pink nostalgia

elite

Last weekend, Mom and George were in town, which always means that I get to pick the restaurant.  ; )  The occasion this time was that no one was cooking!

We went to Elite Circle Grille.  This is one of the two places that I'll order onion rings as an appetizer.  This is why.

And the best chicken sandwich maybe ever.  My mom almost grounded me for eating my green beans with my fingers until she realized she was eating her Dr. Pepper ribs with her fingers.  Touche.

A word to the wise: I've had brunch here once.  It was inedible.   Like, really inedible.  So don't go to Elite for brunch.  But definitely go for lunch or dinner.  : )

Happy Monday. 

 

throwback thursday: family portrait

Awwww.

Mom and me, c. 1984.

this is my kitchen: part 2

Part 2: The typical college kitchen

So, I lived in this apartment my junior and senior years of college.

Thanks to Cassandra for the photo!

This kitchen had little to work with.  My mom made the curtain and matching chair covers for the breakfast table.  Obviously, it was small and dark and not fun to cook in.

Which didn't matter so much because at that point, I wasn't a good cook.  It would take me forever to make dinner because I was a slow chopper.  So there were lots of Spaghetti-O's (yum), lots of pizza rolls, and lots of take-out.  I mean, Cassandra used to have hot dogs for breakfast...that about sums it up.

One of my most vivid memories of this kitchen was when I asked one of our roommates to unload the dishwasher.  She hadn't cleaned anything in weeks, and it was way past her turn.  She took the silverware basket out of the dishwasher, opened the silverware drawer, tumped the silverware basked over, slammed the drawer shut, and huffed off.  Hmm.  She was unpleasant, and she didn't live with us the next year.

If I were back in this kitchen...I would cry.  And then I would paint the cabinets aqua or purple, paint the walls white, listen to N'Sync, and whip up some beans 'n franks.

 

See the other kitchens here.

i have everything i need for today

Sometimes I have moments where it feels like the weight of the world is crushing me, where nothing is certain or rational, when I can't get my footing long enough to see which way is up.

As I'm drying my eyes, I take a breath and try try to remember God's promises.

I have everything I need for today.

Taken with an iPhone, unedited.

This is my lot.  This is what I've been given.  I'm not given more than I can handle.  So I can handle it.  When I can no longer handle it, help will come.

Until then, I got this.

around the apartment: the living room

When Beth came to visit she said, "Okay, I tried really hard not to picture what I thought your apartment would look like, but if I had, this is exactly what I would have pictured.  It looks like 'Angela'."

The vaulted ceiling makes it.  I didn't get to see a top-floor unit before I moved in, but it was definitely definitely worth the price of the stairs.

Do you want to talk about the white couch?  I've wanted a white couch for years.  And since I have no one to tell me no, I did it.  And then I justified it to my mom because I innately know that's it's SO impractical!  I needed to justify to someone that it was a calculated risk!

AND, listen to this - I didn't even freak out when one of my friends got chocolate on it.  I didn't even fuss at her.  I just removed the cushion cover and washed it.  (And honestly, I should have known better than to give her a melty delicious chocolate chip cookie on a white couch!)

But I still swoon over the couch and would purchase it again.  It's just right for this season.

My mom and I made the chevron Euro pillow and I made the other two.  : )

This desk is right next to the front door, and it's a perfect place to drop my keys, shades, and mail.

I love these curtains from Anthropologie, but let's be real.  I'm not paying $450 for curtains.  Not when I can get muslin for 50% off at Joann's Fabric and have my mom make these, all for about $60 + minimal sweet-talking. 

Sigh.  I love them.  They stayed open nearly all summer.  : )

So that's the apartment.  It feels like mine with no compromises.  It's clean and girly and frilly and bright.  And I love it.

You can see the rest of the apartment here.

throwback thursday: a little texas aggie

So remember how I told you (here) that there was immense pressure on my cousin Erin to be an Aggie since her mother and my mother were are Aggies?  Well, I found proof.

My cousin Erin:

BB & Royce's kitchen before it was remodeled.  1992.

She currently goes to Texas Women's University.

meet lucy

She's a doe.  A deer.  A female deer.

She loves bread and tortillas and is very gentle when she eats from your hand.

Her and her baby often take their afternoon rests in the backyard.  If I go out there and sit on the patio, she'll saunter up and sniff me. 

And once, she ran up to me from two houses away when she heard me open the back door.  : )

I think she's pretty scrappy because she survived the ear incident (although she never speaks of it), and she's been seen running another doe out of the yard.

And honestly, I think she totally plays the woe-is-me card because I've seen her down the street getting watermelon from a neighbor.

I tried to be mad at her, but I'm sucker for those big brown eyes...

Lucy, sit!

You didn't think she could really sit on command, did you?  ; )

around the apartment: the kitchen

The kitchen was just a kitchen until I added my aprons.  : )  I cannot even tell you how excited I got  when I realized that these hooks would fit perfectly on this wall.  I gasped and started hitting my palm on the table.

I love the top of the fridge.  So cheerful.  : )

My cookbooks are stacked on the bar, and I couldn't resist displaying a scrap page there. 

When I was apartment shopping, I was pretty bummed at how little counter space there was.  But then I thought about the bar being an extension of the countertop (and even mimed putting food up there).  I serve up chips and guac there, I unload groceries there, and I set out ingredients there. 

It has wood floors, is open to the living room and overlooks the scrap nook. 

I think my favorite meal cooked in this kitchen so far might be those taco salads...oooh, or chicken enchiladas... 

Yes.  Yes, definitely the chicken enchiladas.  : )

throwback thursday: the cleft of the mountain

This might be a little deep, but I feel compelled to to say it out loud.

One night my sophomore year in college, I was walking home to my apartment just off campus, and I got spooked.  It was probably 9:00 at night, and it wasn't uncommon to walk around campus after dark.  In fact, I did it a lot and generally felt very safe.  There was no particular reason that I should have been on edge that night.  But I was.  It was all I could do to force myself to keep walking forward - don't turn around and look for someone in the shadows, and don't start running.

To calm myself down, I started singing this song that I had just learned:

I will run to the cleft of the mountain and wait for you.
Will you come and meet with me?
I will wait at the cleft of the mountain for you to pass by.
Will you come and meet with me?

And oh, what a joy it would be,
 just for a moment to lay at the feet of the Lord!
More than anything, that's what I long for.
And oh, what a change it would bring,
 just to look deep in the face of the King who gave all!
You gave everything so you could meet with me.
Will you meet with me?

I have found myself singing this song numerous times over the years when I feel like I'm about to fall over the cleft of the mountain.  Sometimes as I'm checking the dark empty house for burglars and sometimes as I'm crying myself to sleep.

During these times when this song pops into my mind, the lyrics are absolutely true for me.  I don't need to curl up in His lap, I just need to lay at His feet.  If only the Lord would pass by, I would be comforted.  I just need one moment of unconditional love and safety.

gold

Hello,

I'd like to introduce you to my second-favorite mini album. 

Sigh.

The story: My grandparents threw a huge 50th anniversary party.  All of their kids and grandkids stayed at their house for the weekend.  The night before the party, we all ate dinner together in the dining room.

After dinner, my mom and aunts gave a speech celebrating Meme and Papa.  They shared memories and told their parents why they love them.  It was really nice.  Then I gave them their mini album and showed them the pages I made for the party (here, here, and here).

The scrappy: I started this album with a set of journaling cards by October Afternoon that I love love love and couldn't get enough of.  Most are about the size of a credit card.  I left lots of open space for journaling.

I didn't want the album to be too bright, so I misted each page with Mister Huey's Clay mist.  It makes the whole thing look sort of weathered and worn.

Since it documents my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary eve, I titled it "gold" after their golden anniversary.  I was so excited that those chipboard letters matched (and fit!).  I used them originally on this page. 

[Click on any photo to enlarge, or click on the link in the left column to view the entire album.] 

I mean, the ribbons and trim, the buttons, the doilles, the patterned paper, AND family??  It doesn't get much better.

Hey Papa!  NNSTADLTBBB.  : )

meet clyde

So J and I were sitting in his backyard enjoying some sunshine, and then:

J (in a loud whisper): Quick!  Look to your right!

I looked to my right so that I was looking at him.  Uhhh...

J (trying not to laugh): No!  You're other right!

I looked to my left and saw... 

Fortunately, my phone was on the table, and this guy posed just long enough for me to get a good shot.

me: That's a fox! 

J: What do you want to name him?

me: Clyde.

I've only seen him one other time.  He was standing across the street, gave me a little head nod, and disappeared.

around the apartment: the bathroom

I know, I know.  It's just a bathroom, right?  But this one's pretty great. 

It has two doors - one to the bedroom and one to the hall.

I spent an inordinate amount of time shopping for shower curtains.  Nothing was quite right.  And then it occurred to me that if I just used a clear liner, I wouldn't have to coordinate with the beige accent tile plus the shower would be one less place for a robber to hide.  I really loved how it turned out, plus it makes the room look bigger.  Definitely a bonus round.

The biggest challenge is that the bathroom doesn't have any drawers.  Most of my everyday stuff is in the medicine cabinet.  My makeup is in a bag under the sink.  And then I have a few small things in cute containers on the counter. 

So yeah.  That's the bathroom.  ; )

currently

scrapping...the DR mini album.  Finally.

liking...my longish hair.  A few days ago, I was ready to cut 3" off of it, but today it feels older and sophisticated.

reconnecting...with classic friends, the ones who don't judge me and just want to make sure I'm okay.

watching...The Office.  I dropped off during Season 6.  It's not as funny now that Michael is gone, but I'm still laughing out loud.

wearing...Covergirl Clean foundation.

inhaling...white cheddar popcorn.  Yummers. 

considering...setting up a white cheddar popcorn blind taste test, probably with Jessie because I have a feeling that antics would be involved in that one.

craving...Wing Stop, but...

knowing...that I'd regret it.

studying...Celine Navarro's mini albums (gallery here).  After flipping through these, I instantly had ideas for three different books, started one the same day and finished it in three.

reading...Gone With the Wind.  I'm on Part Three which sounds like a lot, but it's only 20% of the way through.  Did I mention that it's 1,000+ pages?

bookmarking...Ali Edwards's blog.  Anyone who has anything to do with scrapbooking knows who Ali Edwards is.  I've read her blog in the past, but it didn't stick.  But now, I'm picking up lots of tips on having a polished blog, I'm getting lots of ideas for blog content, and I'm excited about new scrapping techniques.  Plus she's divorced, so it's interesting to me to see how she handles that aspect of her life on the blog.

emailing...with Cassandra re: Grey's Anatomy Season 9.  Lots of long, involved emails dissecting specific scenes, lines, and facial expressions.  Just how I like it.  Plus, it finally feels like they've gotten back to the Grey's we know and love, so that's a bonus round.

listening...to Rascal Flatts "I Won't Let Go" and Miranda Lambert "Gunpowder & Lead."  Both are totally relevant and on repeat.

overflowing...with blog ideas.  Let's see if I can execute everything before I run out of steam.

wanting...to tell lots of nears and dears that I love them.  All the time.

throwback thursday: hook 'em horns!

BAH ha haaa ha haaa haa haaaa!

There are two possible reactions my mother will have when she reads the title of this post.
    1. She'll be so disgusted, she won't even click on it!
    2. She'll say outloud (even though we're not currently even in the same state), "Angela Nicole!"

Hee heeee.  Ahhhhh. 

This is a spread from my totally random times mini album.  You can click on the photo for a closer look.

The left side is sweet.  The right side is sinister (insert evil laugh here).

My mother is a serious Aggie.  So is her middle sister, Deborah.  Her youngest sister Jennifer is a Longhorn.  So is Jennifer's husband.  So is the sisters' dad.  So, two Aggies and three Longhorns and everyone has their sides.  : )

My sweet cousin Erin is the eight-year-old in the middle of the photo.  (Aren't those pink cheeks adorable?)  That's Mom on the left and me on the right.  Erin's mother is Deborah, an Aggie.  So Erin was raised to know that being an Aggie is good and being a Longhorn is bad.

So now here I am drinking out of the Longhorn cup that my mother won't even touch AND flashing the horns sign AND trying to corrupt my sweet innocent cousin!!  I'm supposed to be an Aggie ally!!  And she is simply trying to prevent Erin from going down the path of darkness.

At least, that's how my mother would describe it.

I think I've reverted to calling her "mother" knowing that she's calling me "Angela Nicole."  Hmph.

The funniest part to me is that my mom still has that shirt.  Yes.  Fourteen years later.

Hook 'em, Horns!  Sic 'em, Bears!

around the apartment: the bedroom

Ahhh.  So many things about this room make me happy.  Oooh, a list?

1. The vaulted ceiling.  Definitely one of my favorite things about this whole place.  Oh, and the sunlight.  It's bright and cheerful all day.

2. The Swiss dot curtain that absolutely doesn't fit on the window but made my side split with laughter when I tried it.  Needless to say, it stayed.

 

3. New bedding.  A fluffy feather bed that I've wanted since my freshman year in college.  Dark gray sheets.  Ruffles and flowers and rouching, plus a bedskirt that I made myself.

4. The pearls on the closet door knob.  They're tied on there with a wide pink and cream striped ribbon.  That should count as two items on the list!

5. The very pretty butterfly poster that I dreamed about for a month.  Sigh.

6. The dresser.  The gorgeous gray and cream chevron-top dresser.  It was meant to be.  I saw it in the store, snapped a pic, and gazed at it for a week.  I went back six days later with a truck bed and a set of muscles and snatched it up.  : )

7. Meet Coco my dressform.  And not once have I jumped thinking a headless burglar was lurking in the corner.  : )

8. The iHome alarm clock that some friends gave me.  It's so cool to wake up to my playlist AND have a fully charged phone.

9. My favorite scrap page and mini album on my makeshift nightstand, and "keep calm and carry on" on the dresser.

10. Books and books and books.  Of course, this is only a fraction of them (more on the dresser and even more elsewhere), but I never knew how much I like seeing them out on display instead of in a closet.

That's all.  Well, that's my top ten...

the 31 list: #11 try 12 new recipes

I've noticed that I tackle the food and reading goals first on any list I make.  Yep, that's about what anyone would expect, right? 

I thought trying 12 new recipes would be a lot harder, but since my recipe box is currently being held for ransom, it wasn't hard at all.

1. Lemon Basil Bowties.  Ehh.  Jessie and Y liked it more than I did, but I still had seconds.  : /  I don't think this one is a keeper.

2. Strawberry, Cucumber, and Basil Salad.  Yummers.  A great alternative to tomato and cucumber for your loved ones who don't like tomatoes. 

3. Summery Confetti Salad from Self Magazine (August 2013).  A good and easy way to eat vegetables.  I would steam and blanch the lima beans next time.

4. Hello Dolly Bars.  OH.  YEAH...TWICE.

5. Asian Beef with Snow Peas, also twice.  It's also good with broccoli, and definitely double the sauce.

6. & 7. I was looking for an amazing cheesecake that did not require a spring-form pan.  I made this one a few times, and it was good but not "the one."  So then I made a different one.  I followed the recipe exactly.  And it burnt.  As in, the entire thing was black.  As in, can't even scrape off the top layer and salvage the filling.  (Whatever, the filling was too custardy anyway.)

8. Which led me to try our new standard no-bake cheesecake, herein referred to as "the best cheesecake ever."

9. Chicken and Goat Cheese Quesadillas with lots of modifications.  I've had these dog-earred for years, so I'm glad I tried them, and they were good, but I don't think I'll make them again.

10. Honey Garlic Balsamic Chicken.  That's the "before" and "after" photo.  So yeah, it's a keeper.  Just make sure the chicken is completely thawed first.  ; )

11. PW's Delicious Creamy Mashed Potatoes.  I know, I know.  They're just mashed potatoes - basic, right?  But y'all.  These were the best mashed potatoes I've ever had, and I never pass up mashed potatoes.

12. Maple Granola.  Umm, not sweet enough for me.  And the dried pineapple was kind of...different.  : /

#11, done.  You can see the whole list here.

jimmy changa's take 2

Another amazing meal over the weekend at Jimmy Changa's.

And it looks like George learned his lesson from last time.