Saturday at Home

I stayed home all day today (no shopping, which is my usual Saturday activity!) and this is what I accomplished: 

I made chicken casserole (4 individual servings) to have for dinner later in the week. It is so easy, but it is one of my all time favorite foods! Basically it is cooked chicken (I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts tenders), corn tortillas, cream of chicken soup and Ro-tel, topped with shredded cheese. 

I also made some chili that we can heat up sometime this week too. If something isn't easy to make after work, we end up just snacking on junk or resorting to a frozen pasta bag. Which is ok occasionally, but maybe this extra work on the weekend will pay off during the week. 

What's next after all that? Dessert of course! I'm constantly impressed with the cupcakes I see on other blogs, so with the help of a store bought mix and a chocolate frosting recipe from Jen over at A Thousand Words, I made these: 

Jen had also posted a video with tips on how to frost cupcakes and what type of tip to use. Mine don't even begin to compare to hers, but I think they look pretty good for a first try! I added a little dusting of powdered sugar to help disguise all the imperfections. I can say with certainty, they taste delicious! Thanks Jen for the frosting recipe & how-to help! 

Oh, and I also did laundry and worked on sorting through all our tax documents. And the kitties napped. 

Ten Favorite Places

My ten favorite places on the planet. Granted, I haven't been to that much of the planet, but I'll stick by these ten regardless.

10. Vegas

Vegas. What's not to love? Lights, money, shopping, wedding chapels, gambling & shows...fun, fun & fun. Read about our last vacation to Vegas which included CHER (3rd row!), poker, bingo & Pawn Stars! 

Photos from here and here. 

09. Colorado

I've been living in Colorado for almost 3 years now and while I still consider myself a Texan, I have learned to appreciate all the beautiful places that are here in the state. A few of the highlights so far (although there is still a lot I haven't seen yet) are Glenwood Springs, Garden of the Gods, Breckenridge and Steamboat Springs. 

Trail in Steamboat Springs

08. Oregon

Remember the game Oregon Trail? I loved that game. Until my oxen drowned crossing the river. Oops. Anyway, I don't think Oregon had ever crossed my mind other than the game Oregon Trail until I met my Oregonian husband. But now I've gotten to visit several times and it is truly a beautiful state, not to mention that it is home to my fab in-laws (mom, dad, bro & sis) plus two special little nephews, which makes it very important place in our lives.

I still haven't gotten over to the Oregon coast or to see Crater lake, but Medford, Ashland and Jacksonville are pretty cool places in their own right. We almost always go see one show at the world famous Oregon Shakespeare Festival  and of course spend plenty of time at the Rogue Valley Country Club. But mostly we hang out and catch up with family and friends. Who knows, maybe we'll even move up there someday...

07. Barcelona
Fun trip with my brother back in 2006! Such an amazing city!

06. Key West

Best resort vacation in the continental US. I LOVE the Florida Keys. Key West is such a relaxed, fun place to be! The polydactyl cats at the Hemingway House were second only to our sea plane trip over to the dry tortugas and Fort Jefferson. Hoping to go back very soon!  

Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas

Aerial View of Key West

Sea Plane Landing at  Dry Tortugas

05. TEXAS

You can take the girl out of Texas, but you can't take Texas out of the girl! Image from here. I'm pretty sure my Colorado couches would look a little better with this Texas State pillow from Whispering Pines! Thanks to John & Sherry over at Young House Love for the awesome find! 

04. Maui
Maui is the first of two Hawaiian islands to make it on my list. We had the luxury of spending a week in Maui with my in-laws back in October. It was awesome. The beach was fantastic! 

Sunrise on Haleakala

View from our Condo

At Iao Needle Valley

At Kapalua Plantation Course

 03. Oahu

Oahu. My first Hawaiian island. Love it! Oahu is home to Honolulu, Waikiki Beach, Diamond Head, Turtle Bay, Pearl Harbor, there is so much to do! Maybe it is because it was our honeymoon vacation, or the first time I had been to Hawaii, but I think Oahu is truly paradise. I hope to go back many, many times!

02. Arrowhead

Arrowhead Golf Club is BEAUTIFUL golf course in the foothills of Douglas County Colorado and it is where we got married in 2008. I have to give my hubby credit, this place was his pick and it was amazing! Such a fabulous setting for our special day! (I think I need to devote a whole post to our wedding day sometime soon!)

01. HOME!

It's not flashy or huge or extravagant, but honestly home is my favorite place to be in the world. It is where I come home to hubby after work, where my kitties make messes and run around like crazy, and where I can relax and love life (and plan vacations to all my other favorite places!). We've already had lots of fun in our little house (I'm thinking about doing a video tour soon!) but whether it is this house or another, its our home and my all-time favorite place. 

What are your favorite places in the world? Any places we should visit? Any the same as mine?

Project: Pantry

The next project I tackled from the 21-Day Challenge was the Pantry! I had organized it once not too long ago, but it had gotten messy and cluttered (funny how my house seems to make a habit of that!). 

The before...

And after...

As a part of cleaning out the pantry I moved a bunch of dog treats (and her personal jar of peanut butter) over to the storage area on top of the kennel/bed/dog house. It is so much better to have all those smelly dog treats out of the pantry and over where they are more useful! 

So, no huge changes, but just a nice clean out and a little organization to our pantry. I'm hoping I have time for a little bigger task this weekend...

Loads of Fun in the Laundry Room

I'm late to the party, but I have discovered a 21-day get organized challenge over at A bowl full of lemons. Cute blog. Uber-organized! Makes me feel inspired yet messy. Anyways....

Since I discovered this late and haven't had tons of time to complete any of the challenges, I'm going to incorporate as many of the applicable challenges as I can into the remainder of January. 

I've done some work on several of the areas (especially since I was already feeling motivated to be more organized in 2011) but top to bottom completed projects, so far I just have the laundry room. I think it was easiest since it is so small, but at least it is a start. And it had gotten pretty messy. Ugh. 

We have a lot of laundry! There is actually a hamper under that mess of clothes, not that you can tell. (although I don't know why the vacuum is in there too) I save all the laundry for Saturdays, so whenever Friday rolls around dirty clothes are everywhere. And we are only two people. I don't even want to think about how much more laundry comes with kiddos. Yikes. 

Another view. Hangers, bags, placemats I washed two weeks ago that I haven't put away... lovely. But now....

That looks better! I cleaned out and reorganized all my little baskets up top. Put away all the clean laundry. Washed all the dirty laundry. Now I just want one of those signs to go over the washer: LAUNDRY ROOM: DROP YOUR PANTS HERE. Those crack me up. I think I might order the vinyl sticker kind. If I have to be in that tiny little room, I might as well get a chuckle while I'm at it :)

I feel so good about getting the laundry room all nice and organized! I'm almost done with the pantry, so that will be coming up next...

Purse Recycle, Part Two

Wow, I'm happy to report that I gave away five purses last week! Thanks Angelica, Karen & Renee - I hope you enjoy them! There are still a couple from the first go around, don't forget to take a peek at those too...

So far, I have come across three more...let me know if you see anything that catches your eye ; )

White Leather Gap Purse (with Matching Wallet!)

Sorry for the awkward photo, since it was white I had to take the photo on the floor... This is a really cute purse, I especially love it in the summer!

Black & Gold!

XOXO Shoulder Bag

Green & Brown Patterned Cotton/Linen (?) Bag

This was such a great find! I got it at Stein Mart but several people asked me if it was Vera Bradley. It is light weight with pockets on the outside (both sides). FYI no zipper or snap, but it is deep, so I never really had trouble with stuff falling out. 

I still have a LOOONNNGGG way to go to get where I want to be in terms of clutter & organization, but hey, it's a start! I would so rather have these cute purses being used by friends & family than sitting in a plastic tub in my basement. 

Enjoy! Hopefully more to report soon! 

A few of my favorite things...

Here in the first few days of a new year it is easy to get caught up in identifying all of things that we need to do/change/quit/fix/accomplish in the next 360+ days. So, I decided I would take a few minutes each week (or month or quarter or every other day, who knows) to share a few of the ordinary, day-to-day things that I love right now. 

Country Strong Soundtrack

The movie hasn't even come out yet, but I am loving the soundtrack! Gweneth Paltrow is actually really good...who would've guessed? I'm excited to see the movie too (and I'm not a movie person). Country Strong, the title song is my favorite, but the whole album is really good. Ask my Jeep, I sing it on the way to and from work every day! Photo from amazon.  

Scrabble on iPad

Scrabble has been among the top paid iPad apps for a while, but with the $9.99 price tag, I had never tried it.  Until, it went on sale a week or so ago for $.99! Let's just say, I don't know what I did without it. I love it. It is so fun. I usually just play against the computer, but you can also play facebook friends or pass it around to others. It is my version of "reading" before bed. Awesome. Best $.99 ever. Photo from here. 

Memory Foam Bathmats

We have three of these bathmats in our master bathroom right now. Greg had actually been wanting them for a while, but I thought they were too expensive since we already had rugs and a bath mat that I liked just fine. Thanks to our inability to say no and an endless supply of coupons for Bed Bath & Beyond we finally bought them. They are fabulous. Not only are they as soft & comfy as you would imagine, but they soak up water better than any regular towel-like bath mat ever could. We don't just have one in front of the shower, but also one in front of each of our sinks. We're spoiled princesses, I know. We have chocolate right now, but I'm planning on getting a lighter color for spring. Maybe cream or khaki or teal...or all three!

Strawberry Cheesecake Yogurt

Not a great photo, but oh-so-yummy nonetheless! It sounds impossible, but it really does taste exactly like strawberry cheesecake! I love it. While I would of course love to eat a real cheesecake, the 170 calories in this little Yoplait cup does the trick. I don't just eat it for breakfast, sometimes I save them for a mid-afternoon  treat! (My willpower is no match for my sweet-tooth!) Yummy! 

Sharpie Pens

I admit that I am a geek about pens and writing and fonts. No question. I have the regular Sharpies in all sizes and colors. At home and at work. Seriously. So, it should really mean something when I say that the new Sharpie pens are fantastic. I love them. I won't let people borrow them because I like them so much. Sorry, co-workers. But I have plenty of regular pens you can have, because I likely won't be writing with anything else. They are super fine, which is perfect for regular writing, with the classic Sharpie flow, but they won't bleed though ordinary paper. I make lists with them, I make notes with them, I heart them. I just hope the Sharpie people hurry up and make more colors. I have only found them in the all-too-standard red, blue and black. 

Those are just a few of my favorite things today. I hope you will try them too and let me know what you think!

PS - Husbands & kitty cats are not eligible to be named to my favorite "things" lists. : )   

Highlights of 2010

With 2011 just a few hours down the road, I thought I should look back and remember what all took place in 2010...

We went snowboarding for the first time. Ouch, I hurt just thinking about it! The lodge and the shops are really as close to the slopes as I need to be.  Coordination and balance apparently got left out of my genes!

Greg had back surgery in April. Although he still isn't fully recovered and just got the nerves "lasered" a couple of weeks ago, he is definitely doing better. We're hoping 2011 will be kinder to the ol' back. I know he'd LOVE to get to go skiing & play golf this year! 

Kel graduated from Mines (undergrad) in May. It started out chilly and we were worried it would rain (it had for days) but it turned out to be beautiful! Read more about Kel's graduation here. 

As a Valentine's Day gift for hubby I got us tickets to the Senior PGA event that took place in Parker at the end of May. Even though I'm not really a golf fan, I'll admit it was a fun day! Again, we totally lucked out and the weather was fabulous! 

Right after the golf tournament, Greg's mom & dad came out for their annual Colorado visit. We always have a great time with them! This trip we took them down to Colorado Springs to see Garden of the Gods and the Broadmoor. (In general, I don't really like Colorado Springs, but both of these are MUST SEE sites!) 

In July, to celebrate Kel's graduation and  turning 21, we took a little trip to Vegas. Fun! In August we took Greg's new Denali up Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. It is a high, unpaved drive, but so worth it! We went high enough to see snow in August! 

Labor day weekend we went up to Oregon to see the Jones family. Now that Kevin & Jaci live in Medford, we get to see everyone at once! It was the weekend of the Southern Oregon, so we got to see Kevin play for a couple of days and also got to see the other out-of-towners. I can't wait until we get to watch Henry & Theo play in all the RVCC touraments! It gets really busy, but we love getting to see so many people! Gary & Carol had a fabulous big dinner party for us. Unfortunately, Greg was getting super sick and ended up being ill the whole next week...

On my birthday weekend we went to see Brad Paisley in concert (it's becoming an annual tradition!). The show was fantastic and he even sang a couple songs right next to us! Awesome. 

My mom joined us for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer walk in downtown Denver. Not only was it really fun to participate in but we were overwhelmed and inspired by all the people! Over 50,000 people walked in the Denver event alone! 

Our big vacation of the year was to Maui in October with Gary & Carol. It. Was. Fabulous. After Maui and our honeymoon trip to Waikiki, we're hooked on Hawaiian vacations for life! I love the beach. And relaxing. And the sound of the ocean. And the sand. And the sunsets. And the palm trees. And the shaved ice. All of it, really! 

I've already told Greg that for my 30th I want to go to the Big Island! 

After talking about it forever, just before Thanksgiving we got our kitchen updated! New countertops (we picked out the exact piece of granite ourselves), new sink, tile backsplash, new dishwasher and new refrigerator. 

It turned out better than we even imagined! Kyle at VIP Remodeling did spectacular work! I told him he needed a facebook page so I could add a glowing review! Oh, and I'm pretty sure Paige Elizabeth had a little crush on him :) She was stay by him all day and "talk" to him. 

I know I'm missing a lot of birthdays and holidays and everyday adventures, but those are a few of the highlights from 2010. We are looking forward to an even better 2011 full of fun, family and friends!