Fleuri

Had a lovely Sunday afternoon in lawrence with my knitty friends -

Lunched on lobster tacos at la parilla, petted some super soft yarn @ yarn barn, and then got adventurous with some delicious french-toast icecream at sylas & maddys.

At the end of the day I had a new bag to enjoy!

DIY: Big Bow Pillow

I see a craft day in my near future. Already dreaming of decorating the new house.


DIY: Big Bow Pillow: "This is the big bow pillow I made yesterday. I started with this tutorial to make the actual bow. Although I made both the bow and the middle piece much much wider. I wanted a big fatty bow. Really, it's just a big tube with a small tube wrapped around it. Super simple. Like a big bow tie.
But I wanted another layer coming around the back for the pillow. I made a third tube (same width) for that with unfinished edges and strung it through the back of the bow. Then I pinned it all down on the front side and sewed the pillow together like normal (I just did the easy two panel method in back instead of a zipper)

Ta dah!I have another cool pillow in the works so stay tuned...

"

Health Care Reform

I despise talking "politics", but came across this graphic today which simplifies the rather complicated reform.  We'll see where things are at in the next 3 years when Felipe & I begin our job search. I wish everyone the best of health so that this reform is just a moot point.

Sigh

Had a rather bittersweet anniversary.  The home inspection was a total disaster - too many layers on the roof, cracks in the foundation, wood rot on the deck support beams, etc.  Not things you want to hear after picking paint colors and dreaming of decorating ideas.

However, Felipe made the day a success.  He suprised me at work with a dozen gorgeous roses!  I shamelessly displayed them all afternoon.  A big thanks to gma & gpa for a delicious olive garden dinner.  We stuffed our faces with salad and breadsticks before feasting on pasta (spaghetti for me, some type of steak topped pasta for the hubby.)  Funny enough, I got roses and Felipe got a wooden toilet seat.  There's a long joke regarding the toilet seat, and it was chosen with much love and affection.

A quick pic of dinner today - pan fried chicken with corn and tomato salad.  Quick, easy, and delicious.  Jackson even made off with his own little piece.

To my mom & dad

Happy Anniversary to Me!

Felipe gave me my anniversary present early this year - check it out. . . . . .

We are both in love with this house.  It has gorgeous extra-big windows along the front, a fabulous laundry room, and a great deck.  The kitchen has been remodeled and there is even a walk in closet!  We sign the papers today and close beginning of June.

Little man is hiding his excitement. . .

I know just what to get my wonderful hubby, stay tuned.

Veggie Loving

Here are two of my most recent kitchen adventures -

First up, Italian Orzo with Greens from my VegetarianTimes magazine.  Felipe's "beef" with this recipe is that it has no meat.  I thought it was delicious.  I adore feta and olives.  The perfect simple spring meal.

Second, is Asian Hot Pot from Real Simple.  This one was a little more to Felipe's liking despite the lack of meat.  He has not met a bowl of noodle soup that he hasn't liked.  I toned down the ginger to make it more to his liking, but next time will add a bit back in.  Quite delicious, quite easy, and my first time using shiitake mushrooms.

Right now I'm snacking on some French Breakfast Puffs.  Unfortunately, the initial pics did not turn out and now they are all in our bellies.  Just imagine a warm fluffy muffin from the oven, dipped in melted butter, and then rolled in massive quantities of cinnamon sugar. . . . . .is your mouth watering yet?

This makes 26 recipes, half-way to my New Year's Resolution of 52.  This week I will be making some old favorites - shrimp tacos, tilapia with mango salsa, chiken tiki masala.

Gone

House went to short-sale, turns out the owner wasn't paying her bills and owes significantly more on the house than what its appraised for.  Should be back on the market in about 30 days once the short-sale paperwork goes through.

Amendment

Realtor made an error on the original contract.  Amendment signed, error fixed.  Frustrated.  Waiting for tomorrow. . . .

Offer Placed. . . .

The second look was awesome - both felipe and I can picture many, many happy years in this home and decided to put in an offer.  Let the countdown begin.  The seller has until Thursday @ noon to counter. . . .

2nd look. . . .

Going for a second look today.

• Things I like: kitty door to garage (for litterbox!), laundry on same floor as master bedroom, his and hers walk-in closets, very close to fairway/grocery/gas/walmart/KUMC, 2 full baths, back deck, hardwood floors, stainless steel frig, furnished (with cute furniture), fenced  yard
• Things that I can live with: smallish kitchen/living room/dining room, no basement, 1 car garage

Stay tuned!

Just maybe. . . . .

Wish us luck!

I can already picture the stoughton rosebushes under the front windows. . . . . . .

Checking in

Hola!  The end of another week.  Whew!  I must celebrate not catching a nasty virus from the cute little kiddos in urgent care.  Think I will celebrate with a chick flick and a one of my favorite dance routines from fit tv.

Yesterday evening, I came to the abrupt conclusion that I was "clean enough" for the week and deserved a lovely night out with my girlfriend jill.  We feasted on chips & salsa, fajitas, and fish tacos - topped off with a delish margarita.  Today I have renewed motivation, and am breakfasting on a lovely bowl of oatmeal with walnuts and coconut milk.  (The coconut milk is for my gpa who is a big fan of coconut oil.)

Anyways, got lots of great things planned for the weekend:

• a visit from my mom: we're going to volunteer at a street fair for rosedale middle school, the forecast is set for sunshine and 70's so it should be a lovely afternoon
• house hunting with felipe: he's got the weekend off and I'm really looking forward to experiencing this with him
• sleeping in!

do stuff! » My yarn-holding coffee can cubbies!

do stuff! » My yarn-holding coffee can cubbies!

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Totally want to get crafty in our new casa (when we find one!)  The perfect way to combine my love of knitting and decorating!

1 new 'do, 3 new recipes, 1 possible house.

Towards the end of my long inpatient rotation, on a much needed day off, I decided it was time for an adventure.  I walked into the salon with pics of Nicole Richie and Amy Adams.  Three hours later I walked out with a sassy red bob and have been loving it ever since.

Here's one of my last "pre-cleanse" meals I made - Chicken Souvlaka from my Real Simple cookbook.  Delish grilled chicken topped with marinated tomatoes, feta, and a cool cucumber sauce.  I'm such a sucker for the Jerusalem Cafe fresh pita.

Up next is my fave cleanse recipe, Sweet Potato Salad from Vegetarian Times served with cilantro-lime rice (thanks for the recipe Gloria!)  The salad has 3 of my fave ingredients - sweet potatoes, cilantro, and avocado.  It was super pretty with lots of color.  Didn't even taste vegan, sugar-free, gluten-free, alcohol-free, caffeine-free.  It's even good enough to clip and keep to make again.

Tonights recipe was a Quinoa Grilled Vegetable Salad topped with toasted pine nuts.  Quinoa has got to be one of the healthiest grains out there.  Pretty tasty served with zucchini, shitake mushrooms, and red pepper.  Dessert was a lovely bowl of this organic peanut butter captain crunch type cereal. (Just had a Freudian slip there, typed bowel instead of bowl - - -haha!)  Overall the cleanse is going fine.  I treat myself to a smoothie everyday from the cafeteria which is a nice perk.  I thought that the caffeine was going to be the hardest, but actually they are all equally difficult to abstain from.  The other day I was longing for a nice glass of wine on the balcony watching the sunset.  Settled for sugar-free KoolAid.  Fresh bread is also sounding pretty amazing, as does a nice cold bowl of Breyer's icecream.  Sigh.  I do feel pretty good though.  No tummyaches, no headaches, and my skin is clearing up nicely.

Here's the house I looked at today with Ralph (our realtor.)  Its in Armour Hills, a quaint neighboorhold close to walking trails and parks with lots of big trees.  I'm taking Felipe to look at it this weekend.  Definitely in my top 2 thus far, but haven't felt like I've found "the one."  Plenty of time to keep looking.

Fairway Gem

Out of the 3 we saw today, 2 were horrendous, and 1 was adorable.  A lovely blue 2-story in Fairway with a screened in porch and nice backyard.  Its only 2 blocks from a good public school and close to the park, pool, and tennis courts.  Definitely a possibility. Now if only the asking price included all the furniture and decorations. . . . .

We've got several more to look at next weekend, and I've got a couple of rentals on my list for back-up.

House Hunting

Going to look at 4 houses tomorrow - so excited! 

(If we like any of them I"ll post the listing afterwards)