Happy Halloween!

This year I got together with some college girlfriends to pick and carve pumpkins and to catch up.

The puppies love getting together with their friend Wally. We joke that Stanley is Wally's mini-me :)

And our pumpkins on our front porch: one for matt and me and one for each of the puppies..."they" didn't get around to carving their little pumpkins this year

And of course the puppies had to get into the spirit!

Stanley, our little squirrel dog (yes, I realize that costume was too small)

Oh how I love his little grumpy faces

And Hank's "I Love My Mummy" t-shirt! He actually didn't mind wearing it

And because the squirrel costume was too small I picked out a new costume AND it has legs!

Yep, he's our "bad-dog" :)

Pizza and a Movie

Lately I have been attempting new recipes and for the most part they have turned out pretty good. Hubs and I always decide if it's something worth having again. Well a recent idea was pizza bites

Usually on Friday nights hubs and I have pizza and movie night to relax and wind down from a busy week. Well this Friday I decided to try a different take on pizza (rather than our standard frozen, boxed pizzas)

Ingredients:
1 can Pillsbury biscuits (follow up note: do not try to use the less expensive, store brand. I'm sorry but they just haven't worked as well as Pillsbury has)
1 pkg pepperoni
mozzarella cheese (I tried using string cheese cut in 1 inch sections, turned out ok but didn't melt very well. I will be using shredded mozzarella next time)

1) Grease pie plate
2) Open biscuits and cut each biscuit in half
3) Carefully flatten each biscuit half out (be careful to not over handle or the dough gets tough) and place pepperoni and cheese in middle
4) Pull dough around pepperoni and cheese and pinch closed and place seam-side down in pie plate
5) When all dough balls are in pan, brush tops with Olive Oil and sprinkle with Italian Seasoning and Parmesan Cheese

Bake on 400 for 20 min until golden brown

From this to...

THIS!

And of course I had to try out a new recipe for homemade pizza sauce:

Ingredients:
28oz diced tomatoes, undrained (we had some tomatoes from the garden that had been frozen so I used those)
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (hubs and I are babies when it comes to spicy food so next time I will omit these)
1/4 tsp salt
3-4 cloves minced garlic

1) Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over med-high heat.
2) Bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cook for at least 15 min
3) Remove from heat and use/serve

Tip: If you prefer smoother sauce use a potatoe masher or immersion blender

P.S. The movie of the night was X-Men 2, we're going to watch all 4 in a row :)

Besties Lunch

This past weekend I got together with some girls I used to work with. We try to get together at least every other month to eat and catch up. And to make it a little more fun, whose ever house it's at gets to choose a theme and the food each of us brings has to relate to this theme. Our themes have been silly (loaf shaped items) and seasonal ("best of summer"). Well this weekend's theme was "Apples", perfect for Fall!

The hostess chose to make an apple chicken recipe, someone else made applesauce, and another made an apple dessert! I chose to make Herb and Apple Stuffing (I chose to half the recipe because there was only 4 of us and it was the perfect amount):

16 cups of 1-inch bread cubes
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 cups diced yellow onion
2 cups diced celery
2 Granny Smith apples, unpeeled, cored, and diced
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 1/2 tsp minced fresh rosemary leaves (I used dried rosemary)
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup sliced blanched almonds (optional)

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2) Put the bread crumbs on a 13x18x1 inch baking sheet and bake them for 7 min
3) In a large saute pan: melt butter, add onion, celery, apples, parsley, rosemary, salt, and pepper and saute for 10 min (until mixture is soft)
4) In a large bowl: combine bread cubes, sauteed veggie mix, stock, and almonds

Cooking options:
1) Place stuffing into turkey and cook per turkey directions OR
2) Place stuffing in a casserole dish and cook for an hour on 350 degrees F (this is the way I did it)

Wordless Wednesday

Home Additions

I found some things on Pinterest that I feel are must haves for our home:

a bench that will double as extra storage

a cutey way to hang up the puppy leashes (obviously a pic of our babies will be displayed)

And ever since our wedding (where we used monograms) I have been in love with monograms and think this would look really cute.

I love the idea of this glass-less frame above our headboard

And some other ideas that require some crafy-ness on my part but are just adorable:

Obviously I would use our babies silhouettes and likely not use pink (although I LOVE pink)

Buffalo Wild Wings

I LOVE the restaurant Buffalo Wild Wings! Unfortunately, maybe fortunately, there isn't one close by our home. Well earlier this month, hubs attempted to make buffalo wings...but they just didn't quite turn out and since then I have been thinking about them. So I turned to my new love (Pinterest) for an easy, at-home recipe. Earlier I mentioned I was going to make these Baked Buffalo Wings on the 20th, except that we didn't have wings so I used drummies (which I like better anyways) and they turned out Ah-Mazing!

Great idea to use a cooling rack and tin foil inside the pan

And I found a recipe for yummy ranch dip, I added more milk than the recipe called for because it was just too thick for our tastes

And I have been making these potatoes at least once a week since finding the recipe, so easy and so good!

And of course, dinner wouldn't be complete without a chilled glass

A Twist on Feel Good Food

So hubs has been sick for a while and has lost some of his appetite and ability to taste...but I have not. Therefore I have been trying to find recipes that won't hurt his throat and that he'll want to eat...and I'll want to eat also. I subscribe to a lot of food websites and get a lot of emails and so I was excited when I got an email from Pillsbury this week advertising some quick and easy meals, because welcome to my life lately.

And because I love soup when I'm sick I decided to try the recipe for Quick Chicken and Dumplings. The only thing I did differently was add 1/2 cup of half and half to the soup before adding the biscuits in order to make it Cream of Chicken Noodle and Dumpling soup. And you know what? For being out of a can it was pretty tasty! So yes, this one is a keeper for those nights when something just needs to be thrown together quickly.

Happy 20th Hubs

Since our anniversary (of when we met, of when we got engaged, and when we got married) is June 20th every month on the 20th is kind of special to hubs and me. I'm not saying we go all out every month and celebrate, but we try to pay special attention and at the very least recognize it.

So tonight I am making a yummy dinner (will write about it later) and then we'll probably just watch tv and snuggle on the couch. But for here, today I would like to recognize the 20th by remembering our wedding day with some of our fabulous pictures.

New Obsession

So I have a new obsession!!! I had heard about a new website called Pinterest but didn't know what it was about. Well in order to use the website I guess you need to either request an account or get an "invite" from someone who is currently using the site.

One day while at home I requested an invite from the person who I had heard about the site from and have been HOOKED ever since! Since creating an account I have created 20 Boards and pinned 688 items! I know it might sound over board and sure there are things I've pinned that I will likely never do...but I love all of the ideas and the ability to organize those ideas.

The biggest way I have used Pinterest is to find new recipes. Because I am an extremely visual person (I get frustrated at restaurants when there are no pictures on the menu haha) I love that every idea/recipe has a picture to go along with it. The "food" board I had created got so full that I decided to separate it out and make a board for: dinner/meal, beverages, desserts, breakfast/breads, and crock pot recipes. And I have even tried some of the recipes!

Crock Pot Chicken Tikka Masala

Baked Parmesan Potatoes

And a few upcoming recipes I am excited to try (and have already purchased all the ingredients for):

Baked Buffalo Wings

Heart Cinnamon Rolls (aren't they adorable?!?)

Red Wine Chocolate Cake (YUM!)

There are sooo many other things that can be searched for and pinned, for example I have boards that contain hair styles, puppy products, crafts, baby shower party ideas, wedding shower party ideas, Halloween party ideas, products I love, camera/photo ideas, and just things that make me laugh!

If you find yourself on Pinterest...look me up!

Quote of the Week:

In matters of style, swim with the current.
In matters of principle, stand like a rock!

Quote of the Day...sort of

Wordless Wednesday...with a few words

Hubs and I attended a wedding this past weekend and I was happy that I got to wear my new olive green, silk dress :)

My new To-Do

So after doing a little more review of and reflection of these past years one thing has become clear...I need to start setting goals again. I remember doing this all the time in college and feeling a sense of accomplishment when I was able to check them off a list.

Call me sick, call me twisted..but I really do enjoy "to-do" lists. They help me focus, they help me to not get distracted by the "shiny objects" in life.

One of the reasons I took the job at this college was because I was able to go back to school tuition-free and in the past 28 months I have only completed 1 class. Not 1 degree...just 1 class and that was with a "D" because I didn't do anything the last few weeks because I got wrapped up in work. Ugh!

Ok, well, that was then...this is now. I have decided to go back and start taking some classes to prepare for another go at the Masters program. I would REALLY like to earn my Masters degree and frankly getting to do it for free is just another MAJOR incentive. But I know I'm not prepared to just jump back in and do it, so I've decided to take 2 classes that I'm hoping will help me prepare for the MBA program: Human Resource Management & Accounting Principle 1.

This week marked my 1st week back at class and honestly I didn't do any homework throughout the week :S  But this weekend I got it all done! And I was done before 6pm on Sunday! Sooo proud of myself! So wish me luck while I try to keep this up and get good grades...and this is what my weekends will be filled with from now til Christmas...

But it's not so bad...I have some company...

Quote of the Day

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer.
Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”
– Harriet Tubman

Just What I Needed

I have an amazing friend, J, who always creeps up when I need her. We don't live near each other at the moment and she is EXTREMELY busy with her own life (she's a doctor, yep I have a friend who is a doctor :) ) So when I get to hear from her it's always special. Plus, somehow she knows exactly what I need to hear...without having had a conversation about it.

So I was very touched when I received my birthday present from her. One night when I got home from work there on our counter was a gift from Shari's Berries! Although I had heard of these I had never had one before. And let me tell you, they are as yummy as the commercials say they are. (Nope, no pics...cuz hubs helped me eat them super fast...what?!? the package said best if eaten within 48 hours hehe).

But what was even more special was the card:

I had to put it on the fridge to remind myself that maybe this getting older stuff isn't so bad :)

Where has the time gone???

So I have been thinking about my dear friend's suggestion of purposefully thinking back on these past years since I graduated from college in hopes to feel a sense of accomplishment. Well here it goes (and I'm working from memory so please forgive anything that may be left out):

May 2006: Graduated from college & started working at my first "grown up" job.

March 2007: Decided to apply for Grad School to study Marriage and Family Therapy

May 2007: Quit my 1st "grown up" job after being treat like shit and being treated like worse shit after saying something about it. Decided to move back to the TC area to be by my family...and bought Stanley!

May - Aug 2007: Unemployed, but lukily I had stashed away enough money to not freak out...but it also required that I live at home...after living on my own for 5 years.

September 2007: Started a new Social Work job AND started Grad School

October 2007: finished my 1st Grad School class...and dropped out...thus incurring more student loan debt...but this time I had nothing to show for it.

June 2008: Met Matt :)

October 2008: really, really, REALLY started disliking my job and started looking for a new one

June 16, 2009: Got my 1st job interview after applying for 8 months
June 17: Had the job interview
June 18: Got offered the job
June 19: Put in my notice at my horrible job
June 20: My 1 year anniversary with Matt and he PROPOSED!

July 7, 2009: Started my new job, thought I'd love it...

June 20, 2010: Got Married! and finally went on a vacation...to Florida!

July 2010: Started Grad School (through my work) for Business Administration...quit a week later. Ugh I so do not know anything about business and that was apparent in that first finance class.

October 2010: Got a new position at work...the new location was an additional 20 min from home but I started working 4 days/week instead of 4 days one week then 6 days the next and rotating that way...trust me that sucked. Also took a business class through work...didn't realize how much work classes were. I guess I forgot about that aspect of college.

February & March 2011: Started having major drama at work with a new coworker...ugh...

March 2011: Started this blog in hopes of getting some thoughts out

May 2011: Yep, started job searching again...ugh I hate this process

June 2011: Our 1st anniversary was marked by the passing of Matt's grandma

October 2011: Still no luck with the job hunting process sooo I decided to take a few classes through work (Human Resource Management & Accounting Principles 1...riveting).

Ok, that's all I can think of now...I'm too tired to do any reflecting on this or to start picking it apart.