Happy New Year

So we have been pretty busy the last few days of the New Year and to top it off I have been sick since 31Dec12. But I wanted to share some photos of our recent holiday trip to Arizona. Enjoy!

Recent Happenings

So it’s been quite the busy month, when did it turn into May?!  But we did have a chance to get to do something other than just errands last weekend.  It’s funny how when you have company you force yourself to do things that you may not normally do.  With a trip to the botanical gardens and an art/classic car show we had a nice but busy weekend.  Sprinkle in some amazing BBQ and great beer good times were definately had by all.  Here are some snaps from our weekend.

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Spring has arrived, or summer, it’s all the same here

I’ll keep this short.  The warmer weather has arrived, well a couple of weeks ago, so the wild flower season is in full bloom.  I finally got out this weekend and took some snaps and here are a few.  Enjoy!

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My Co-Workers are Cuter than Yours

Someone had a hard day

This I know to be a fact as I have two of the best co-workers ever.  Now I use the term “co-worker” very loosely as these two individuals do not actually work.  More like lounge around on my nicely made bed.

Laying down on the job...

Since starting to work from home I have come to realize just how lazy my fur-babies are.  Seriously, now I know why I can’t get ahead of my dusting duties.  These guys are everywhere and they lay around and rub on everything, it’s quite distressing.  But I digress, I wanted to share some photos of my wonderfully productive colleagues hard at work.

Who knew Wednesday's could be so ruff 🙂

Not another teleconference!

New Frontier…or whatever

So, no posts in what, 2 months?  Life can get quite busy in our neck of the woods.  You all do know that Texas was on fire recently right!?  Well, it impacted our little area just a little, no damage to our home thankfully, but many of my husbands students and co-workers were greatly affected.  So there that, and my company is shutting down our location.  But again, thankfully, I was given the opportunity to continue working from my home.  You know what that means…SHOPPING!!!  Of course I needed to redecorate our office/music room.  The process was a bit more, lets clear out this clutter and have a space that I can actually work in for 9 hours a day.

We started by clearing out A LOT of stuff, our house is great for just the two of us but it is seriously lacking storage, so closets get fulled up pretty quick (bad grammer, I know).  So we tried downsizing a bit.  We also gave the two pieces of furniture that we had in here to one of my co-workers who will also be going home based, no sense in throwing it away (which we would not have done, it would have been donated.)  So that left me with a pretty blank slate, there were a number of musical items that would have to stay, mine and the hubs guitars, amps and his drum set.  All of which make nice accessories (sorry honey but they do 🙂  Then I painted the room, classic shade of gray and then hit up Ikea for one of the biggest trips there I had ever done.

Many hours of lets put these slabs of wood together and hey, could this piece of glass be any heavier, I had a working office.  It’s not entirely complete yet.  I will be moving a printer, getting some wall shelves and a rug but overall I think it is working out nicely.  Hope you like the pretty pictures.  Also thanks again, T and dad for those awesome prints, now I daydream about being at the beach.

How Has it Been 2 Years Already?

Does anyone else notice how fast time is going?  Just me? Ok well then for me it’s been quite the blur this year and the last two years.

I say this because two years ago I married my best friend and it has been great ever since.  We had been together for 9 and a half years prior and on a car ride one September evening I said  “you wanna?” and he said “why not.”  It may not have gone down exactly like that but I do know it was in a car.  But 2 years ago was the best day of my life thus far and everyday since them has been great.

So to my love, you are the best person I know and have so much respect for you and the work that you do and for the husband that you have become.  I hope that I have been as good a wife as you have been a husband.  Here’s to many more anniversaries to come.  I love you.

all photos taken by the talented Mollie from Bloom Photography (bloomaustin.com) 

Lazy Sunday (with tuna salad)

I love lazy Sundays.  There is just something so great about being able to recharge and get ready for the week ahead.  Today is no exception, starting the morning with a lie in and then going for donuts.  (nothing better than a donut.)  But I felt the need for something light for lunch.  So I adapted a great pasta salad from the site www.joythebaker.com and it was just the thing for today.  It’s quick and easy and most importantly the hubs likes it.  Hope you are able to try it and like it as much as we do.

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Tuna Pasta Salad (adapted from JoytheBaker)

2 cups lightly packed spinach leaves ( I left this out this time but it really is great with the spinach)

1/2 cup slices radishes

1/3 cup sliced green onions

1/3 cup sliced pickles  (I used sweet pickle relish)

1 can tuna in water, drained

1 cup sliced sugar snap peas (you could also use blanched green beans or asparagus) (Again, left this out but it these do add a nice crunch)

1 1/2 cup whole wheat elbow pasta, cooked (I used multi-colored spiral pasta)

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 heaping teaspoon whole grain mustard

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar and black pepper.  Set aside.

Cook up pasta, drain and rinse in cool water.  Chop radishes, green onions, pickles and snap peas.  Drain and crumble tuna.

 

So simple and quick, really try it.   Now…what are you waiting for.

So Where Have I Been?

A much-needed and much deserved (I think) vacation.  This was a bit of a delayed honeymoon (2 years isn’t that late is it?) for the hubs and I and we had the best time.  I spent 5 days down in Key West and I could not recommend it more.  We had a great resort on the south end of the island that offered all of the perks that we wanted and non of the extra touristy stuff.  I will start with some photos of our time there and post more later.  Still trying to recover from the drama that was our trip home.  Hope you enjoy.

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Taste of Carolina

So, I have to admit, I have a soft spot in my heart for Carolina BBQ, specifically North Carolina BBQ.  Don’t tell Texas, she would be pissed.  I still love my brisket, but sometimes you just want that tasty pulled pork and coleslaw sandwich.  So, I found a recipe for pulled pork that more than fulfilled that missing food group. (what, BBQ IS its own food group).   I have to say that I wish would have had the cider vinegar in my pantry as it would have made significant difference but I have to say that I will definitely be adding this to the recipe rotation.   This recipe was very easy to cut in half since there was no need for me to make a huge 4 pound slab of pork.  I cooked it on low for about 6 hours and then put my crockpot on warm since it was not quite time for dinner.

I topped mine with a store-bought coleslaw because it was a lazy Sunday and all I had the energy for was to turn on the crockpot.  I hope that you will try this if you are not anywhere close to be able to get your NC BBQ fix.

EASY CROCKPOT PULLED PORK

yield | 6-8 servings

Ingredients
1 large Vidalia onion, sliced thin
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (4-6 lb) boneless pork butt or shoulder
¾ cup cider vinegar
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoons dry mustard
½ teaspoon garlic salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions
1. Rinse pork roast under cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Place onions in crock-pot. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, paprika, kosher salt and pepper; mix thoroughly. Rub mixture all over roast and place the roast on top of the onions.
3. In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, Worcestershire, red pepper flakes, sugar, mustard, garlic salt and cayenne pepper; whisk to combine. Drizzle about 1/3 of vinegar mixture over roast. Cover and refrigerate remaining vinegar mixture.
4. Cover crockpot; cook on low for 10-12 hours. Drizzle about 1/3 of reserved vinegar mixture over roast during last ½ hour of cooking.
5. Remove meat and onions; drain. Chop or shred meat and onions. Serve with remaining vinegar mixture or your favorite barbeque sauce.

recipe from http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/easy-crockpot-pulled-pork-recipe/

Girl you know it’s true…

source: http://www.etsy.com/listing/61998786/we-go-together-like-milli-and-vanilli

Anyone else remember that jam?  Dating myself?  Whatever, this is a short one to give a shout out (really is it 1999?) to my husband.  He became my boyfriend/best-friend 11 years ago on Saturday.  It’s still hard to believe that we have been together since we were kids and more than that, it’s a miracle that he isn’t tired of my cray-cray.  Honey, I love you so much and I am so happy that you said you would be my boyfriend those 11 years ago.  Here’s to many more years together, you are the milk to my cookies, the Milli to my Vanilli.