Menu Monday (A Day Late)

Boy it's been a while, eh? I'm sorry about that. I've had a really busy last two weeks. Here's what's on our menu this week. I'll also link to the cool stuff we had last week. I also have photo blogs of a lot of dinners/food that I need to post. We had a lot of Mexican food this week because I had a lot of the stuff on hand. Somehow, though, we still spent $90 at the store (will last us two weeks)... need to get that under control

Sunday: Buffalo Chicken Pizza (no link, but I'll post about it soon!)

Monday: Chicken Quesadillas

Tuesday: Taco Salad

Wednesday: BBQ Pork (Beef) Tortillas

Thursday: Skillet Lasagna Bake

Friday: Chicken Tortilla Casserole

Saturday: Lime Chicken

Head on over to Organizing Junkie to check out more recipes!

As far as fitness this week, we've already been to the gym each day this week! We're also going for the next two days at least. Maybe on Friday as well. I feel really good this week about our fitness. Last week I was sick, and had MAJOR AF cramps (so bad I left work) so I didnt work out hardly at all.

Stay Tuned for some food blogs!

Out of Commission

I've been sick the last two days. I don't think my body can make up its mind on if it wants to get a full on cold, or just have the sniffles. It's kind of annoying really. I stayed home from work yesterday and sat on the couch, took a nap, and relaxed all day. Today I woke up feeling worse, but now that I'm up and moving around I'm feeling a bit better. Hopefully work goes by fast tonight.

G & I went grocery shopping yesterday. We have some great meals planned for next week. I'm excited to post for Menu Plan Monday. My husband is a creature of habit. He NEEDS his Wheat Thins & Cookies... even if they're not on sale. He NEEDS his apple sauce every morning, even if its not on sale. I was trying to stick to sale items & coupons to save some money but nooooo, he HAD to have his cinnamon covered almonds for a snack - that are $4.99/bag and that bag only lasts him five days, if that! Oh well, we saved in other places I guess.

I still am not done with my shelf for my cookbooks. I need to go get a sand block so I can sand the spray paint down and re-paint it with regular paint. My dad needs to come over and patch our three holes of drywall too so we can finally put our pot rack up and free up more cabinet space in the kitchen.

Oh, also, I finally got Cross Hairs on my chart. I'm now 6 days past ovulation. I really really really HOPE G's little guys met my little girl(s) a few days ago and there's some implantation happening in the next few days. We'd be due 10/30/10 if that were the case. Keep you fingers crossed! I won't be testing for another 5 or 6 days though.

I hope everyone has a great Friday!

Tragic

Through my line of work, I follow fashion as much as possible. This morning through a friend on twitter I found out that Alexander McQueen has passed away early this morning. This is a tragedy to the fashion world. McQueen's fashion and designs were always off the wall, out there, and tragically unique. The fashion world will not be the same without McQueen and it breaks my heart.

You can find the news story here.

White Cabinets with Glass Doors

I talked about wanting to refinish our kitchen cabinets white yesterday during my Home Tour. I looked for some inspiration photos and look at what I've found. It's just so classic and sleek!

I just wish we had as much counter & cabinet space as these lovely kitchens. I'd love to incorporate color on the inside of the cabinets, but I think we'll keep them white inside and out. Chrome knobs on the doors and white tile on the counters. Our kitchen will be gorgeous!

Future Recipes

So I spent hours looking at all the MPM Submissions on orgjunkie.com last night. I wanted to share some of the recipes on my "must try" list!

Raspberry-Balsamic Glazed Chicken
Benchiladas
Stuffed Pasta Shells
Broccoli Cheese Soup
Ranch Pork Chops
Honey Kissed Crispy Chicken Sandwhiches
Broiled Tilapia Parmesan
Bacon Wrapped Apple BBQ Chicken
Sweet & Spicy Chicken
Mustard Pomegranate Porkchops
Pesto Tomato Raviolli
Parmesan Fettucini
Hashbrown Casserole
Crockpot Honey Mustard Chicken
Loaded Baked Potatoes with Home Made Cheese Sauce
Salsa Verde Steak in the Crockpot
Mel's Diner Chili
Honey Cashew Pork Stir Fry
Bread Eggs (mmmm breakfast for dinner mmmm)
Cucumbers & Onions - this is one of my FAVORITE snacks.
Baked Mac n Cheeze with Potato Chip Topping
Honey BBQ Chicken Pizza

I'm going to have to figure out a smart way to grocery shop! Time to start clipping coupons and paying attention to sales again. I can't wait to try all of these!

Weekly Meal & Fitness Plans

MEALS:

Monday: Home Made Nachos

Tuesday: Teriyaki Chicken & Rice

Wednesday: Chicken Salad (greens, cucumber, carrots, broccoli, diced grilled chicken, almonds, wontons, & rasp vinegarette dressing)

Thursday: BBQ Pork & Slaw Sandwiches with BBQ Baked Beans

Friday: Chicken Salad (greens, cucumber, carrots, broccoli, diced grilled chicken, almonds, wontons, & rasp vinegarette dressing)

Saturday: Leftovers

FITNESS:

Monday: Gym - Cardio (20-25 mins), Legs, Sauna & Steam Room

Tuesday: Gym - Sauna & Steam Room

Wednesday: Gym - Cardio (20-25 mins), Sauna & Steam Room

Thursday: Gym - Cardio (20-25 mins), Arms, Sauna, & Steam Room

Friday: Gym - Sauna & Steam Room

Saturday: Gym - Cardio (30-35 mins), Abs, Sauna & Steam Room

Our ultimate goal is to go to the gym 5 days a week. We were lazy last night so I figured it would help us if we had a set plan each week. So maybe I'll do this every week. I plan meals & gym days based on my work schedule (I'm either off at 6pm or 9pm). Looks like I really need to make some new workout playlists.

Edited to add: I have spent a few hours tonight browsing all of the links for MPM on OrgJunkie.com and have trippled my recipe "to try" list!! I just need to really study the sales this week for grocery shopping and plan the next few weeks based on that. I'm excited to share!

G's Surprise

So, G's birthday was this last Friday. He is now 26. The only thing he's wanted for the last year a new TV. We haven't been able to afford it but for his birthday, I wanted to see if some friends & family would like to pitch in. To my surprise, a lot of people wanted to pitch in! I had G convinced that he wasn't getting a TV, "There's no WAY, NO TV!"

SO.... as soon as G left for work I got up and got to work on getting our old entertainment center out of the way. In the process I dropped our HUGE 27" TV on the floor and dented our hardwood... oops. More importantly though, I was gifted with a HUGE bruise on my thigh and an almost-broken foot. It was either a broken foot or a broken floor. I chose to save my foot.

I set up the TV by myself as well as the media center. My dad built the media center for $30 from one sheet of MDF - you can find the plans for that here - for Greg. The TV was so shiny and new! And... AWESOME!

Greg walked in from work and exclaimed "Are you ****ing kidding me?!" I jumped for joy at his excitement and then we celebrated his birthday with some friends. My favorite part of the day (and of every day) was that night when we were laying in bed cuddled up together and he thanked me for making this the best birthday he's ever had. I would do anything to make him smile, and for the entire night, that beautiful charming smile didn't leave his face!

Mission Accomplished!

Our Home Tour: Kitchen

The story behind our townhome... it's owned by my MIL. G & MIL lived here for 10 years before he proposed. We moved home from college about a year prior to his proposal and we both lived with our parents while trying to save money to find a place. The month after G proposed, I moved in with him and MIL. MIL moved out two months later into another rental while having a house built (it should be done in March!!) and we took over the mortgage payments. Technically, she still owns our home, but we're in a sort of rent-to-own situation. All home improvements & all rent paid will be given back to us once the townhome is sold (not for another few years when we're ready to buy a house). I want to take you on a tour of our home room-by-room!

Okay, I don't have any "before" photos of our home because we just started piecing things together and doing small things here and there. This is our kitchen. I'll also talk about what we plan on changing (a lot!!) in the near future.

Here is the view from our Entry Way. Please excuse the mess, I was midst cleaning when I got the idea to write about this post. Also, can you see my half-painted ceiling?! I made the mistake of bringing the wall color onto the ceiling and realized it was too dark. My dad is going to repaint it white (along with the dining room & living room ceilings). My FIL is an electrician, he's getting us a new lighting fixture for the ceiling. This is also why all of the electrical plates are off (we're in the middle of changing them to white & a more updated style - this was another project this weekend).

Closer view of the sink & window (its snowing out today! slow & steady wins the race!). Imagine this: stainless steel sink, white countertop & backsplash tile, and white cabinets. See that white frame inside the window sill? That used to be stained to match the cabinets. It was my project on Saturday to paint it white. I can't decide if its too white. My MIL's ex-husband built it for her to house her plants in the window and I LOVE it. I'll take a photo when all the plants are up there soon.

Again, imagine white tile & white cabinets. See those wine glasses? Those were some of our favorite wedding gifts! All those plants go on the window plant holder above. The white shelf on the counter was my project from yesterday... it needs to be sanded... and repainted to match the white of the window will. I wasted an entire can of spray paint on that beauty only to find out it was a very yellow-white. That thing will house my cookbooks on this wall (to the left).

White cabinets & white tile... again. I also imagine a time when all of our small appliances can be stored off the counter.

We're thinking about cutting the middles out of the cabinet doors and putting glass in them. I need to find some inspiration photos for this because I've seen it a few times and I LOVED it. Plus, it will force me to really, truly organize our cabinets since everything in them will be visible!

I have been on a ReDeco kick lately!

The past two weeks have been full of painting, Re Decorating, building, buying, and visions of what I want out of our home & living spaces.

I've spent quite a bit of time surfing some ReDeco & DIY blogs, and before I share some of my own progresses I wanted to share the places that have inspired me. There are some seriously awesome resources in these blogs, so please check them out!

Frugal Home Ideas - Hoping to use her DIY Art Deco Wall Art somewhere in our home. It's brilliant. I was thinking in the dining room once MILs hutch is gone in a few months.

Organize & Decorate Everything - I am trying to convince G to let me transform our coat closet into a DVD/Media Closet. This will lighten our furniture load in our living room so much! G is a total dude and likes the display of all his precious movies. But I want it hidden!

Knock Off Wood - I would love to make this Armoires... though, I might just choose to add doors to a tall bookcase that we already own. Half doors or full doors? I mean, $60 to build that beautiful Armoires? Yes Please! I'd also like to try out her Pottery Bark Knock Off Bookcases.

Shanty2Chic - These ladies are amazing! They used plans that they found on Knock Off Wood of a PB Knock Off Media/Storage System. I also saw it on the KOW blog, and when I decided to get G a new 42" tv for his birthday (I got some friends & family to pitch in what they could and it was a mass-gift. G was very happy!) I took the plans to my dad so he could build just the section that holds the TV. I'll update about this soon!

Today's Creative Blog - I like this blog because they introduce me to new blogs! That's always nice. And.... addicting!

Made By Stephie - Aren't these DIY Hurricanes cute?! I wish I would have known about this when I was planning for my candy bar for our wedding!! SO much cheaper than apothecaries.

One Project At A Time - this Sunburst Art is the very first thing that got me hooked on ReDeco/DIY blogs... I MUST remake this myself! It's genius!

I tell you what, I am SO starting a Garage Sale / Thrifting change fund! We can totally have a catalog-looking home for what seems like pennies! I hope to find more inspiration and more ideas to add to our home. My challenge is breaking G&I's habits of piles of junk, being pack-rats, and being so unorganized.

Enjoy!

For my crafting peeps

Enjoy 20% of your total purchase at Joann Fabrics here - valid until 2/26

Also, enjoy 40% off a single item from Joann Frabrics here - valid until 2/20

I'm working on a cute project right now and have a few more home improvement updates, so I'll get back to you on it all tonight!

Meet Gunnison

So, here's the third most important man of my life. (#1 is G, #2 is Dad, #3 is Gunni) He is a pain in my behind. We were given him as a wedding gift from my Aunt Crystal. He started out so small and fluffy... and now almost two years later he's still fluffy (when he takes a shower with us) but isn't so small anymore.

First day home!

"I'm twired, momma"

"Can I give you kisses?!"

MY BONE!

"Uhhh..... no I did NOT chew up your pillow!"

Blog Giveaway

There's a gorgeous giveaway happening over at Beneath My Heart! Just Simply Southern is offering her readers a custom made frame! These aren't just any old photo frames....they're totally chic!... go check them out for yourself!!

Blog Awards!

I got some blog awards from Mary a while back and she reminded me today that I'm a slacker! :P So here we go...

The rules:

List 10 things that make you happy.

Pass it on to 10 bloggers that make your day a better one!

1. Greg
2. Making people beautiful / being a makeup artist
3. Blogging
4. Sunshine that pokes through the clouds on a spring day
5. Reading
6. Music
7. Home Improvements / ReDecorating
8. Taking Photos
9. Gunnison
10. Cooking

The rules:

Thank the person who gave you the award.
Link the person who gave it to you.
Keep it going and give the award to whomever you would like..

I don't have many people to tag since I don't have many followers but here goes!

1. Don't Try To Understand Me

2. Breathe Without Fear

3. aurajoon

4. Mommy? I'm hungry!

Shhhh!!!

I've got something up my sleeve....!!! G's birthday is Friday and I've teamed up with our parents for the BEST present!!! All will be revealed this weekend, but here's a sneak peak of what I'm building (or rather, my dad is building) for his surprise....!!!!! I am like a giddy school girl, I'm so excited for the surprise!