubbing up against everything. Girl does not like to be wet.
  • Our Bountiful Harvest Basket. We order an awesome fruit and veggie basket online, and then pick it up super early Saturday morning. It's like Christmas! Can't wait for our next one this weekend!
  • Chad had to call about our less than stellar Internet connection and actually got someone who was really helpful. On top of being helpful he was crazy nice. At the end of the conversation, which revolved mostly around the Walking Dead, he told Chad how awesome he was and to "never change"!
Your turn! What was awkward/awesome about your week?

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Bragging Rights



I don't know if you all know this but my husband rocks. And while I could go on and on and bore you with all the details of his awesomeness I will just leave you with this one:

He is a great photographer. Seriously though. I know everyone thinks their husband is great at everything and all that, but he really is good. Don't believe me, go check him out for yourself! ;)



And if you feel so inclined, leave him some comments so he knows that not just his wife thinks he rocks! He's also started a "Photo a Day" project, so if you have any ideas of what he could shoot or a style or subject you'd like to see, let him know! Give him a challenge :)

Your turn! Anyone special in your life you want to brag about?

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Meatless {& Toothless} Tuesday: Tortilla Soup

This past weekend we kicked it into overdrive and got a lot of things done.

Clean the whole house? check
Bath for the pup? check
Haircut for the pup? check
Go through paperwork accumulating on top of fridge? check
Clean appliances that are sitting and acculmulating dust? check
Laundry? check
Put Laundry away (always the part we suck at)? check
Pay Bills? check :(

As per our usual routine we watched movies, ate too many donuts, and stayed up waaaay too late. Monday mornings are not kind at our house.

This morning I got my last widom tooth pulled. True to my character I was freaking out. It's what I do and I do it well. After a little happy gas I was feeling much less nervous :) A few minutes later my tooth was gone! Check! Now I get to eat ice cream, pudding, and jello to my hearts content!

If you happen be able to eat solids let me recommend this little beauty for you...

IMG 1310 thumb   Vegan Tortilla Soup


OMG Tortilla Soup!!! Is there anyone who doesn't like love tortilla soup? I had been hesitant to make any since our venture into vegetarianism, all the chickeny broth and shredded goodness seemed to really make up the bulk of it in my mind. Then I decided to give it a whirl. What's the worse that could happen? Throw it out and order pizza instead? Not the worst outcome ever.

I hopped onto one of my favorite recipe sites OhSheGlows, and found a recipe. I tweaked it to what I had and what we liked and OMG SO GOOD! It was spicy and delicious, even without the chicken ;) So if you're in the mood and are looking for another way to use up all the veggies that are quickly going bad in your fridge, give this a try. You won't be sorry.

Oh, before I forget, don't get lazy on me and skip out on making the crispy tortilla strips. They're bangin'. Seriously, so good. Like, eat all of them off the pan before they make it to your bowl of soup good.

IMG 1315 thumb   Vegan Tortilla Soup

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1.5 cups chopped onion
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 bell peppers, chopped
  • 1 zucchini, chopped
  • 1/2 cup green onion, chopped
  • 3 tbsp ground cumin
  • Two 28-oz can crushed tomatoes with chili peppers
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 1.5-2 cups cooked black beans (or beans of choice)
  • salt & pepper & crushed red chili pepper, to taste
  • Fresh lime juice, to garnish on top
  • avocados
  • cheese
  • sour cream
  • Tortilla strips (FLOUR tortillas with chili powder, garlic powder, olive oil)
Directions:

1. In a large pot over medium to low heat, add the olive oil, onion, and garlic. Sauté for about 5 minutes. Preheat oven on medium broil setting.

2. Meanwhile, chop the peppers, zucchini and green onion. Add the veggies into the pot and sauté for another 5-10 minutes.

3. Add in the crushed tomatoes, cumin and broth. Stir well and season with salt and pepper. Simmer on low-medium heat for 25-30 minutes. Stir in drained and rinsed beans just before serving.

4. Meanwhile, make your tortilla strips. Use flour tortillas kids. I tried corn ones the first time since that's what I had and they were meh. The flour ones however, rocked my world. No lie. Slice flour tortillas into long skinny strips. Place in a small bowl and drizzle with olive oil to coat. Sprinkle on garlic powder and chili powder (to taste) and mix well with hands. Place on a lined baking sheet and broil for up to 3 minutes on medium. Watch very carefully. Let me repeat: VERY CAREFULLY. It too me two tries to not burn these little guys. When golden, remove from oven. Try not to eat all of them before you get to the actual soup.

5. After the soup simmers, ladle into bowls, and top with chopped avocado, fresh lime juice, cheese, green onion, sour cream and  tortilla strips. Serve immediately.

IMG 1313 thumb   Vegan Tortilla Soup
All photos from Oh She Glow. We tore into this soup as soon as it was done and devoured it before I could even think about taking pictures.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Sunday Dress




Top and Skirt: DownEast Outfitters, Shoes: Target
I was lucky enough this weekend to stop into DownEast Outfitters where they were having a 50% off their clearance sale. Boom! Love that. My happy self left with 2 new skirts and a new lacy top that I wore not just Sunday, but Saturday as well. Because isn't that what we all do? Wear our favorite new piece of clothing until it become socially unacceptable to wear it another day in a row?

Linked up with ModernModestBeauty,  WatchoutfortheWoestmans, #YOLO Mondays, and RealGirlStyle.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Five Things {I've learned from Fashion Blogs} Friday


In all my days of fashion blog stalking I've learned a few things:

1. Put a belt on it! I've come to the conclusion that pretty much everything looks great with a belt. If your outfit is in a sad state just slap a belt on that puppy and that'll fix your problem 90% of the time.

2. You can never have too many cardigans.

3. Buns are your saving grace if you hate washing your hair, hate brushing your hair, hate doing your hair, can't bear to wear your hair down due to excruciating heat, or any combination of the above. I happen to fall into every one of these categories and am overly excited that my short hair is just long enough to swing this look again. Especially since I have 9am church.


Hello belt, cardigan and bun!
4. You don't need to spend a ton of money to look great. Is it fun? Sure, who doesn't like shopping? Is it easier if you have a larger shopping budget, um.. yeah. But you don't have to. I have found lots of my favorite items at thrift stores and I'm finding that a lot of the fun comes from remixing what you already have. Wearing old items in new or unexpected ways to create new looks. This is definitely something I'm working on and trying to get better at.

Thrifted pants and shirt!
5. If YOU like it and YOU think it looks great, by all means wear it! Who cares what I think, or the random lady at the grocery store, or commenter #12 on your blog. If you like it and it makes you feel great then wear it. Style and Fashion is all about self expression and dressing to make you feel like a million bucks.

Just Kidding. This does not make me feel like a million bucks! But we are addicted to the cartoon Adventure Time and totally need these shirts! In our size of course :)

What other favorite tips or tricks are do you have? As someone who is trying to break her scrub wearing habit I would love to hear them! :)