what i'm loving wednesday (11.30)

i'm loving that emi has similar tastes to mine :-)

(spinach and sour cream dip from trader joe's)

i'm loving this sweet puppy who lived with us for about a week and a half while her family was visiting texas -- she's so much fun!
(emi was not so much loving her though...)

belle :-)

helping us decorate

i'm loving the holiday season, as i do every year.

one of our trees (red and turquoise)

i'm loving the new traditions we're creating while we combine good things from both our families and things we want to do on our own :-)

the wreath on our front door: pine for him, berries for me = perfection

i'm loving the boots i mentioned yesterday

i'm loving my cell group girls...such amazing Godly women...so important in my life

photo by our AMAZING wedding photographer

i'm loving friends i can simultaneously cook and be silly with :-)

i'm loving this, which i'll be explaining a bit more about on a monday soon!

i'm loving going to sporting events with my husband

football (go titans!)

hockey (go PREDS!)

i'm loving that he's my HUSBAND! :-)


i'm loving the sacredness that surrounds this time of year...or at least i'm loving the reminders that all of life is sacred

our advent wreath next to the nativity

hey, it's ok (tuesday) 11.29

hey, it's ok


...to be pretty certain the new container store at the mall is going to be your new happy place
...to not kare about keeping up with kardashians or how everything they kreate has a k
...to be pretty certain that the previous statement will eventually disappear from your blog because the misspellings are gonna drive you crazy
...to be oh so very thankful for the uber-comfy faux-fur lined boots you picked up for $10.  not only do they get compliments EVERY time i leave the house, they are must-haves for cold weather!

...to not believe baby g when the response to "what are you eating?" is "ummm....tongue."
*insert moment to go swipe the fuzz out of baby g's mouth*
...to be re-making the stuffing and potatoes tonight because we ran out of them first and they were the best.  
...to be considering chucking the turkey after all the other leftovers are gone.  it was good, but come on.
...to be excited that my friend michael logan's song is going to be on one of my favorite shows (parenthood) tonight.
...to once in awhile take a nap when the kid does.  because it's just necessary
...to get this blog up approximately 10 hours past the time you meant to.  oops :-)


go visit amber's amazing blog and make a list of your own!
also, brownie giveaway ends thursday :-)

meal planning: 11.27 - 12.3

easiest.meal.plan.week.EVER.


sunday 
thanksgiving leftovers


monday
on our own...it's an annie chun noodle bowl with a side salad for me 


tuesday
cheesesteak chimichangas 


wednesday
thanksgiving leftovers


thursday
on our own, anthony has a work party and i'm not invited.  
i'm planning to make a cilantro tomato ranch pasta salad and perhaps eat some other foods he wouldn't like ;-)


friday
MY office Christmas dinner


saturday
orange chicken (from trader joes) with rice (cooked in our new rice cooker)


told you. embarrassingly easy this week, but since it was just the two of us for thanksgiving we have a few more leftovers to plow through!


(ps, don't forget the brownie giveaway!)

thursday's ten (on black friday): the giveaway

i mentioned earlier that I had a giveaway for today.
sorry i've been black friday shopping and am just now posting!

here are ten things about this giveaway.

1.  back in september...ish i signed up with myblogspark to do this

2.  i heard back fairly quickly and received my package...about a week before the wedding

3.  needless to say, the package sat opened but otherwise untouched for quite awhile

4.  the package contained one fun red apron with the betty crocker logo on it, one wilton 9x9 square pan with a lid, one red spatula/stirrer thing, and of course the milk chocolate brownie mix.

5.  on friday, anthony had a guys night with a good friend to play a new video game

6.  brownies were requested.  out came the kit.

7.  it was rather late at night, which should somewhat explain the photos you're seeing. (i reaaaalllly liked the spatula stir thingy)

8.  the verdict on the brownies was that they were your average brownie...except much more moist than your average brownie.  so while the flavor was great it wasn't knock-your-socks-off...but the moisture was amazing.

9.  i kind of can't wait to grab another box of these and attempt making my baileys brownies with them...

10.  YOU can get an identical package to the one i received.  simply post a comment to this post.  if you want to tweet about it, just tag me in the tweet (@itslorab) and i'll make sure you get an extra entry!

make sure you are contactable, either by email attached to your blog or put your email in your comment.  winner will be drawn december 1.

now, if you'll excuse me...i'm going to go eat a couple of brownies.  :-)

*product, information, and giveaway were provided by Betty Crocker through MyBlogSpark

today

thursday's ten will post tomorrow (it's a giveaway edition so get ready!)


today, reflect
remember
be grateful


for what little you have
for the abundance you have
for the relationships you cherish
for the ones you long for


life is not perfect for any of us
and we on our blogs often forget to show a balanced perspective


so if today isn't ideal for you
if family gatherings are painful or nonexistent, or you simply can't go for any number of reasons


know that 
i get it
(really, i do)


but there is always
ALWAYS
something to give thanks for.


and sometimes digging to find it means you find other treasures along the way


so today, be blessed
because you already are.

hey, it's ok (tuesday) 11.22

hey, it's ok


...to lick the spatula when making brownies
...to be ready to black friday shop.  i don't do it like anyone else i know...much more relaxed approach, and i still get good deals.  without killing anyone or getting up ridiculously early. (amazon's online deals help a lot, but i actually DO get out and go!)
...to skip meal planning this week, as far as the blog goes.  we have a "plan" but i'm not going to get stressed if we don't stick to it.  hello holiday week!
...to, however, be planning out our open house menu.  i'm including some gluten free, dairy free, and vegan options this year as well as the normal fare, so i want it to be balanced. (if you have favorite holiday finger foods i'd love to hear about it!)
...to love rachael ray, but to be really tired of the "smellavision" comment she makes all.the.time.
...to spend the entirety of baby g's naptime catching up on shows on demand so that i can delete them off the dvr when i get home :-)
...to have way too many photos stored on my computer.  currently in the process of backing them ALL up to disk.
...to be ridiculously geeking out and excited that there's now a container store in my city.  i'm planning on hitting it up on friday, actually!
...to be quite excited to put up our Christmas decor here in a few days.  this will be our first year decorating together, and we have 3 trees planned as well as other fun stuff :-)  we do need stockings though.  nice ones.  any suggestions?
...to be nearly ready to post the giveaway that' i've had for a little over a month and am just now prepared for.  in fairness, it came RIGHT before the wedding.  i've been a little busy.
...to have placed a clue about the giveaway in this list of things that are ok.  extra entry if you correctly guess the right one BEFORE i post about the giveaway :-) (seriously)


visit amber's blog. mostly because she's awesome, but also because she hosts this weekly fun!  join us!

thursday's ten: pinterest love

have i mentioned i love pinterest?


today's list is compiled of ten ideas i've ACTUALLY used from the site!  these are the first ten pins i've completed, but i'm sure there will be more editions to come :-)






(1) my very first one was this idea to use magazine racks for pantry organization.  i did this pretty much when i moved in in august.

"pinspiration"

i started with one...

and ended up with a "few"

verdict: LOVE.  our cans are no longer out of control!

(2) i FLIPPED when i saw the idea of the date stitched into hem of your wedding dress so i asked my friend who was doing the alterations if that was a possibility.  she replied that she was already thinking of surprising me with that very thing!

pinspiration

unfortunately, my dress is currently at the in-laws and i can't post a picture of my result...but i'll try to remember to do that later!


verdict: loved making this my something blue, and love it being permanently on the dress!

(3) then i kept seeing a pin for a crock pot breakfast casserole.  tried it one saturday morning...

pinspiration

actuality

even though it went IN looking good!

verdict: one time only.  it was dry and even though it tasted ok, it's nothing spectacular.




(4) then i saw one using spice shelves for organizing the bathroom sink.  since i was frustrated with our medicine bottle organization, i decided to adapt it.

pinspiration

our take on it

verdict: it's not perfect, but it's WAY better than before!






(5) then i saw this one.  it was two dressers back to back to make a kitchen island, but that's not what drew me in.  see, we had repurposed a similar dresser as our entryway piece, and i wanted it not to look like...a dresser!  and i already had some fun bird and branch wall stickers...

pinspiration

result

i love the bird on top :-)

verdict: i really like i, and so does anthony!  it's subtle, but just quirky enough to be "us" AND bonus: it makes the repurposed dresser "fit" more in the living area.




(6) i thought these crescent roll desserts looked yummy...

pinspiration

adaption 

verdict: we loved them and experiment with other flavor combos when we make them :)


(7) i found another idea i thought was brilliant: sheets stored in their own pillow cases.  i decided to try it out.

reality

pinspiration

verdict: it may not look as neat as the original but it definitely makes life easier!

just wanted to prove that the closet as a whole is neater than that shelf!

(8) natasha and i wanted to make one of the several recipes we have found on pinterest.  we settled (easily) on buffalo chicken tacos.

pinspiration

we did a build your own bar 

Anthony's plate was a work of art!

verdict: we loved them!  definitely a keeper recipe

(9) the idea of wine cork journaling was intriguing to me -- basically you open a bottle of wine and have the guests who are there that night sign the cork.

pinspiration

our ONE example :-)

verdict: it's a great idea, but we don't open wine for every occasion that we'd like to remember...and some wine isn't corked!  so we'll use it when we have a chance :-)

10) menu dry erase board

pinspiration

ours

 verdict: we've just started using it, but so far i'm a fan!


are you a pinterest lover?  have you used any of the ideas from the site?  tell me!