Summer Updates

Good morning, all! It has been a few months since I last posted and man, have I been busy! Life is really good, though, and I am just enjoying the ride. Want to know what I have been up to? Below is my life in photos...

At the first sign of spring we planted new bushes and flowers, spread fresh mulch, and showed some major TLC to our yard. I am loving the end result!

I also planted cilantro, basil, spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, chives, jalapenos & strawberries in my backyard garden. There is nothing like stepping off your porch to pick some beautiful, leafy lettuce!

 

We had our housewarming party on Cinco de Mayo with 20 of our closest friends. It was a blast!

 

We set up a stone firepit in our backyard thanks to a very thrifty Craigslist purchase. I imagine many nights laughing with friends around the fire!

 B & I celebrated another anniversary filled with a delicious seafood dinner & ice cream, & a walk around downtown.

 We packed up the pups and road tripped to Wisconsin to visit family & friends, & to see two beautiful people get married.

And most of all, there have been a lot of laughs, love, and fun times had over the past few months, and I can't wait to see what the rest of the summer holds. What have you been up to, and what are you looking forward to enjoying during these summer months?

"Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing at all."

Photo Update

I can't believe it has been almost a month since I last posted. I have been busy taking care of the house, preparing for our Cinco De Mayo Housewarming Party, planting our veggie garden and garden in the front of the house (pictures to come!), and cooking up a ton of new recipes. Here are some photos of the new (and old/re-purposed) items that we've added to the mix...

Upstairs Guest Bath w/ Anne Taintor Photos


Newly Painted Guest Bedroom


New Rug for Guest Bedroom


The boys behaving for once...


New Couch for the Loft


Side Table in the Loft


Mad Men Painting in Loft


Other Side Table in Loft


I feel like our house is really coming together, and reflects both of our personalities well. I am picking up a firepit from Craigslist this week, and we are also planning on purchasing a patio table for our back porch. I can't wait to get our backyard put together and start grilling out and relaxing out there. We have also finally picked a date for our housewarming party. Due to my love for all things Mexican, we are planning on having it on Cinco de Mayo. I am planning on doing a margarita bar, taco bar, and have lots of different dips to munch on. I have a lot of great ideas, and can't wait to share them with you all. Well, that's all for now...have a wonderful day, blog world!

Winding Down...

Well, we are officially closing on our house in 2 weeks! Because the current owners are moving out the weekend after our Friday closing, we wont get to move for another 3 weeks, but we are both so excited. And anxious. And nervous. And just about every other emotion you can imagine. I'm sure that's normal, right? And I also suppose I should start packing even if our new house is 6 minutes away from my current location :) I have already done so much shopping, and have just about everything we need for the house. Of course, being the cheap person I am, it was all severely discounted, given to us, or some items were even found at Goodwill.

I have been so swamped at work lately, that I have not had any type of a social life. I have 2 huge projects due at the end of the month, which have caused me to work ridiculously long hours. Luckily, I will be taking off a full 5 days for the first time in my life upon moving into our new house. I have never taken off a full work week, and know I will still be checking my email and taking calls from home. I can't completely give up my career for a full week!

Here's my office in all its glory. I am on the second floor to the top!

Next weekend I am having a Girls Night Out with my 2 best friends, which is definitely needed. AND, tomorrow we are being nerds and attending the Home and Garden Show to check out landscaping/fencing options. I also have a groupon for a delicious, hip restaurant to top off our day.

Also, my current annoyance is the excessive amount of people at the gym. I am so sick of waiting for a treadmill, elliptical, cycle, etc. Please go away new resolutioners! Those of us who have been dedicated to the gym for so many years are sick of you taking up space and texting/talking on the phone/or barely moving while you are on a machine!

P.S. I know it is only Friday, but I have planned our meal for Sunday, and am so excited to indulge! I am finally going to try my crock pot recipe for baby back ribs (a once a year treat for us), along with a side of southern style coleslaw, salt encrusted baked potatoes and sweet corn. ::DROOL:: Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Subject to inspection and appraisal...

we have a house! After 6 months of searching, studying locations, crunching numbers, and planning for our big move, we have found the perfect house for the 2 of us(4 if you include the pups). This house is perfect for us because it is our house, in which we can create memories, and make it our own. We found out the sellers accepted our offer last Friday, and our closing date is at the end of January. Our inspection is this Wednesday, so please keep your fingers crossed. The house is only 4 years old so we aren't expecting anything major, but I am still nervous. Here is a photo of our biggest purchase to date...

P.S. The shutters and front door are all the same color, despite the coloring in the photograph :)

Along with being busy at work, I have been doing a lot of cooking/creating in the kitchen. I am really looking forward to having my own kitchen to cook in, along with having my own space. I have SO many recipes I can't wait to try out, and thanks to B's mom, I am now the proud owner of two more boxes of books to add to my collection!

Working 40+ hours a week, going to the gym, taking care of multiple dogs, executing the daily household chores, all while trying to maintain a social life can be hectic. We all have those days where we get home, exhausted, and don't know what to whip up for dinner. I had one of those days last week and threw together this super simple, but tasty meal.

It is more of a summer salad due to its fruit selections, but you can enjoy it any time of the year with the right choice of fruit.

Summer Salad
Salad Ingredients:
Bag of fresh spinach or arugula salad
Handful of freshly sliced strawberries
Handful of blueberries
1/4 cup of pecans (or cashews)
2 grilled & sliced chicken cutlets (optional)

Dressing Ingredients:
3/4 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
1 T chopped garlic
Dash of sugar
Dash of salt & black pepper

Toss together freshly washed spinach, strawberries, blueberries, pecans, and chicken. In separate bowl, whip the vinegar while adding in the garlic, sugar, salt, and black pepper. Slowly add in the olive oil while whisking. Toss dressing on salad, and serve immediately.

I also served this salad with gorgonzola garlic bread. It is so easy to make, and puts a different twist on your average garlic bread.


Gorgonzola Garlic Bread
Ingredients:
1/4 cup margarine (softened)
1/2 cup gorgonzola cheese
1 T chopped garlic
1 T chopped basil
Dash of salt & black pepper
1 baguette, cut into slices

Parmesan cheese (optional)

Whip together the margarine and cheese. After chopping the garlic, add in this along with the basil, salt, and pepper. Spread the cheese mixture on top of the sliced baguette pieces. Place into 400 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is melted. For extra flavor, you can top slices with parmesan cheese upon removing from the oven.

Happy cooking!

Italian Dinner, Upcoming Vacation, Food Trucks

Well, it is finally Thursday. This week has seemed to drag on and on. After work today I am taking photos with a friend to submit in a contest. The photos are supposed to accentuate your eyes, and all proceeds go towards the campaign for preventing blindness. If you feel inclined, you can vote for me at https://www.360photocontest.com/page/viewIndex/secure/on/contestId/108/clear/1 as soon as I submit my photo.


These past few weeks have been a whirlwind, and I find myself rarely at home, and always going to bed way too late. You only live once, right?! Here are few updates:

-It has been 1.5 months, and we still have not heard anything back regarding the short sale house. We did, however, find another house we are very interested in. This house is located in the same neighborhood as the short sale property, and we concluded that we would wait 2 more weeks, and then consider putting an offer on the other house.

-My mom's birthday was last week. On Sunday, I made a big fat Italian dinner for my parents, B & myself. The menu included:

Appetizers: Mozzarella Tomato Tartlets, Olives Imported from Italy
Entrees: Chicken Parmesan, Tomato Basil Pasta
Sides: Ceasar Salad, Garlic Parmesan Breadsticks
Desserts: Raspberry Torte, Limone Biscotti

Everything turned out delicious, and I set up the table using Italian fabrics/products. It was a cuter version of this...



-I, along with my mom, will be visiting my dad's mother who lives in Pennsylvania the second week of October. We will be staying at my half-sister's (yes, that is a real word. she is my dad's daughter from his first marriage) house in Maryland. We are going up for a 4 day weekend, and we will be spending all day Saturday in New York. I am so excited to see my family, shop, & eat some delicious cuisine!

-My latest obsession in the world of food are food trucks. Food trucks are relatively new to Indy and to my knowledge, there are 12 trucks. Although they aren't always inexpensive, they serve up a variety of dishes and flavors, and are always made right to order. To date, I have tried 2 trucks, Scratch and West Coast Tacos. I have decided to do a reveiw of sorts, and will report back more after I attend the Food Truck Fest on October 7.

I ate at the Scratch truck a few weeks back. I had the spicy chicken cone and hand cut fries, with basil lemonade. I was impressed that the menu had such a variety of options such as a burger topped with arugala & gorgonzola cheese, a BLT with pancetta, and a pork meatball sandwich. The chicken cone was very good, but I felt it could have used some more greens or rice, or something else besides chicken in a tortilla shell. The french fries were served piping hot, and the lemonade was very good, even if it was basil flavoring instead of fresh basil. All in all, I would give this truck a B+, and am definitely looking forward to trying more of their fresh creations.

A co-worker and I ate at West Coast Tacos yesterday afternoon. I settled on the sesame chicken burrito, and my friend got the pulled pork burrito. Overall, I was quite disappointed. Although I enjoyed the spicy flavor of the burrito, both of our burritos were very dry, and needed to be topped with a salsa or sour cream. I was also disappointed that there were so few options available. There were 4 different types of burritos, but they offered up no side dishes or interesting drink options. I had high hopes for this truck, but because of the well combined flavors, I would still give them a C+.


Well, that is all for now. Back to work I go! Stay tuned next week for some quick and healthy recipes!

First Blog, First House

Hello, blogging community!

Well, after years of procrastination, I decided to finally take the time to set up a blog. I thought it would be fun to record all of the adventures that go on in my life...the good, the bad, the ugly (but mainly good) ;)

I am a woman of many interests, but I want to focus this blog on cooking, interior designing, and my current lusts in the world of fashion.

My latest venture consists of purchasing a house with my boyfran. It seems so juvenille to say "boyfriend," but since we aren't engaged (yet), I will use the correct terminology. We started looking a few months ago, and unlike many people I have really enjoyed the process. Seeing as how I am a obsessive compulsive perfectionist, the most difficult aspect I found was being able to overlook the foibles, and try to view the house as a blank slate, waiting for us to put our mark on it. After viewing around 20 homes which we liked, but did not love, we decided to take a break from the house hunt. Upon driving through one of our favorite neighborhoods in town, we stumbled upon a newer home that appeared to be empty. After peaking through the windows and watching the sun set over the pond in the backyard, I knew I had to see it. I scheduled an appointment with our realtor, and we were able to tour it the next day. As soon as I walked in the door, I immediately fell in love. I screamed professed to Brian and our realtor, that this...is...it! We viewed the rest of the house, and each room got better and better. Here is a picture of part of the exterior...

It has an East Coast, Cape Cod feel, and I've already decided that I would put two black wicker chairs on the front porch with red and black patterned cushions.

Ok, ok, I'm getting a little ahead of myself. Needless to say, the next morning, we put in an offer. We gave the seller (the bank) until Friday, and hopefully, we wont have to wait that long to get a response. Until then, I am trying hard to focus on work instead of daydreaming about fabrics, paint colors, and textiles.

If you've read this, thank you for taking the time out of your day, and lets hope my next post will bring good news!