Just another day...

How was ya'lls weekend?? A bunch of my friends and I went out last night to celebrate our friend Tracy's birthday. We had dinner then found ourselves downtown at a bar I didn't even know existed!! Oh the things you learn on a Saturday night...
Anyway, at some point during the night, my friend Tessa and I found ourselves "holding down the fort" while everyone else went outside to smoke. (By this time, the group had dwindled down to about 5 of us so when I say everyone else went smoke I'm really just talking about 3 people.) Anyway, Tessa and I were sitting there, and two guys came over and introduced themselves to us. This was literally the conversation that followed, word for word.
Boys: "So what are ya'll up to tonight?"
Me: "Not much, we're celebrating a friend's birthday and hanging out. What about ya'll?"
Boy: "Oh well that's cool."
....And silence followed.
Now I know Tessa and I are special. Case in point...









(Tracy gave us all party favors at dinner...I'm sure she was regretting it after Tessa and I brought them to the bar, ha!)
But if you're a guy, and you walked up to two girls playing with children's party horns in the bar, wouldn't you have something to say?!?! I kept looking at them expecting them to say something and they just looked back at us like we were supposed to say something. Hello?!?! You walked up to us!! TALK!!
Why on earth would any group of guys walk up to some girls and then not have anything to say?! They seemed nice, they just didn't talk. And they didn't even answer my question!!!
Two minutes later they got up and left. Without saying a word. I didn't know whether to be amused or insulted.
Now guys listen: if you're gonna go up and talk to a girl, at least have something to say! We're not scary, I promise. (Unless you catch us on a bad night and then it's a whole different situation.) But don't sit there and say nothing!! If you just want to sit down for a minute, then just say "I saw your friends just leave, mind if we just sit here until they get back?" There's nothing wrong with that, especially in a crowded bar.
Tessa and I looked at each other after they left and said "the point of that was...????"
Sigh. I guess that's one way to separate the boys from the men.

Recipes

I wanted to post some of my favorite recipes on here to share. If you're like me, you're always looking for something new to add to your rotation and these are some of my tried and true favorites.
My go to recipe is the Chicken Teriyaki recipe I discovered last summer. Served over brown rice, it's fabulous! I can't leave out my favorite winter meal, sausage and tortellini soup, which I eat at least once a month, if not more, when it's cold outside. And I'm posting one of my favorite desserts because everyone always needs a new dessert to try! I have lots of recipes, so if ya'll want more ideas, just let me know!

Chicken Teriyaki (Courtesy of Elliot on AllRecipes)
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into bite size pieces
2 cups dry white wine, divided
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
Directions
To Marinate: Place chicken in a nonporous glass dish or bowl. Pour 1 1/2 cups of wine over chicken, then sprinkle with garlic powder and onion powder. Cover and refrigerate to marinate for at least 1 hour.
Heat vegetable oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Saute onion and bell pepper for 5 to 7 minutes, or until soft. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Remove chicken from marinade, discarding any remaining marinade. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat and brown chicken, adding teriyaki sauce to 'sear'. Braise with remaining white wine and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink inside.
Add onion/bell pepper mixture to chicken and heat through, stirring. Serve hot.

Sausage and Tortellini Soup (Courtsey of
OurBestBites)
3 links Italian turkey sausage (you can use reg. Italian sausage too)
4 cloves pressed garlic
1 onion, diced
½ c. water
2 cans chicken broth
½ c. apple cider (don't leave this out!)
1 16-oz. can diced tomatoes
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 c. sliced carrots
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 medium zucchini, grated
8-10 oz. package cheese tortellini
2 Tbsp. dried parsley
Remove casings from sausage and crumble into a large soup pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently. Drain sausage halfway through cooking if it's fatty. Meanwhile, chop onions and garlic. Add to pot and cook until onions are translucent. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, apple juice, chicken broth, oregano, and basil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add zucchini and parsley, simmer for additional 15 minutes. Add tortellini and cook until soft. Serve with Parmesan.

The Pioneer Woman's Apple Dumplings (Courtesy of the Pioneer Woman)
2 Granny Smith Apples
2 cans crescent rolls
2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
cinnamon
1 small can Mountain Dew (or Sprite)
Peel and core apples. Cut apples into 8 slices each. Roll each slice in a crescent roll. Place in a 9x13 buttered pan. Melt butter, then add sugar and slightly stir. Add vanilla, stire and pour over apples. Pour soda around edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 350 degress for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream, and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top.


Enjoy!!

A very low key weekend

How was ya'lls weekend? This is the first "grown up" Dallas weekend I've had in a very long time! (It always takes me a couple days after traveling to get back into the swing of things so a low key weekend was welcome.)
Friday night I went to happy hour/dinner with two of my girlfriends, Leah and Amanda. We had fun and after a couple drinks and yummy meals (the fish tacos were amazing!!), we called it an early night...or so I thought. My friend Ashley was having dinner with some friends in Uptown so I ended up meeting them and well, there went my 11pm bed time, oops! (This is not the "grown up" part of the weekend by the way...) I was trying to get to bed at a decent hour since I had an "early" morning Saturday.
Lesli had bridal portraits Saturday afternoon and she asked me to help Momma Istre since there were a couple props she wanted to use and it was a complete task just to keep the dress clean! (I call Lesli's mom "Momma Istre" because calling her Mrs. Istre just sounds way too formal.) Of course I went because I love doing stuff like that and I was flattered just to be asked! To say it was amusing and entertaining is an understatement...I think Lesli and I are kinda funny to begin with but when you add stress to it, it's just downright hilarious. (I'm sorry, Les, but it was funny. Next time I'm bringing a tape recorder!)
By the time pics were over, we were all starving so we headed to Corner Bakery at the mall. We had a slight little incident in the parking lot and well...let's just say if you wanna get a Prius, talk to me, Les or Momma Istre first, ha! By 10:00 that night, my bed looked much more appealing than the outfit I had to picked to go out in so I turned on the Nanny and called it a night. Les' pictures are going to be absolutely gorgeous, I can't wait to see them!
Today has been low key, I've decided that no matter what, Sunday is always going to be a naturally lazy day. Toby and I have spent much of it on the couch and I've been researching jobs and so forth all day.
Please pray that I get an interview somewhere this week. I told God today I was only kidding when I said I would be picky about choosing a job. At this point, I'll take anything I can get as long as it'll pay my bills!
I hope ya'll have a fabulous week!

Fashion Week, Family and NYC

This has been a fabulous week, minus a few traveling mishaps. A couple weeks ago, my friend Andrea invited me to go to Vegas for a spontaneous weekend adventure. Well since I don't have a job at the moment, I had to decline and was really disappointed. I mentioned the trip to my mom and told her that getting out of town for Valentine's Day weekend would have been amazing. So she called me the next morning and said "I can't rationalize Vegas for you, but what if we flew you to New York? We can get a great rate and since Dad and I are going to see your sisters anyway, we can have a mini- family reunion...how does that sound?" Ummmmm OKAY!!!!
After a minor mishap at the airport which made me miss my flight, I finally landed at Laguardia. Thank goodness for flights every hour to New York! We have family that lives in Connecticut so we stayed there Saturday night and I think it was just what we all needed! Way too much yummy food, loud and adorable little cousins and the great kind of random sillyness where you laugh so hard that your abs hurt the next day. (I'll post pictures when I get them from my Dad.) This one picture is the car ride to the Mignano's house in Ct:



















My little cousin/niece Gabby came with my sister and Dad to pick me up and took great pleasure in scaring the living daylights outta me in the car. Thank you Lord for letting me not yell any obsenities!!
Here are some other pics from Saturday night:












Lauren and Luke were playing on the floor and after I asked Gabby to jump on them, I decided I wanted in on the fun too! What can I say?? I take my role as the oldest cousin very seriously, ha! :o)













This is what we would call a Family Pile Up. Katie and Aidan couldn't help themselves! :o)





Testing the wine...someone had to make sure it was okay for everyone to drink, right??
After our fun filled family night on Saturday, Gabby-Girl was super sweet and left homemade Valentine's Day cards by our beds on Sunday morning. Lauren, Katie and I were all feeling very loved and flattered until we figured out she told each of us that we were her favorite cousin!! We're gonna have to work on that. :o)
Sunday afternoon we left Connecticut and planned to eat at an Italian restaurant in the city. Wellll...let's just say that didn't work out because it was $85 per person for the special Valentine's Day menu!!! In the words of my little cousin/nephew Luke, "I do not think so!" I am very happy to say this was hardly tragic b/c that lead us to CITY CRAB!!!!! This restaurant is amazing. Phenomenal. One of my absolute favorites and the type of place where I don't talk at dinner b/c I'm too busy getting every little morsel of crab meat out of my king crab legs that I can. Seriously.
Anyway, since this post is getting long, let me sum up the rest of my trip.











New York Fashion Week. I am sure my family thought I was kidding when I said I would camp out in front of Bryant Park the entire time I was in New York. (Don't worry...they didn't let me. They know me well enough to know I would stay outside those tents as long as possible!) I was very sad I didn't see anyone famous but just being there was almost enough for me. I plan to go back for the Spring Shows. :o)
I have to say (and don't get any ideas!!) but the more I go to New York, the more I like it. And the more I can see myself living there. At least, that's what I was thinking until we saw a huge rat walking around at the subway station like he owned the place...NIX that idea!!
Coming back on Wednesday was an adventure (can you tell that airports/planes and I didn't get along on this trip??) Our plane was diverted to Little Rock, Arkansas b/c of an engine problem. I'll have to fill ya'll in on that little mishap later. This post is long enough and there is just too much to tell about my flight home!

More Snow Pics

So this is what Dallas looks like after a Texas Blizzard. We set a record of 12.5 inches of snow...yes, that's right, a record! (I hear you northerners laughing.) We do get snow but 99% of the time it doesn't even stick. So this kind of snow is a little bit amazing and shocking for Dallas! Look...even the trees couldn't handle it!
















The tree on the right is another sad tree. I did not appreciate getting smacked in the face with its branches this morning! I was too mesmerized by all the snow slush to be looking straight and didn't realize this one had been beaten up too...look at all the snow slush!! I miss snow slush. But don't worry...I got over that the second my Uggs got soaked. (But I still do kinda miss it.)















Isn't the mall parking lot beautiful?!? (It actually was kinda pretty in person.) This weekend is the time for all sorts of amazing things...I actually went to the mall and didn't buy a thing. (Don't fall over.)

I hope ya'll have a fabulous weekend! Happy Valentine's Day!!!

SURPRISE!!

I have shocking news ya'll...are you ready? It actually does snow in Texas!! We are in the midst of what I like to call a Texas Blizzard. I am warning you now, this will be a picture heavy post. I woke up this morning to a phone call canceling my resource room observation at an elementary school today. Not thinking much of it (Texans freak out about snow very easily) I went back to sleep. I woke up an hour later when my alarm went off to take Toby out. This is what I saw:






















WOO-HOO!!!!!!!!!!! You can't really tell but it was actually really snowing in these pictures. I have never been more awake at 8am as I was this morning. Unfortunately Bugaboo did not share my enthusiasm. This was his reaction to our little mini- blizzard:
















Let's find a patch of grass not covered by snow and hide on it!! I definitely have a Texan dog on my hands, ha! I can't decide whether he didn't like the snow or was embarrassed by his jacket. I prefer to think he didn't like the snow but I have a feeling others will disagree. Anyway, I spent the rest of my morning being extremely productive:




















My super sweet neighbors (who I had never met before) were outside working on this guy when I took Toby out. They asked me if I wanted to help so of course I said yes!!! I love our fabulous snow friend. Snow Dream #1 accomplished!!
I went to the gym after my morning adventure and it was empty. Found the solution to the "icky gym smell" problem, ha! Anyway, when I came home, this is what the outside looked like.

















I think Bugaboo started to get used to it. We spent a lot of time outside today. Look at him prancing through the snow!!















And just because I really love having a Winter Wonderland outside and had to make sure it was still there, I took these about 5 minutes ago:










It's days like today I miss having roommates! Anyone up for a snowball fight tomorrow??

Who Dat???

GO SAINTS!!!!!!! Did ya'll watch the Superbowl?!? I think I surprised a few of my friends by being so into the game. I have an unspoken loyalty to any city I've lived in and a lot of friends didn't know I was born in New Orleans. Needless to say, they know that I was now. :o) I was cheering a lot and I either impressed my friends or scared them, I don't know which, ha! But what a great game.
You would think that the Cowboys won with all the craziness that was going on outside after the win. (We don't need to talk about the fact that they weren't even in the Superbowl.) I was in Uptown where a lot of bars are. One of them hosted a Saints party so you can only imagine what kind of chaos was going on in there. I saw people standing in the street chanting, yelling and dancing and I just didn't have the heart to tell them we weren't on Bourbon Street!











How cute is this picture of Drew Brees' little boy???














I love this one too! It's perfect with the "Champions" sign flashing in the background!
There are some die hard fans out there. I read an article today about a couple who named their new born baby (boy) Brees after Drew Brees. Kinda cute and different. Good for them. (Because, you know, my opinion matters so much to them!)
I think one of my favorite things about the Superbowl is the food. I went to two different parties but tried not to eat much. In my experience, once I start, I just don't stop!! There were chicken wings, veggies trays, chips and all kind of dip, cocktail sausages, mini corn dog bites, oh my goodness. My mouth is watering just thinking about all the yummy food!! I need to go to bed before I get hungry! (It's a good thing I don't have any food in my apartment.)
What did ya'll do for the Superbowl?

Cold Callers Love Me

Okay, have ya'll ever dealt with something that's just annoying and no matter what you say, the issue won't go away???? Before I give any one of my dear friends or relatives a complex, let me elaborate.
I have this 1000000 number calling my phone. It has called me everday for the past 2 weeks at least 3 times a day. At first I just ignored it but this number literally called me 4 times the first day so by the 4th phone call I literally thought "oh no! I wonder if one of my friends is in jail and I'm their collect call!!" My friends and I don't exactly make a habit of going to jail (I'm knocking wood as I type this) so as to why that was my first thought, I have no idea. Anyway, the fourth time they called, I answered.
Ya'll, it was my cable company trying to sell me an upgraded cable and internet package. Completely annoyed, I politely declined and asked to be taken off their calling list. So much for the gazillion scenarios I had imagined. I was hoping it was the love of my life calling to tell me that he couldn't live another day without me. The fact that I haven't met the "love of my life" yet is besides the point. It was just my stupid cable company.
Anyway, it's been 2 weeks of non-stop calls. Every day. Even on Sundays!!! They just won't go away. I have told them I lost my job. I have said "I'm not interested." I have said "no thank you." I have said "I have asked to be taken off this list. Please stop calling me." Yesterday I asked them what language I need to speak for them to get the point. (That was rude, I know. But it was 7:30 in the morning!!)
Today I resorted to something that probably made my grandparents turn over in their graves. I used inappropiate language. With a person I don't know!!! I'm sorry Grandma & Grandpa Christensen, Grandpa Dalton and Grandpa Mignano!! It wasn't too bad I hope...according to the Webster's dictionary, the word I said can also be defined as "a body of water confined by a barrier."
I feel bad. It must be awful to be a cold caller. I know I would hate that job. But seriously?? 3-4 times a day?? And they literally just called me again. Just now. And it was just now I was informed that it takes 30 days for the "do not call list" to process. So does that mean I have to put up with this for another 30 days?!?!
People have worse problems, I know. This is minor. It's just annoying. And since the excitement of my day is going to the gym, it's even more annoying becuase I get excited about very little things. Including my phone ringing. Sigh.
I need to go to church.

I've decided to post one "Favorite Thing" after my post every Friday since I thought of about 20 more after I posted on Tuesday!:
My Favorite Things
**Fuzzy socks and cute pajamas! :o)

I have an obsession...

I am obsessed with home decor lately. I have no idea why. I'm not moving, I love my apartment and I have no need or desire even, for anything different or new! I love my furniture, I love how cozy my place is (the only thing I wish I had was hardwood floors but that's not gonna happen in an apartment!) But lately I find myself on home decor websites constantly. HGTV is always on my tv.
I actually have always loved looking at houses. I think I actually wanted to be an architect until I was 8 and discovered math would be involved. So then I focused on psychology and that went out the window as soon as I discovered I'd have to be in school for 8+ years.
Anyway, back to the point...I have been obsessed with home decor lately!! I've already decided I want a chandelier in my next bedroom. I absolutely love chandeliers (hence part of the name of this blog.) I just love the look. This is one of my favorites:










This is my bedroom set.




I've had it for over 3 years and I still love it!! So why do I feel the need for change?!?
I love this bedroom too. I found it on hgtv.com and it's designed by Kenneth Brown. To make it more "me," I would put up girlier (is that a word??) pictures and put a cute little neutral deep seated chair in the corner with purple accent pillows! And of course, put up my chandelier!! :o)

Would that even be cute? Or not so much? I can't really decide. Maybe I should stick with my current set and the chandelier or my original idea of gray, white and pink. Don't ya'll love how I'm talking about all this like it's an actual possibility I might do this??
I love this bedroom too...





















And this one...




















It's a good thing I'm not actually in the market for a new set. I am obviously quite confused on my what my style actually is....
I promised my mother I would stop feeling sorry for myself and actually start living my life again so I'm headed out the door because it's just not healthy for me to go this long without wearing any makeup. Ya'll have a good night! :o)
PS-Is the blanket on the bed in that picture purple or brown?? I thought it was purple but now it kinda looks brown...in my bedroom it'd be purple! :o)

My Favorite Things

Kelly's Korner listed her Simple Pleasures today so I thought I'd follow her example and list some of my favorite things since I've been feeling kinda "blah" lately. Sometimes it's good to remind yourself of the little things that matter because those are usually the things that can make a bad day a little bit better!
Some my favorite things are:
**The first sip of a Diet Coke
**The feeling I get after a great workout
**A long leisurely meal with friends
**A glass of wine after a long day
**A freshly cleaned apartment
**Watching The Nanny every night before bed
**Re-runs of Sex and the City and Friends
**Cooking a great meal
**BBMs & Texts (I get really excited anytime my phone makes a sound!)
**The butterflies I get when I see a guy I like
**Making someone laugh
**Hearing from a friend I haven't talked to in a while
**Listening to a thunderstorm while cuddled up inside or on a porch
**Spending time with my family
**Weekends!! (A favorite of everyone, I think...)
**A hot shower or bath on a cold day
**Moutaineer football!!
**A huge hug
**Cuddling with my Bugaboo
**Finding a great sale
**Feeling pretty after getting my nails or hair done
**My favorite holiday, Daylight Savings Time in the Fall!

This list could go on and on but then it'd be the longest post ever and that's not really the point. :o) What are some of your favorite things?

Added: I've decided to list one favorite at the end of one of my posts once a week...probably on Thursday since I always seem to write a blog on that day! There are just too many to name on this list and I've already thought of at least 20 since I posted this last night!

Why are you single?

I cannot tell you how much I hate that question. It's the worst question to be asked. I feel like it's literally code for "what's wrong with you?" But at the same time, I'm a complete hypocrite because I wonder the same thing about other singles. So really, it's a no win situation.
But really, how is one supposed to answer that?? I guess there are a few options. I mean you could sit there and tell a complete stranger everything that's wrong with you. OR you could play coy and tell them you're not single even though we both know you are OR you could sit there and tell them you haven't met anyone special yet (in which case they'll be outta there faster than you can finish that sentence anyway because nothing scares a guy more than a girl who's actually looking for a relationship.)
I know I focus on being single way too much. Truth be told it does get lonely sometimes especially when 99% of your friends are married, engaged or in a relationship! I'm so happy for them, I just wish I was in the same place in my life! (Okay, that's a lie. There are many days that I'm thrilled I'm single and able to be selfish, especially when my friends and family are so awesome and I'm able to spend all my free time with them!! I actually told a friend this past week that it's their fault I'm single because if they weren't so awesome I wouldn't want to spend so much time with them. Ha!)
It's just my fear in life that I'm gonna be the old lady with cats. And I don't even like cats. (That fear is right up there with the whole "being the girl who smells bad" thing.) Ha, when I told Lesli about this she said "don't worry...you could always be the old lady with dogs. At least then you'd be original!" (Correction: both Lesli and Katie told me this!)
I just thought I'd have everything figured out by now, you know? I'm 28 and not getting any younger!! And it would be nice to have someone special in my life. I miss being excited about someone. But then again, there's a lot of emotional baggage that comes with liking someone and I don't know if I can handle that right now. So I guess it'll just happen when it happens!
I hate that it's so easy to focus on the negative in life especially when there's so much positive. Why is that?? One bad day and you think about it for weeks. One good day and you forget about it tomorrow. Sigh...do ya'll have this problem??