pink nostalgia

each more delicious than the last

One thing my former roommates and I know how to do is EAT.  We're not food snobs, but we do like good food.  Last weekend was no exception.  Epic?  I might use the word epic.

Yumm! Eats and Yumm! Sweets in Brenham, Texas.  Garlic chicken pizza, mint chocolate chip gelato, tiramisu gelato.  (One for me and one for Cassandra - ha!)

The little storefront is on the main street in downtown Brenham.  Cassandra and I picked it by chance, and man, was it good.  Charming atmosphere and fresh ingredients.  If you ever find yourself passing through at lunchtime, it's definitely worth the stop. 

Ouisie's Table in Houston, Texas.  Three cheese macaroni and cheese (split as an appetizer), braised short rib au jus.

The BEST macaroni and cheese I've ever had.  I don't normally like homemade mac & cheese.  (The only exception is Aunt Jane's from last Christmas.  I may have had 3.5 helpings.)  I'm a Kraft girl.  : )  But this was amazing.  Uhhh-mazing.  It's a wonder that Beth, Cassandra, and I could maintain our manners and not fight over licking the plate.  We all loved our entrees, too.

Ruggles Cafe Bakery in Rice Village, Houston.  Chocolate creme brulee cheesecake.

Hmm, what am I in the mood for...chocolate?  Cheesecake?  Creme brulee?  All three??  Done.  To-go desserts and head back to the house for pjs and a chick flick.  : )

Delicious.

meeting ellison

 Last weekend, Cassandra and I roadtripped down to Houston to meet roommate Beth's first baby.

It didn't occur to me to take pictures of the baby with her mama.  It looks like I have a death claw on that child's head, but I promise, I was gentle.  Elle was very good for me.  She was awake and didn't fuss, which is really all I ask of a one-month-old.  : )

More tomorrow on the rest of the trip (read: the food).  Yumm.  ; )

chicken bryan in austin

Quick trip to Austin last night to have dinner with my momma.  She's in Austin for a few days for work and offered up Carrabba's.  I will gladly jam out to Fun. and Coldplay for an hour and a half each way for the promise of mother/daughter time and Chicken Bryan.

Grilled chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, and goat cheese??  Yes.  Always yes.

I had her leftover Sirloin Marsala and Angel Hair Alfredo for lunch today.  Oh.  Man.

Thanks for a great night, Mom!  Love you!

the love notes envelope

I love this envelope and this line so much that I doubled up and used them again.

Supplies: Envelope (left over from our wedding).  Patterned paper, die cuts: My Mind's Eye.  Stamp: Heidi Swapp.  Stickers: October Afternoon.  Paint.

I showed Dave this envelope and told him that when he writes me love notes, this is where he can put them.  We'll see how well that works out.  ; )

the 29 list: #20 drink hot tea

So, we have tons of tea at our house.  Dave was on a tea kick for about a month six years ago and we have all of the leftovers.  And they're all these crazy kinds that I don't like, like Scottish Nog and Earl Grey.  I know I could just throw them away, but I can't.  I feel bad.  So I'm drinking them.

I made myself love Twinings Lady Grey.  It got to where I craved it.  I never thought I'd like Chamomile (Celestial Seasonings), but I had two cups in a row the first time I tried it.  My all-time favorite is Bigelow French Vanilla. 

I still have a way to go, but I've gone through about five boxes.  I'm declaring this one done.  : )

looks like someone's planning a room: table run

Turns out our kitchen table is almost exactly the same heighth, width, and length as the one I want for my scrap room, so...I decided to try it for a week before I order mine.

The table I want is white, so I covered our black table with some white canvas I have. 

It scrapbooks like a dream.  : )

instant love

Hey y'all,

Emmalie from Crop Paper Scissors asked if I could help her put together a kit for the store.  She twisted my arm, but I finally agreed.  ; )

The kit has a Valentine's/love theme: pink, red, white, brown, black, and white.  She threw in some of the cutest old game pieces.  I love the kraft color of the Bingo card and Scrabble tiles.

Here's what I made with the kit.

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill.  Patterned paper: Echo Park, Jillibean Soup.  Stickers: Jillibean Soup.  Punches: Fiskars.  Pen: Sharpie. 

Two 12 x 12 pages and an envelope for little keepsakes.  It would be perfect for little kids who get Valentines from classmates or wives who get sweet notes from husbands (whaaaa?).  Even after all of that, I still have patterned paper and a ton of alpha stickers left over.

These kits will be rolling out every month, so start looking for them!

round one

Hey y'all,

How 'bout a quick page?

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill.  Patterned paper, journal card: Webster's Pages.  Chipboard alphas: Jillibean Soup.  Sticker alphas: Sassafrass.  Envelope: Maya Road.  Flower: Creative Imaginations.  Border punch: Fiskars.  Scallop scissors: Provocraft.  Pen: Sharpie.  Border stickers: Crate Paper.  I picked up all of the supplies from the store.

The only tricky part about this page was covering the kraft envelope with patterned paper.  I trimmed the paper to size and punched a hole out of the paper where the large circle is.   Then I shimmied the kraft circle through the hole in my patterned paper.  Finally, I adhered the patterned paper to the envelope.

I added patterned paper and a border sticker to the bottom of my journal card so that when the card sits in the bottom of the envelope, the top of the card is still showing.

And that's it!  The only other thing I had to do was drink wine with friends and take a few photos!

Cheers!

wait, i don't even know her!

It’s funny how you get caught up in the lives of the people whose blogs you read.

My friend Y and I both read a particular woman’s blog, and sometimes we discuss it.

“Did you see that starburst page?!”  “She’s traveling in Switzerland right now!”  “I love her restaurant photographs!”

Then she showed up in my dream.  I was visiting New York City where she lives, and she and I were hanging out.  She had all of these amazing clothes that she wanted me to go through and try on and model.  I mean, alright.

She always puts things on her blog about people visiting her in NYC.  She’ll say, “Who’s next?” or “You’re invited!”  If I ever visit NYC, I think I might email her to see if we could meet and she could take me to a cool restaurant (or maybe show me the whole city – ha!).  Or at least recommend some places.  The caveat is that when she says, “Come visit!” I think it’s probably more like when you see an old acquaintance in the grocery store and part company with a, “We should get together sometime!”  You’re not serious.  So would it be weird if I DID email her and say, “Hey girl, I’m touring your city next month and I’d love to meet you!  Oh, and we can hang out and become best friends!”  And even if it IS weird, I think that’s a risk I’m willing to take.  : )

I recently read via her blog that her and her boyfriend broke up.  I was instantly sad for her.  I thought I should send a sweet email or maybe send a little pick-me-up care package.

And then I remembered that I don’t even know her!

It’s interesting how personal blogs invite strangers into your heart and how you feel like you have friendships with people that you’ve never talked to, never emailed with, never met.  And it doesn’t feel like it’s one-sided because the writer offers a glimpse of her life and the reader, in turn, cares.

Sometimes I catch myself referring to bloggers by their first names, as in, "Liz made cupcakes..."  I usually correct myself and say, "Elizabeth Kartchner, whose blog I read..."  Because I feel silly talking about them with a first-name liberty, like we're friends.  But then again, isn't that the point?

a walk in the park

So, when we were at the Christmas Eve service in Milwaukee, we were visiting with a dear family friend.  She said to Dave and me, "You look great!  Marriage agrees with you!"

I agree! Vehemently!

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill.  Patterned paper, die cuts: My Mind's Eye.  Alphas: American Crafts.  Pen: Sharpie.  Pin: Maya Road.  Rhinestones: Kaiser Craft.

Ughh, this page looks so much better in person.  Go by the store and see it if you can.  I love the die cuts and the doilles and - everything, really.  This page came together in a snap in my mind as soon as I saw the die cuts.  Ooh, here's the sketch, plus lots of stitching because it had been too long.  : )

Here's to being with someone who makes it easy.  Cheers.

looks like someone's planning a room: pick a color, any [paint] color

I think I have it narrowed down to an off-the-wall (ha ha) gamble and a safe backup.

I'm ready to jump into this redesign head-first, but Dave is making me be rational.  Talk about role reversal.  The ONE time I want to be crazy!  Of course, when I say "crazy" I mean only after I've made the scale model.  ; )

christmas day high/low

Occasionally, rarely, Dave and I play the High/Low game where you name the high point of your day and the low point of your day.  For example (as if it’s not self-explanatory, I know), my high/low today would be: my high is shopping and dinner with Jessie, and my low was feeling like a fat cow.

Sidebar: This is a great game if you get stuck in the “How was your day?” “Fine.” rut.  Apparently, that’s how I always described my day to my parents when I was a teenager.

We had a really great Christmas with Dave’s side of the family (half of Dave’s side, shout-out), with the exception of me being a little under the weather. 

Photo taken Christmas morning, courtesy of Jeremy.

Photo taken Christmas night, courtesy of Jane.

So as Dave and I were tucking into bed that night, I asked:

A: Do you want to play High/Low?
D: Sure.
A: Okay.  You start.  (I already had mine in my head, and I thought ours would be identical.)
D: Fifteen.
A (thinking I heard him wrong): What?
D: Fifteen.
A: Uh, what do you mean, “fifteen?”
D: Fifteen.  Now tell me if I’m too high or too low!

: )

right now

Reading… The Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead.  Thanks to Holly for recommending this series.  I think I’m on a vampire craze.  I’m literally antsy to read Anne Rice and The Vampire Diaries and wish I could read faster.

Making… the 30 list, which is probably just a way to procrastinate on what’s left of the 29 list.

Listening… to The Bobby Bones Show via podcasts and iheartradio.com.  Fuh-nee.

Singing...to “We Are Young” by Fun.  I don’t so much sing as I belt it at 75% lung capacity in the car on the way home from work.

Planning… a weekend (maybe two) to H-town for the sole (soul?) purpose of visiting friends.

Starting… 30 Day Shred (again).  Not related to a New Year's resolution, just a product of procrastination.  Since August.

Wondering… why I didn’t start it 29 days ago so that I’d almost be done by now.

Debating… the validity of a housekeeper for our family.  The lavish expense vs. my sanity is a tight race.  We still haven’t taught our Labrador how to stop shedding.

Craving… one of those really great weekend nights when I stay up until 4 a.m. scrapbooking and dancing and watching The OC.  Also ribs (just in general).  Ooh, or Wing Stop.

Looking… at the dust on my keyboard with disdain.

Playing...Bananagrams with Dave (and winning!).

Courtesy of Dave.

Cheers.

the 29 list: #19 read a classic mystery writer

I’m in the middle of a new series of vampire books (Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead).  This is definitely a new guilty pleasure.  I read the first four books pretty quickly and was looking forward to the last two, which I had already obtained from the library.

Then the nightmares started.

I was standing on a half-submerged submarine in the middle of the ocean (???).  I was on some sort of lookout patrol, when all of the sudden, I saw a Strigoi (evil vampire built like The Rock) crawling up out of the ocean and onto the sub.  I yelled into my headpiece, and when I turned back around, there were Strigoi crawling up from all sides.  It was similar to the scene in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse when the vampire army is marching out of the river to hunt Bella, but in my dream, they were ominously crawling, and they were all huge.  [Shudder.]  I woke up as they were approaching and longing for my neck, no life preserver or US Coast Guard in sight.

So.

I decided to take a break and read a classic mystery author.  My mom gave me a few of her Agatha Christie books when we moved into the house, and honestly, that’s what I had in mind when I made the 29 list.  I picked “Ten Little Indians” because it’s short and I recognized the title.

Around 8 p.m., I went into our bedroom, turned on the lamp on my nightstand, turned off the overhead light, and settled in under the covers ready to start the book.  Around 10 p.m., four people were dead, and no one on the island, including me, had any idea who the killer was.  I was completely entranced.  I glanced around the room (stupid, stupid, stupid).  The bathroom doors caught my eye as they were cracked open (we always keep them closed).  Why were they open? They shouldn’t be open.  And not even open enough that I could clearly see that there was no one in there waiting to bash my head in with the mantelpiece clock??

I closed the book, set it on the nightstand, and stared at the bathroom doors willing them to close and stop scaring me.  I was in the midst of this when Dave walked in.

D: What’s wrong?
A: Nothing.
D: You look weird.
A: I’m fine.
D: You look like something is wrong.
A: This Agatha Christie book is totally freaking me out!!  Is there someone in the bathroom?!?!?

Y’all, the book is so good.  Suspenseful, a little gory, intelligent, mentally engaging.  It’s really not that scary.  Usually when I read or watch any kind of mystery, crime drama, etc., I don’t try to figure it out.  I just wait and let it unfold, wait for the surprise twist ending.  But with this book, I kept trying to figure it out, then the author would explain away exactly what I had been thinking.  It was like I was having a conversation with Agatha Christie while I was reading!  You have to read slowly and pay attention because there are lots of details and lots of characters.

Five stars.  Miss Marple is next.

looks like someone's planning a room

And watching Friday Night Lights.

Oh yeah.