current faves

1. I am a coffee snob. Seriously. Don't offer me a cup of Starbucks plain coffee. I won't drink it. I prefer a local roaster. So it comes as a HUGE surprise that I am on the verge of addiction to Nescafe instant coffee.

Before our nephew was born, we took dinner and cupcakes to my BIL and SIL, who was on bed rest. My BIL offered to make coffee. I decided that I would drink the caffeinated coffee (followed by a melatonin), rather than a cup of the fake stuff. Husby wanted the decaf instant coffee. After it came out of the microwave, I tasted it. Oh my, it was good! The trick? Make it with milk. It's creamy and rich and yummy. I purchased both the decaf and regular variety for our house.

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2. In December, I hosted a wedding shower for my new SIL. As a hostess gift, I received my first Voluspa candle in Santiago Huckleberry. It is fruity and rich and divine. I carry it from room to room, and I only use it when I'm at home for an extended time. I want to enjoy it. I've mostly transitioned to Scentsy products, but I feel certain that once this candle has reached it's end, I'll purchase another.

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3. I love to order hot tea when I eat at Asian restaurants. No matter the type of food, there's a similar flavor of hot tea. It took years and a visit to Teavana, but I finally discovered the flavor the I love so much: jasmine. I purchased a cute tea tin with a couple of ounces of jasmine dragon phoenix pearls tea. I love it with just a bit of honey.

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4. These No-Bake Energy Bites are so, so good. Husby and I are attempting to eat real food, meaning that we're cutting down on the sugar we consume. I realize that the chocolate chips have refined sugar, and so does some peanut butter, but for now, we're okay with those things.  I made these yesterday, and we love them! It's something a little sweet for snacks and dessert.

Senses in the Spring

My favorite sound of spring: baseball.

I love baseball, especially the sound of the ball hitting a bat.

I also love the sound of a crowd at a baseball game--either little league or professional.

My favorite taste of spring: in-season asparagus.

I love pencil-thin asparagus, roasted with a little lemon, salt and pepper.

I also love this Roasted Asparagus Salad.

My favorite smell of spring: wisteria.

Our neighborhood is full of spring flowers, including wisteria.

To me, walking beneath wisteria smells like grapes.

Perhaps it's psychological, but even Husby agreed after smelling it before seeing it.

My favorite feel of spring: warm sun on my skin.

I love being outside in the spring; the sun is perfect.

My favorite sight: flowering trees.

I love Redbud trees, Dogwood trees and Bradford pear trees.

All of which are in our new backyard.

Etsy Love

I've ordered several things from Etsy. I love handmade, non-commercial art. I love having things that few others have. Here are a few of my favorites on Etsy now. There's no time like needing to decorate a new house to buy a few prints, right?!

from the wheatfield:



from Spread the Love:

from retrostilleto:

Faves: Stocking Stuffer Ideas

I'm so proud of myself. Already, I've bought over half of the Christmas presents we'll give. Woo hoo! I've done lots of online shopping, which has been super nice, especially when free shipping is an offer. Here are a few of my favorite things, and things that would be great stocking stuffers.

Did you know that Texas is a producer of olive oil? It's pretty new, but I was able to taste some at Mistletoe & Magic--a holiday market with specialty boutiques. Oh. my. goodness. Texas Olive Ranch makes amazing olive oil. I was a little hesitant to try it, since they pride themselves on their oils being so good that no bread is needed for tasting. I wasn't keen on the idea of drinking olive oil. But once I did, I could have kept going. We had some great "cocktails"--oils mixed with balsamic vinegars. Oh, come on! Though we only had sips of each cocktail, I could have downed it!

One of my favorites was orange Rio Orange Olive Oil mixed with Orange & White Orange Infused White Balsamic Vinegar. I came home with the Arbequina Variety EVOO and Figalicious Fig Infused Dark Balsamic Vinegar. I can't wait to use it on a salad. Each bottle is $10. You can order online at Texas Olive Ranch, or in select stores (a list is found on their website).

Next up: Coconut Body Butter from The Body Shop. 

This stuff is fabulous. I bought a tub last year while honeymooning in San Francisco. Our hotel was next to excellent shopping. Unfortunately, Husby isn't the shopping type, so I only visited this one store. I hadn't been to The Body Shop previously, but the smell wafting from the store intigued us both. This cream is excellent. It's made from coconut oil, which is a solid, so it's super thick. I love it! They have tons of different scents: lemon, olive, grapefruit, almond. They're on sale now for $14 per tub, regulary $20. At either price, it's worth it.

Last year, Husby got Origins Skin Diver Active Charcoal Body Wash in his stocking. And then I started using it and discovered how fabulous it is!

It's a natural body wash that smells like rosemary and spearmint. I love it. Although $19.50 and pricier than drugstore body wash, it lasts for a long, long time. And it just smells so good!

Fingers crossed, I'll have my Christmas shopping done next week when I'm off for Thanksgiving. Then, I'll be able to wrap and be-ribbon the gifts to go under the tree.

I Think I Changed My Mind...

For as long as I can remember, I've preached the gospel of chocolate candy. I've firmly believed that eating the empty calories in candy should be reserved for chocolate: Hershey Toffee and Almond Nuggets, Snickers, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. But I'd like to confess that I've changed my mind. Now, I like non-chocolate candy. Especially the sour stuff.

In no particular order, these are candies have come into my life and have been enjoyed as much as chocolate candy:

My friend, Betsy, introduced me to Sour Patch Kids. At first, I didn't think I loved them. But then I discovered I was wrong. These are so yummy! Sour, and then sweet. Yes, please!  

 

Oh, Giant Chewy Nerds, I'm so glad you're not just an Easter candy. The first time I bought these, they were packaged as bumpy jelly beans. They were for my candy dish at school.  My first year, I kept seasonal candy on my desk for students. Once the season or holiday passed, I would change the candy. Normally, I'd use up all of the candy in the bags before the change. But not the bumpy jelly beans/Giant Chewy Nerds. I hoarded them. I was uber-excited when a student shared that they're not just available at Easter, but I could find them year-round. I'd like to think that my eyes were shielded to the truth of tart candy.

Zours are my newest find. When we attended a Rangers game in May, the mom in front of us was passing a box to the four kids she had. They all loved them. I memorized the name and the box, knowing that I would find them. The hunt took six weeks. I scoured gas stations and drug stores. Finally, I went into the drug store I actually use for prescriptions. Since I normally pick-up my prescription at the drive-thru, I don't go in very often. I think angels sang when I spotted the box of Zours. Husby was with me, and I don't think he heard any singing. Again, I'd like to point out that the truth has been revealed to me. His time will come. In fact, tonight, he's the one who asked for a handful of Zours on the way out the door. I feel that it's coming soon.

So, are there any candies you'd recommend? Any that just put a twinge in your jaw? Any that you smuggle into buy at the movie theatre?

Friday Faves

Okay, if I link up with other blogs, it has to be because I really want to write about the topic given. It's a way to have a topic without having to accidentally call adult hot lines for a story. (I promise it really was an accident that just turned into a great story!)

So, I found this blog at some point this week. (We'll talk about my addiction to blog jumping a little later.) It spoke to me because the blog design is red and turquoise, which happens to be one of my love languages. If you can believe it--I barely can--one of my BFF's once told me that red and turquoise "don't go together." What?! I had to pray through that friendship, and once she confessed to me that they do actually compliment each other, the friendship was saved.

The topic is a just a series of five questions created by Beth at Just Me and My Life. And I can answer some questions! Let's get started...

1. If given a chance to skip work for a day, how would you spend the entire day?

Actually, our school is closed next week, so I'm forced to stay home the entire week. Since it's approximately the temperature of the sun with the humidity of the entire ocean, it'll be tough to convince myself to leave the air conditioning. Although on the docket: blueberry picking, fig picking, tending to our little garden, possibly making a headboard, finish watching season 2 of Gilmore Girls, borrowing a friend's Dyson vacuum cleaner to give our house a go-over, and spray-painting something.

2. If you could start fresh, what profession would you choose?

I do love my current profession as a college advisor, and I never could have dreamed of being a college advisor. But I think I would love to do something artsy. Likely graphic design.

3. What is your favorite candy or candy bar?

4. Have you ever ordered anything from an infomercial or bought an "As Seen on TV" item?

Target has a special "As Seen on TV" section. Although I haven't ever bought anything off of an infomercial, I did purchase the Ped Egg at Target. And I still love it today as much as I did back then.

5. What's the movie you ALWAYS cry at?

Okay, I have to finish getting ready for work. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend! Husby announced before he left for work that he doesn't want to do anything this weekend. That sounds like a plan!

The Hills are Alive

Tonight, as Husby works to finish a project for work, I have control of the television. And I'm watching...

I've seen it no less than 16 times. I remember watching it at a very young age and proclaiming that I would be a nun. Because all good baptist girls go to the convent.

And because of my L.O.V.E. for musicals and soundtracks, I've listened to the soundtrack at least 34 times in the past ten years. Which makes me sad that my average is only 3.4 times per year. I've set a new goal for myself to listen to it at least 5 times per year. It's all about setting goals.

Before you continue reading, YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS VIDEO:

Wasn't that FANTASTIC?! It makes me smile. Do you know HOW HAPPY I WOULD BE if I were part of that flash mob? I wonder if I can will it to happen to me.

Allow me to offer a few observations from my current viewing material. I'm sure that you'll enjoy reading along. It'll be like you're here, watching it with me as I comment on everything I love.

1. Remember the curtains in Maria's bedroom? The curtains she used to make the childrens' play clothes? It's in the scene with "A Few of My Favorite Things," and I would totally like to have those as curtains. I really wonder if damask was a fashion in the late 1930's that's made a roaring comeback. Who in their right mind would want to replace curtains like those?! Evidently, Captain Von Trapp didn't see them for the fashion trend they were. I'm really glad Maria saw that they could be used for good, cute outfits. As a refresher for you, the curtains were very similar to this damask:

2. I love it when Captain Von Trapp begins singing while the children perform "The Hills are Alive." My hear just melts. That AND when he sings "Edelweiss." 

3. I need to work on my yodeling so that I can sing along with the marionette show.

4. When Captain holds the party for the Baroness and goes to dance with Maria on the patio, he's wearing white gloves with his tux. He looks so handsome! I'm 94.3% sure that I'm finding something to attend where I can dress Husby in a tux with white gloves. I think he'll look even more dreamy than the Captain. I'm also sure he won't agree to my outfit of choice.

5. It's REALLY HARD for me not to sing all of the songs as they're playing on the movie. Except for "Climb Every Mountain." I fast-forward.

6. I really don't like the Baroness. I'm glad they didn't end up together.

7. I think my mom resembles Julie Andrews. Which is a good thing.

8. I LOVE THIS STORY!  

9. I'm also going to find a function to attend where Husby will wear a 1930's naval officer uniform. I'll also need the uniform with the gold things on the shoulders. Why didn't I watch this before our wedding? Husby totally could have looked like Captain Von Trapp.

10. It makes me so happy that the children have a new mother that they love.

11. I just realized how late it is. You know that MawMaw has to be in bed by 10:30, and I'm already five minutes past my bedtime.

12. On a good note, I finally learned how to embed video's into my blog.

13. Good night.

14. P.S. When the Von Trapp's fled to the States from Austria, my great uncle and aunt knew them. Cool, huh?

15. I've attempted to fix my original bullet points SIX TIMES. Now, I have a numbered list. MawMaw just doesn't do well with technology (or much else) after 10:30.

16. Good night, again.

I Can Never Buy These Again...

These are like crack to me. I thought they'd be great to take for our picnic at Caddo Lake since the bag is resealable. Unfortunately, I didn't realize how much I'd like them. I do enjoy Oreo's, but my favorite part is the actual cookie--not the icing. I know that I'm in the 0.05% minority of people who like the cookie and not the icing. And these things have a larger cookie to icing ratio than regular Oreo's. (Oh, don't get me started on my method for scraping the icing from double-stuffed Oreo's!)

So, until I develop some sort of willpower, they will remain on the list of things-I-won't-buy-except-for-road trips-and-picnics, along with:

Road trip or picnic, anyone? :)

I Heart this Book

Over the past couple of years, several of my friends read Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist. Never being one for giving into trends, especially trendy books, I declined their recommendations to read it. Then I decided that buying it wouldn't hurt anything; it could sit on the bookshelf and wait its turn. Last summer, I conceded and decided that it would be a decent enough book to flip through during a weekend.

Wouldn't you know that my friends were right? Wow, it was amazing. Once I picked up this glossy, orange book, I read it in about 24 hours, flipping through the chapters, wondering how several parts of a book--a memoir--could so closely mirror my life. And this summer, I've begun the re-read. Already, I'm moved. It makes me want to celebrate everyday. It does. I think I'll have it finished over this long weekend. And now, I'm about to place an advance order for her next book, Bittersweet, to be released later in the summer.

Here are a few of my most favorite passages in the Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist:

I have always been essentially waiting. Waiting to become something else, waiting to be that person I always thought I was on the verge of becoming, waiting for that life I thought I would have. In my head, I was always one step away. In high school, I was biding my time until I could become the college version of myself, the one my mind could see so clearly. In college, the post-college "adult" person was always looming in front of me, smarter, stronger, more organized. Then the married person, then the person I'd become when we have kids. For twenty years, literally, I have waited to become the thin version of myself, because that's when life will really begin.
And through all that waiting, here I am. My life is passing, day by day, and I am waiting for it to start. I am waiting for that time, that person, that event when my life will finally begin.

I want a life that sizzles and pops and makes me laugh out loud. And I don't want to get to the end, or tomorrow, even, and realize that my life is a collection of meetings and pop cans and dirty dishes. I want to eat cold tangerines and sing out loud in the car with the windows open and wear pink shoes and stay up all night laughing and paint my walls the exact color of the sky right now. I want t sleep hard on clean, white sheets and throw parties and eat ripe tomatoes and read books so good they make me jump up and down, and I want my every day to make God belly laugh, glad he gave life to someone who loves the gift.

I don’t want to wait anymore. I choose to believe that there is nothing more sacred or profound than this day. I choose to believe that there may be a thousand big moments embedded in this day, waiting to be discovered like tiny shards of gold. The big moments are the daily, tiny moments of courage and forgiveness and hope that we grab on to and extend to one another. That’s the drama of life, swirling all around us, and generally I don’t even see it, because I’m too busy waiting to become whatever it is I think I am about to become. The big moments are in every hour, every conversation, every meal, every meeting.

You have stories worth telling, memories worth remembering, dreams worth working toward, a body worth feeding, a soul worth tending, and beyond that, the God of the universe dwells within you, the true culmination of super and natural.
You are more than dust and bones.
You are spirit and power and image of God.
And you have been given Today.

I could go on and on; there are so many wonderful passages in this book that is honest and powerful. But if I did, then you wouldn't need to read it. Check it out from the library, borrow it from a friend or pick it up in a bookstore. You won't be disappointed. Your heart will be happy; you'll want to shout "amen" as you read and read passages again; you'll wonder how you can learn to celebrate life everyday.

A Few (More) of My Favorite Things

It's Friday! After today, the school year is officially over. Since I work as a college advisor, our office is open for most of the summer (minus a few weeks for vacation), but we start summer hours next week. It's like having a part-time job in the summer. For not being a teacher it's a pretty good deal!

Today, I'm participating in Kelly's Korner Show Us Your Life: Your Favorite Things. I posted a few of my favorites in February, but I have a few more, so let's get to it.

A few of my favorite things:

THIS MAN

I married him almost eight months ago. (Where has the time gone?!) And I love, love, love him.

THIS DOG

Crickett was my Christmas present five years ago. And, oh, how much fun she is. Even though I've suffered embarrassment as she's chased down the dog catcher, I think she's the best dog EVER. For sure, she's the cutest and most expressive! You can read more about her here. Oh, and because I'm sure you're wondering, I finally remembered where her name came from. In Little Women (the one with Susan Sarandon and Winona Rider), Marmee's nickname for Beth is "Cricket." Don't ask about the spelling. I just like having an extra "t."

COOKING

I like to cook old stand-bys (meatloaf, chicken and dumplings, and apple pie), but I also like the challenge of a new recipe. In the past few months, I've become adventurous in the kitchen. I enjoy using new and different ingredients. My favorite recipe book is Barefoot Contessa At Home. I've not been disappointed by any of the foods I've made.

BOARD GAMES (AND CARD GAMES)

I love to play games; I always have. After the merger of households, we have a closet FULL of board games. My sweet husband proposed to me while we were playing LIFE. It was my choice of activity for my birthday. (Can you tell you're not on the blog of a twenty year old?) Had I known that's all it took for a proposal, I would have done it WAY earlier. Ha!

CELEBRATING

I love any reason to celebrate. Pi Day? Every March 14, we have pie for dinner and dessert. (Think chicken pot pie, Shephard's pie, even quiche.) This year, I really wanted to have a Kentucky Derby party, but I found out about the Derby the day before. Next year, it's happening: big hats and mint juleps are a must! The above picture was taken on Husby's half-birthday. Since he has a December birthday, I don't feel he gets as much attention as the rest of us. You know, it's crammed in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'm pretty sure he love's his half-birthday cake.

It Makes Life Easier

By nature, I'm a list maker. And because of an OCD tendency, each list must be pretty much perfect: straight writing, no misspellings, consistency, consistency, consistency. I'm known to rewrite lists. It's a problem. I realize that. But I'm okay with it.

A couple of months after Husby and I were married, I found a pre-made grocery list. I might love The Container Store just a little too much, andI couldn't resist this one item by the register.

(I totally give into the marketing technique of putting things by the register. I'm not too proud to admit that. Athough most of my impulse buys haven't turned out nearly as useful. I mean, really, who under the age of 65 enjoys Reader's Digest ? I do. Because it's by the register. And the stories are just so great!)

Anyway...the fabulous little "All Out Of" list has a magnetic backing, so it stays on the refrigerator. It's so super easy to check the appropriate box when we're out of or low on an item. And if it's not on the list? There are extra blanks! I heart it. A lot. They easily tear off on my Saturday grocery shopping adventure.

A few weeks after the find of the century, I found another item that I L.O.V.E. As a planner, I need to know what we're eating for dinner all week. This "What to Eat" list is a dream! Since it also has a magnetic backing, it's right below our grocery list. As I write in the meals we'll have, I simply check off what I need to purchase at the store. It also has options for eating out and non-dinner meals.

This is my next list to buy. It's a packing list! Several days before a trip, I make an EXTENSIVE packing list, including the brand of the jeans or black shirt I plan to take. (See: OCD.) Inevitably, I forget my pajamas and my hairbrushes. I cannot count the number of times I've forgotten these things. You'd think I would learn a lesson, but I haven't. Now that I have another person to add to the packing list, this is a must. To have a stack of pre-made lists sounds like heaven!

I'm off to make a list for tonight. We're having people over for dinner. And I need a plan of attack!

(By the way, this is not an endorsement of these products by Knock Knock; no money coming my way! This post is my personal opinion. I'm just sharing my love for these items!)