Spring Slump

The warmer weather & sunshine I have been craving have returned. And all I can think about doing is shaking my house upside down and majorly purging my belongings! Plus, my allergies are kicking my butt this season..I usually don't get more than a day visit from them. So it's been slow around our house! No fun projects, no fun new recipes...I did however find a soft sugar cookie recipe I want to bake for Easter. I purchased an egg shaped baking pan (picture the Reese's egg candy size) that I am anxious to test out. And then hopefully one of these next few weekends will include a garage sale! 

So yay for spring & our avocado tree is dripping with avocados--finally!

Garlicky BBQ Pork Chops

Decided to give pork chops a go a few days back and I got the nod of approval at the dinner table, so figured I would pass this one along. Gather up granulated garlic, ground mustard, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce and BBQ sauce. Oh and some pork tenderloin!  The first three ingredients were combined and used as  rub on each piece of pork. I started off the cooking with a dash of oil and a healthy amount of Worcestershire sauce in the pan. And then I started to be nervous about having the meat stick to the pan (even though I used a non-stick pan--I've done it before!). So I added BBQ sauce and water to the mix. The extra moisture (plus keeping the pan covered) saved me from drying the meat out as well. Sweet bonus.

I also usually make a sacrafice cut on one piece just to make sure they're cooked thoroughly. Para-noid. I could and should use a meat thermometer but I just cut the one I plan to eat so theres no chance of complaint! These took about 7-8 per side over medium heat to be pink center free. And yes I went carb heavy on this meal--baked potato & garlic toast. Yum-O!

Ins & Outs

It's been a whirlwind few weeks! I've enjoyed my travels, but I am happy to be home again. There is certainly a lot to catch  up on around here, including laundry! I spent a few nights with my cousin Danielle & her family as they eased into becoming a family of 4, a trip to Disneyland and flying out to Florida. 

Rock painting & foot-printing with Danielle's little men!

Finally visited California Adventure, loved every inch of it!

Lots of sight-seeing and wildlife in beautiful Florida (manatess, dolphins, sadly no gators). We managed to sandwhich our trip right in between the rain storms too. Whoopie!

And now I'm loving home, sweet home!

Frame Frenzy

I've had this one lone piece floating on our wall for a while now. I couldn't decide what to do for surrounding frames since this main piece is frameless. I thought about framing it and buying other frames to match. But I finally let it all go and dug through some storage and just slapped what I owned on the walls. I think it works. I still may eventually paint the frames to all be the same color, but for now I'm happy with more occupied wall space!

Frames were gathered from thrift shops and Ikea.  Frames were filled with photos, thrifted art, a greeting card, and a few DIY'd pieces of 'art'. The flag print was taken out of one of my thrifted dictionaries and I added mini heart stickers to the states Cody & I have visited together. The boxer face was removed from a cover of post-it notes that I've had saved for a while and the ampersand is a stamp. Both were placed onto brown paper bags.  The blanket and the pillow on the last picture were thrifted too!

Breakfast Croisants

I really enjoy spending time in the kitchen, but its no secret that I have no patience for anything tedious or complicated in foodie tasks. Cody & I have gotten into a habit of having something warm & fresh baked for breakfast on the weekends. Usually we resort to cinnamon rolls. But while walking around the grocery store (which is usually where inspiration hits) I snatched up crescent dough to change our routine up. I figured if I am rolling them anyway, why not stuff 'em?

The turkey & swiss didn't seem to have any effect on the baking time & after playing around a bit, one full slice of cheese + 2 slices of sandwich meat seems to be a good bread to stuffing ratio for the so-called 'jumbo' crescent dough.

Clearance Couture: The Emeralds are Coming!

The stars finally aligned for me to update you with an outfit post! With 2013 being the year of Emerald (according to Pantone), I've realized I own quite a bit of the color.  I have also been wanting to try the illusion of layering two similar colored pieces so that they look like one (dress).

(photography by Katy)

The gray sweater is camoflauging a tank tucked into my skirt. And essential for winter warmth of course.The emerald pieces aren't exactly the same color, but with the gray area (hardy-har-har) its not so noticable!

Jewelry, belt & J Crew cashmere sweater: thrifted

Pleated skirt: TJ Maxx

Sleevless blouse: H&M

Flats: Old Navy

My Gray Valentines Day

Not as bad as it sounds! Cody finished painting the bathroom for me!! Awesome gift for anytime of the year.

(Before)

Such an upgrade! It's such a huge difference in there. We have a few more details to add, like a valence on the window, styling the floating shelves, better light/fan and framing out the mirror. But its giving me "Wow!" already!