May 17, 2012

I won!!!!

I read a lot of blogs.  I love looking at the pretty photos and reading about other creative projects and exciting things happening in lives of perfect strangers out there on the world wide web.  A bunch of the home blogs I read frequently host contests, which I always enter and usually never win.  Until now that is...
Source

I was shocked and simply giddy to see my name announced as the winner of the One Kings Lane gift certificate on House of Turquoise the other day!  I drool over One Kings Lane on a regular basis, so to think I now have $100 to spend on anything I want is beyond exciting!!!  If you aren't already a member of One Kings Lane (it's free to join but you have to join to see the sales!), click here to sign up and get $15 off your first purchase!

I wonder what I'll buy with my winnings?!  The possibilities are endless...

Source
Source
Source

May 8, 2012

Dinner is Served!

Those who know me know that I very rarely cook.  I can count on my own fingers (possibly on one hand) the number of complete meals I've made.  I'm lucky enough to have married a wonderful husband who enjoys cooking and I really don't mind cleaning up (call me crazy but I find dish-washing sort of relaxing) so we make a good team in the kitchen.  Well, tonight I got home first and was starving so I decided to make dinner for a change.  Want to see what I made?


Veggie burger on wheat bread (topped with mustard & bell peppers)
Steamed broccoli
Butternut squash souffle
Baked potato wedges

What do you think?  It's not the most elaborate meal, but it was easy to make, relatively healthy and pretty tasty!  Not too shabby for a Tuesday night dinner if I do say so myself!  ;)

May 6, 2012

Green Thumb

Spring is in the air and the warm sunny weather had us wanting to add some new greenery to our home, inside and out!  I'm not a great plant caretaker - I sadly once all but killed a coworker's prized plant when he left it with me for several months while he was overseas.  I swore it was the lack of light at my desk but it might have been the sparkling water I was using because the little thing perked right back up soon after I passed it on to another colleague who sat right near me.  In the spirit of "getting back on the horse", I decided to try my hand at plants again.

I got this little parsley plant from my company for Earth Day.  It definitely looks less green now than it does the day I brought it home (boo!), but it's also grown a lot since then (yay!) so I guess I'm not doing that bad  of a job with it...


This is a really cute boot pot we received for our engagement party several years ago (thanks Aunt Beth, Uncle Chick & Maggie!)... now it finally has some fresh dirt and a houseplant in it!


The boot also came with a matching watering can!  We had these cheery items out for display in our old apartment (sans the plant inside) so it's fun to finally see the boot actually fulfilling its plant-holder destiny in our new apartment.  :)  I just love this set, and it looks great on our built-in shelves near the dining room table and balcony door!


But that's not all!  We also planted some marigolds outside in the baskets attached to our balcony:


According to the flower expert: "Marigolds can grow in full sun to partial-shade, but it is preferable to plant them in sunny locations as shading may have an adverse effect on flowering.".  We get very bright morning light, which turns to shade during the latter part of the afternoon as the sun settles behind our building.  Hopefully the morning and early afternoon sun will be enough to keep these little buds blooming!

There you have it... our new little green friends.  Wish us luck keeping them alive and growing!  ;)

May 2, 2012

Parlez vous francais?

Well, neither do we but that's not stopping us from flying to France to celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary this year!  (Gosh, where does the time go?!)

Source
We're still planning our itinerary, but we'll begin the trip by spending several days eating croissants, sipping wine, visiting cafes, and strolling the romantic streets of Paris while taking in sites like the Louvre and Eiffel Tower (not necessarily in that order) before venturing to Provence and the South of France.

I've been wanting to visit Paris for some time now, so I'm incredibly happy that the time has finally come!  Shep's been to Paris, but many years ago, and, like me, has never been to the French countryside so that will be a new adventure for both of us to share!  Although we're both a tad behind in terms of research to be done and planning left to do before we take off, it's something very exciting to look forward to!  We've both been working super long hours over the past couple months and have spent what little free time we've had unpacking boxes and trying to get our apartment in order, so this will definitely be a nice break and a much-anticipated treat.

Source
Vive la France!  Here we come!!