Dinner and a dress

Yesterday, I told ya'll I was going to be making a quiona dish for dinner. It was pretty good, but I think I'll half the amount of garbanzo beans next time bc all I could taste was bland garbanzo beans. I also think adding curried chicken would make this dish perfect, although it defeats the whole purpose of being a meatless meal. But a little chicken never hurt anyone, right? This meal will make your kitchen smell heavenly, since it uses a bunch of different spices. If you can find the Spiced Quiona  recipe here.

                                                                       via Holy Cannoli Recipes

I just finished ordering this dress from The Limited- LOVE.IT.

                                                                         via The Limited
                                                               
They were having an up to 60%  off dresses sale on their website for today only and this one was 40%. Since it seems to stay hot here year around, this will be the perfect dress for fall and winter. I can still feel like I'm in season appropriate clothes without dying of heat. If we have a rare day where it's cooler or cold, I can put a black blazer or cardigan over it. I can't wait for it to get here!

That's all I have for now, hope ya'll are having a good week!

The Weekend

     After neglecting this blog for quite sometime (working two jobs, planning a wedding, getting married and moving-whew!) I've decided to start it up again. TDH is deployed AGAIN and I thought this would be a great way to reach out to others who are going through the same things I am. I'm planning on changing up the blog a bit a giving it  more of a "military wife/fiance/girlfriend survival guide" based on what I've experienced so far. Don't worry about feeling left out if you're not a part of the military world! There will be plenty of posts about clothes, makeup, food, etc. (you know, the important stuff j/k) to keep you interested.

Let's start off with this past weekend....Friday I had dinner with my in-laws and we visited some of their family, including the most adorable little toddler in the world. Seriously, she makes me want to get pregnant STAT even though I'm nowhere NEAR wanting to have bambinos yet. Saturday was spent with a fellow military wife and it included lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, mani/pedis and lots of shopping. I bought 2 pairs of ballet flats, a lipstick from MAC and a few other things. My proudest purchase of the day had to be the ankle boots I got at Express for $5. Yes, you read that right, $5! They were on sale for $9.99 plus an additional 40% and military discount (10%) bringing my total to $5. Just FYI- Express and The Limited give military discounts, all you have to do is show your military id! Even with the discount, my wallet was still lighter than I would have preferred. I keep telling myself that the things I bought were essentials, stuff I'd been needing for awhile. Which is true, but I still felt a little bad about it. I don't think I will though once cooler weather hits and I actually have shoes other than sandals to wear. Sunday was rainy, so I did some work for my job, baked brownies and then got Pizza Hut (I know, bad) and watched Gossip Girl on Style. I just got into GG this year, so I'm trying to catch up on all the old episodes.

Hope ya'll had great weekends!

P.S. I just realized after typing what I ate this weekend (Cheesecake Factory was the only meal for the day other than some yogurt and fruit) that ya'll may be thinking I'm now the size of a house. I was really bad about my food this weekend, but made a quiona vegetarian dish (I'm not a vegetarian btw) for dinner tonight and have a few more quiona dishes planned for the rest of the week. It's ok to be bad on the weekends, right?

And the Oscar goes to.......

As I've said before, I absolutely love watching the red carpet. My absolute favorite had to be Halle Berry's gown- so romantic!



I LOVED all of Anne Hathaway's dresses- especially this red number....

              

  

Other favorites were...... 

Valentine's Day, Grammys, Etc.

So I have been MIA for the past week because I went to Beijing with my family. Yes, as in China. Posts on that to come soon.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day! Even though TDH is away it still ended up being a good day. When I got home from work these gorgeous pink roses were there to greet me.

Not only did TDH send me flowers, but his Valentine's Day card arrived in the mail too- perfect timing! It was such a sweet card...I miss him so much.

My Dad also got me this beautiful rose for Valentine's Day.


In other news....I always love watching the red carpet for celebrity events- it's pretty much the only part I do watch. I love the beautiful gowns! Here are a few of my favorites from the Grammys:

From left: Selena Gomez, Lea Michele, Julianne Hough (photos via MTV)

The most bizarre thing of the night? Lady Gaga's egg entrance...Ummmm...yeah....

Image via MTV
Normally I'm a big fan of Lady Gaga and love her edginess and her ability to pull almost anything off. But this ranks up there with the meat outfit. It's just doesn't work and is flat out wierd.

That's all I have for now! Hope ya'll have a lovely Tuesday.

January Update for 101 in 1001

Hoping everyone is having a great week so far!

Here's what I completed for January- it wasn't a lot, but this was a busy month!
-part 1 of #79
-part 1 of #50

And here's my list again:
Spiritual
1. Buy a new Bible.
2. Pray more.
3. Personal.


 Kindness

4.Make an effort to stay in contact with G, A, and As    
   - Call at least once a month: G (   /23), A (  /23), As (  /23)

   - E-mail/Facebook/Text twice a month: G (  /46), A (  /46), As (  /46)

5. See Mrs. Brenda each time I come into town.

6. Send out Christmas cards to all my friends each year.

7. Send one handwritten letter a month for 6 months.

8. Write at least 5 praise/encouraging letters to people.

9. Host a bridal or baby shower.

   

Good Stewardship

10. Use my water bottle instead of plastic/Styrofoam   containers.

11. Become actively involved in a political issue and rally for it.

12. Volunteer time for an election.

13. Find an organization to volunteer with and volunteer at least once a month.

14. Vote in all elections which I am eligible for.

15. Write to Congressman about an issue that

      concerns me.

16. Write 2 letters commending excellent service.

17. Read all of Emily Post’s Etiquette.

18. Take piano lessons.

19. Take a cooking class.

20. Attend an opera.

21. Try out 6 new recipes in 6 months.

22. Learn how to shoot a gun and become licensed.

23. Learn a new language.

24. Plant a potted herb garden. 

25. Take a wine tasting class and find a wine I like.

26. Cross-stitch a handkerchief for TDH.

27. Take ballroom dancing lessons.

Financial    

28. Personal.

29. Go see a financial planner.

30. Don’t eat out for a month.

31. Clean out closet and take clothes to a consignment shop.

32. Follow plan for saving for wedding.

33. Put savings left over from wedding towards travel, savings or invest it.

34. Check World Points tally from credit card monthly.

     
Health and Recreation
35. Go kayaking.

36. Play tennis once a week for a month

37. Go camping.

38. Exercise 3 times a week for 3 months.

39. Buy weights to use at work.

40. Eat healthy for a month.

41. Make a list of  10 healthy snacks and make them  ahead of time so preparing them isn’t an excuse.

42. Drink 8 glasses of water a day for 2 months.
43. Don’t eat fast food for a month.

     
 Personal Challenges

44. Finish crocheting one of the millions of scarves I’ve started.

45. Write all of friends, contacts, etc. in address book.

46. Put pictures on CD’s and organize them.

47. Personal.

48. Comment on at least 2 blogs once a week.

49. Personal.

50. Personal.

51. Take calcium everyday for 3 months.

52. Bloom where I am planted.

Self- Improvement 

53. Take the GMAT.

54. Get my MBA.

55. Have tailor-made suit.  

56. Whiten teeth.

57. Get a facial.

58. Learn to drive a stick shift.

59. Read 3 business books.

60. Read 2 books on a historical event or person.

61. Read 2 books on a religion or country.

62. Improve communication skills.

Experiences

63. Go to a concert of a major performing artist.

64. See Maroon 5 in concert.

65. Personal.

65. Throw a dinner party.

66. Pick blueberries at a blueberry farm and make something with them.

67. Do a corn maze.

68. Go to a mullet toss.

69. Personal.

70. Go down to the bluffs.

71. Host an “al fresco” dinner.

72. Go to Mall Ball.

73. Go to Las Vegas.

74. Go to NYC to see the lighting of the Christmas tree.

75. Ring in the New Year with TDH at Disney World.

 Miscellaneous

76. Send TDH a care package once a month.

77. Put all of China pictures in albums.

78. Personal.

79. Personal.

80. Clean room/bathroom for 1 hour each weekend until I move.

81. Keep car clean– get washed and clean out every 2 weeks.

82. Hang my diploma.

83. Figure out how to get all of my itunes songs back so I can download more music to my ipod.
84. Identify 100 things that make me happy.
85. Learn to identify 10 constellations.
 86. Listen to a new artist every day for a month.
87.Take a vitamin everyday for a month.
88. Go tailgating at a Gators game.
89. Host a football party.

101 in 1001...Finally!

So as I mentioned before, I came up with a 101 in 1001 list that will be completed on September 27, 2013- 2.75 years from now. Basically, you choose 101 things that you want to accomplish and set out to do them in 1001 days (duh!).I like to think of this as a short term "bucket list" and a great way to actually do all of the things I'm always saying I want to do. Along with my list I'm going to write at the beginning of my journal a blurb about where I hope to be in 2.75 years. I think it'll be neat to read it at the end of this project to see how much progress (hopefully a lot!) I made. Here's my list (yes, I do realize there are only 89 tasks, I wanted them to be tasks that had meaning instead of something just to fill a place. As I come up with more items I'll add them in. Some of these tasks are ones I liked from other blogs and the day zero project website):

Spiritual
1. Buy a new Bible.
2. Pray more.
3. Personal.

 Kindness

4.Make an effort to stay in contact with G, A, and As    
   - Call at least once a month: G (   /23), A (  /23), As (  /23)

   - E-mail/Facebook/Text twice a month: G (  /46), A (  /46), As (  /46)

5. See Mrs. Brenda each time I come into town.

6. Send out Christmas cards to all my friends each year.

7. Send one handwritten letter a month for 6 months.

8. Write at least 5 praise/encouraging letters to people.

9. Host a bridal or baby shower.

   

Good Stewardship

10. Use my water bottle instead of plastic/Styrofoam   containers.

11. Become actively involved in a political issue and rally for it.

12. Volunteer time for an election.

13. Find an organization to volunteer with and volunteer at least once a month.

14. Vote in all elections which I am eligible for.

15. Write to Congressman about an issue that

      concerns me.

16. Write 2 letters commending excellent service.

17. Read all of Emily Post’s Etiquette.

18. Take piano lessons.

19. Take a cooking class.

20. Attend an opera.

21. Try out 6 new recipes in 6 months.

22. Learn how to shoot a gun and become licensed.

23. Learn a new language.

24. Plant a potted herb garden. 

25. Take a wine tasting class and find a wine I like.

26. Cross-stitch a handkerchief for TDH.

27. Take ballroom dancing lessons.

Financial    

28. Personal.

29. Go see a financial planner.

30. Don’t eat out for a month.

31. Clean out closet and take clothes to a consignment shop.

32. Follow plan for saving for wedding.

33. Put savings left over from wedding towards travel, savings or invest it.

34. Check World Points tally from credit card monthly.

     
Health and Recreation
35. Go kayaking.

36. Play tennis once a week for a month

37. Go camping.

38. Exercise 3 times a week for 3 months.

39. Buy weights to use at work.

40. Eat healthy for a month.

41. Make a list of  10 healthy snacks and make them  ahead of time so preparing them isn’t an excuse.

42. Drink 8 glasses of water a day for 2 months.
43. Don’t eat fast food for a month.

     
 Personal Challenges

44. Finish crocheting one of the millions of scarves I’ve started.

45. Write all of friends, contacts, etc. in address book.

46. Put pictures on CD’s and organize them.

47. Personal.

48. Comment on at least 2 blogs once a week.

49. Personal.

50. Personal.

51. Take calcium everyday for 3 months.

52. Bloom where I am planted.

Self- Improvement 

53. Take the GMAT.

54. Get my MBA.

55. Have tailor-made suit.  

56. Whiten teeth.

57. Get a facial.

58. Learn to drive a stick shift.

59. Read 3 business books.

60. Read 2 books on a historical event or person.

61. Read 2 books on a religion or country.

62. Improve communication skills.

Experiences

63. Go to a concert of a major performing artist.

64. See Maroon 5 in concert.

65. Personal.

65. Throw a dinner party.

66. Pick blueberries at a blueberry farm and make something with them.

67. Do a corn maze.

68. Go to a mullet toss.

69. Personal.

70. Personal

71. Host an “al fresco” dinner.

72. Go to Mall Ball.

73. Go to Las Vegas.

74. Go to NYC to see the lighting of the Christmas tree.

75. Ring in the New Year with TDH at Disney World.

 Miscellaneous

76. Send TDH a care package once a month.

77. Put all of China pictures in albums.

78. Personal.

79. Personal.

80. Clean room/bathroom for 1 hour each weekend until I move.

81. Keep car clean– get washed and clean out every 2 weeks.

82. Hang my diploma.

83. Figure out how to get all of my itunes songs back so I can download more music to my ipod.
84. Identify 100 things that make me happy.
85. Learn to identify 10 constellations.
 86. Listen to a new artist every day for a month.
87.Take a vitamin everyday for a month.
88. Go tailgating at a Gators game.
89. Host a football party.