So I Married a Triathlete...

12 Goals for 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Sevall) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:36:00 +0000

I've been wanting to write this post for, well, 29 days! Seeing as how January is nearly up, I better get this done and posted... :) This year, in honor of 12 months in the year 2012, I thought it made sense to have 12 goals:

Find a new job.
Learn to make marshmallows.
Make 6 quilts and sew myself a shirt.
Read 10 books.
Run a 5k.
Knit a blanket.
Frame and hang photos.
Finish laundry room and paint the kitchen back splash.
Consistently take pictures, organize all our digital photos, scan all the rest and make backups.
Go camping with Brian at least once.
Do Project Life album and keep up.
Blog once a week.

Those are my main twelve goals for this year. So far, I haven't started, but I'm going to post these so I see them every day and I'm hoping that will help. What are your goals for this year?

Scarlet & Clark Model Halloween Costumes!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Sevall) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 05:45:00 +0000

Lately, I've been distracted. Very distracted. I feel like this year is starting to slip by me. I've been wanting to write again and with no place better to start.... better late than never to post this, right?! :)

So one of Scarlet's favorite Halloween costumes... lobster of course!

What if I told you that Clark has the same costume as Scarlet?!

They look mad don't they?! Like "Why are we both lobsters on the front lawn, this is embarrassing!!" hee hee :)

We think they're pretty darn cute even if they weren't so happy with us on the front lawn!! :) So once they survived the lobster suits, we naturally had to put them in this year's Halloween costumes....

I look at this picture and all I see is her thinking "Why momma? This is embarrassing too!!" haha I snapped this photo really quick while Bri got Clark into his costume...

Arrrg... it's Cap'n Clark! :)

Yep, I think they are mortified that I've shared these photos in public! haha :)

I know I'm biased, but aren't they the cutest?! :)

I'm already thinking that we need to plan some matching costumes for them and take them out this year... any suggestions?!

If I Ever Visit Dallas...

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Sevall) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Over my vacation at Christmas, I had the chance to hang out with some great friends. We laughed. We ate. We caught up. But it was like those 10+ years from our days together in high school had never passed! So much fun. Anyway, Anna and I started talking food and travel... and she mentioned that she wasn't finding many things to do in their new town near the Dallas, Fort Worth area. So.... here's where I would go check out Anna if I were to come visit!! :)

First things first, I'd head for the cheese shop.

photo from here.

Scardello's Cheese to be exact! It has a ton of great reviews and I'm a sucker for tasty cheese. :) I would also hit up one of my favorite online stores that has a store front in Dallas - Penzey's Spices located at 12835 Preston Road, Dallas, TX 75230. YUM. You will love this place if you love to cook (which I know you do Anna!!).

photo from here.

Of course, I'd do the Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives tour too -- Twisted Root Burger Co. (I'd totally order the Bacon Bomb Burger, Fried Onion Strings, Sweet Potato Chips and a Peanut Butter Custard Shake... mmmm), and Avila's Mexican Restaurant (I'd order the Flour Nachos - I'm a sucker for flour tortilla chips! - and Brisket Tacos - they are known for them!).

photo from here.

My favorite place to search for places to check out is yelp.com and that's where I found Mozart Bakery, which sounds excellent (try a macaron, not to be confused with a macaroon!). Or try Highland Park Pharmacy -- it's a soda fountain that has been in business since 1912! One review says to try a grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich to go with the milkshake.... mmmm..... I totally would!! Also found Bubba's Cooks Country (the pancakes or a biscuit sandwich? I love that kinda greasy diner breakfast every once in a great while!). And I found Bread Winners Bakery Bistro -- looks good for brunch and pastries!

photo from here.

Okay so if you make it through all the food... lol ;) I'd check out a few local places such as the Dallas Heritage Village, the Dallas Arboretum (they have a concert series!), and the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge. And what's travel without real history? I would totally check out the Sixth Floor Museum, see the grassy knoll and the JFK Memorial.

photo from here.

I'd also check out this Fort Worth landmark, Billy Bob's Texas. BBQ, live music, real bull riding and free line dancing lessons? It is also a bar... but it sounds like a true Texas experience to me!! :) In Fort Worth, there is also the Modern Museum of Fort Worth which sounds (& looks) really interesting. They have a Friday night dinner and movie event that I would totally check out!!

photo from here.

Other things I'd check out:
Lonely Planet's Texas Barbeque: A User's Guide
Dallas Observer's Best of Dallas 2011
Things to Do in Fort Worth, Texas
Things to Do in Dallas, Texas
White Rock Lake (biking, walking trails)
Dallas Farmer's Market (7 days a week!)
Mesquite Pro Rodeo (live rodeos!)
Trinity River Audubon Center (more biking, walking trails)
Stockyards Station (horseback trail rides!)
National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame (you are in Texas... I'd totally soak up some culture! ;))

That should keep you busy for a while Anna! You'll have to let me know what you try or do -- I'll have to travel Dallas vicariously through you!! :)

2012: A Month-by-Month Prediction

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Sevall) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 20:00:00 +0000

I can't believe it's already 2012!!

art found here.

Following yesterday's post, I thought I'd follow up with this today before it got too much further into 2012. So if you've never checked out this website, that I blogged about here, go check it out! It's okay, I'll wait :)

Today, I popped on over there and found this prompt:

Write a month-by-month prediction for this year. Start with "This month, I will..."

Well, don't have to ask me twice! :) So here goes:

This month, I will work a lot of hours, as usual!

In February, we will celebrate Valentine's Day and my birthday.

In March, we will celebrate Brian's 40th birthday!

In April, I will see my favorite girls for our annual cropulation in Denver.

In May, we will celebrate my nephew Creighton's 4th birthday and my Dad's birthday.

In June, we will camp. Just floating that out there to my husband ;) lol Go with my family to a SF Giants game - Creighton's first!

In July, I will do something outdoorsy with my husband.

In August, I will work on the house. At this point, I'm focusing on the upstairs - the loft and master bedroom/bath/closet.

In September, I will prepare for the holidays.

In October, we will celebrate 7 years of marriage and, hopefully, travel somewhere fun to celebrate!

In November, we will celebrate Thanksgiving. We will go see the last Twilight movie! ;)

In December, we will celebrate Abby's 2nd birthday and Christmas.

This is a really loose list, but that's what it's looking to be! I also want to fit in the following items:

A trip to see my brother for 4-5 days.
A mini vacation with Brian (camping? SF? Yosemite? Santa Barbara?).
A girl's weekend with my sister and Mom.
A weekend foodie tour of LA with Evelyn and Drea.
A couple visits to Placerville.
At least one 5k run, hopefully with Drea and/or Anna.
A live concert, musical or comedy show. Something fun and new to us!

It was fun to think about the year like this. What will you do this year?! :)

My One Little Word for 2012: Enjoy!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Sevall) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 17:08:00 +0000

photo from here.

My one word I want to live by this year is ENJOY.

Enjoy life.
Enjoy time with my husband.
Enjoy time with my family.
Enjoy time with my friends.
Enjoy time with our pets.
Enjoy our home.
Enjoy working.
Enjoy all of it.

I figure I'll tackle my goals in a manageable way over the next twelve months... month by month. More on that later though. My words in the past have been Live (2011), Love (2010), and Create (2009). What are your resolutions this year?

Goals for the Rest of 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Sevall) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 18:00:00 +0000

Image Source

Okay, so this whole no goals for 2011.... well.... It just isn't working for me! I like goals. And it's nice to feel like I accomplish things by going back to the statement of the goals. And really, I just like making lists. So I have about three months left this year and these are a few things I want to finish.... (and Brian, shh. Not a word! :) lol)

1. Finish Amy's Quilt
It just needs the rest of the binding fabric pieced together and stitched on. It's the small things. :)

2. Finish the Craft Room/Office
I need to iron & hem the curtains, then hang them. Apply the glass blocking stuff to the middle cabinet doors, paint the sign Brian made me and hang it up! I'd also like to repurpose and hang something to store the mists in a better location :)

3. Learn to Make Marshmallows
I need to face the reality that this has been on my list of things to try out for I don't know... like three years. I bought a book and the necessary items. Just never made them. Time to cross this one off the list!

4. Christmas Cards
I've been good about making them, I have not been good about distributing them. They will go in the mail by December 10th this year. If you didn't get one last year or the year before, it's because I didn't get them in the mail. Would it be bad to stuff the envelopes with three years worth of cards this year?! ;)

5. Finish Reorganizing Paperwork
For someone who's pretty well organized, my paperwork always seems to come last or next to never. I need to finish cleaning this out and I don't want to continue carrying this bad habit forward any further!

6. Finish & Hang Artwork in Laundryroom
Since the rest of that to-do list is really Brian's list.... I want to make sure I finish my part this year! :) I have it all planned out in my head... now just to do it!

Brian also wants me to finish this item, so I'm adding it to my list:

7. Clean Out Our Loft
It's become my junk room. Problem is it doesn't have a door.... :) I need to sell a few items on eBay or Craigslist, purge some stuff and generally clean it up. It's not a small endeavor, but now that the living room is clean, I know I can finish this! :)

Did you have any 2011 goals? How are you doing with them?

December To-Do List

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Sevall) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:30:00 +0000

Source: parisdailyphoto.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Seesh... I better hurry up and post this before the month is half over! LOL :)

1. Watch favorite holiday movies: Home Alone, Home Alone 2, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Love Actually, Elf
2. Bake cookies.
3. Host a Cookie Exchange Party.
4. Send Christmas cards.
5. Decorate our house.
6. Finish knitting Gabriel's Santa hat.
7. Repair Abby's quilt.
8. Shop for, wrap and (in some cases) ship gifts.
9. Celebrate Abby's first birthday.
10. Spend time with my family.
11. Spend time with my friends.
12. Listen to holiday music.
13. Build a gingerbread house.
14. Make Christmas ornaments with Abby and Creighton.
15. Make some craft with my sister.
16. Celebrate Mom & Dad's 40th wedding anniversary.
17. Christmas Eve with my Mom's family.
18. Make Christmas morning breakfast.
19. Photo shoot with Creighton and Abby.
20. Control my urge to eat a Cranberry Bliss Bar every day at Starbucks (so far, I've only had one!)
21. Make at least 5 cards and 1 scrapbook layout with my new stuff.
22. Make a December Daily album and blog it.
23. Blog six times on this blog (2 down, 4 to go!).
24. Read one book on my Nook. :)
25. Spend quality time with Brian at least 4 times this month (not watching TV!) - one down, three to go!

A Plan for Our Loft

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Sevall) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 01:57:00 +0000

So I got a little distracted today by cleaning out in the closet. Which led to planning the master closet which led me to the other problem child of storage in our house, the loft:

Sigh. It's a mess. And Brian wants me to clean it up. And trust me, so do I.

So I need a game plan. All we've got in there are three bookshelves, no blinds, nothing on the walls (including color) and a bunch of junk. Purpose of the room? Storage of books. Use of the sewing machine. And the rest is a blank slate.

So.... I figured it out. Defined it. A place to sew, read a book and play games. I think. :) Here's my sketch:

I prefer the old school method. 10 inches equals one side of the graph paper square. :)

I want this rug in red:

Source: overstock.com via Amanda on Pinterest

This sofa from Ikea in gray:

Source: ikea.com via Amanda on Pinterest

This desk from Ikea:

Source: ikea.com via Amanda on Pinterest

And this color scheme:

Source: creaturecomfortsblog.com via Amanda on Pinterest

I think once I get these pieces in place, I'll figure out the rest... the photos on the wall, the curtains, the pillows, the accessories.

Based on budget and time, I want to plan on doing this sometime next year. I'm not sure what color paint to put on the walls. What do you think?!

Week in the Life: Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Sevall) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:45:00 +0000

Note: This week I will be running journaling I wrote down each day during the week of July 25th + pics of stuff I took on those days.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

listening: to the tv
eating: tacos
drinking: 2% milk
wearing: jammies
feeling: exhausted
weather: gorgeous summer evening
wanting: to catch up on everything
needing: sleep
thinking: about this weekend
enjoying: having Brian home (instead of working in Felton!)
wondering: if I can get everything done

Woke up this morning to Phil Collins, Another Day in Paradise. Love that song. Scar with her head just outside of the covers snoring.

Breakfast: Odwalla Chocolate Protein Monster shake
Lunch: tuna sandwich on toasted whole wheat, goldfish crackers, raspberries, glass of 2% milk
Afternoon: cap'n crunch frapp from Starbucks
Dinner: tacos, glass of 2% milk

Just another day in the grind. Phone calls with friends, Mom and Dad. Text messages with friends and family. Tossing a tennis ball on the front lawn for Scarlet. Tuckin' Brian into bed early. This week is flying by!

Great quote today that hit my e-mail:

♥ it.

Week in the Life: Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Sevall) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:45:00 +0000

Note: This week I will be running journaling I wrote down each day during the week of July 25th + pics of stuff I took on those days.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Brian had a later start time this morning, which was nice. He left an hour before I got up instead of three. I usually wake up to my ipod going off at 6:30 am. I really like waking up to music better than a blaring beeping tone. Much better way to start the day! I also usually wake up to this one:

And a wagging tail, with lots of kisses!

Shower, dress, makeup, grab my stuff and go -- I'm not super fast the first few hours of the day. But I'm getting better at moving myself in the morning.

Another long day at work....

The lunch routine these days is nice. I come home, grab the mail, get greeted by the doggie, sort the mail, make lunch and either read my nook or watch something on the dvr. Today it was watch Design Star on my dvr. Love that show - even more now that David Bromstad is the mentor.

After a long day of purchase orders, budget corrections, paying invoices, answering questions, issuing park permits and getting more assignments from my retiring boss.

After work, I met up with a good friend, Leti, for dinner at Frankie's Grill.

My favorite at Frankie's Grill - the Grilled Romaine salad with blue cheese, bacon, grilled chicken and a balsamic dressing!

We had a good meal, a glass of wine and a great conversation. It also reminded me of what I do like of living in a small town -- you run into people you know and it's nice when they pull up a chair and join the conversation for a while. :)

I got home from dinner, Brian and Scarlet ate the leftovers within 10 minutes, we had a good conversation and Brian went to bed. I stayed up and watched Flipping Out. Then promptly fell asleep in the middle of the episode.... and woke up on the couch at 2:30 am! I was more tired than I thought!

Week in the Life: Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Sevall) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:45:00 +0000

Note: This week I will be running journaling that I wrote down each day during the week of July 25th + pics of stuff I took on those days.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Many are familiar with Ali Edward's projects, including A Week in the Life, which started again today. I participated last year, but only on my blog. This is an eventful week in my life, so I definitely wanted to play again this year. So here goes....

Blah. That's how today felt. I was not feeling it. It probably has to do with my bad sunburn I got yesterday washing the cars + weeding the front yard + forgetting sunblock. Ouch. The weekend was a lot of fun though. Friday night, Brian and I went to the movies to see this:

Yep, Harry Potter the very last one. It was so good, but at the same time, I'm sad to see it end again (it was a bummer when I finished the books and there were no more to read!) Such a great story. Uncharacteristic of us, we ate dinner at the movies... Brian had a hot dog, I had nachos and we shared a popcorn. As we were leaving, I unintentionally dunked my right hand in the leftover nacho cheese as I went to pick it up in the dark and, naturally, I wanted to wash that off ASAP. There was a family bathroom right across from our theater and I opened the door to find some guy in there who forgot to lock the door! Hilarious! I think he learned a lesson.... :)

Saturday, I got to hang out with Erin.

hehe - we laughed so hard at this ridiculously long candle!!

We don't get to see each other much and I really miss the days where we used to eat lunch together almost every day. We met up in Carmel and went to Tommy's Wok.... it was soooo GOOD!

Hot and Sour Soup - delicious!

Vegetable Potstickers - these were fresh, lightly fried and to.die.for!

My absolute fav, the crabmeat rangoon.

Erin got the honey walnut prawns which were super tasty!

I got the combo plate - fried rice, chow mein and broccoli cashew chicken. SOOOO good!

Isn't this place cute too?!

We wandered the streets of Carmel window shopping before heading over to Pacific Grove to check out this bakery:

And get some of these:

Seriously, I can't believe I went so many years without trying a French macaron - what was I thinking?! I'm addicted to these now - the best cookie ever. Light, a little crunchy and absolutely delicious. Worth hunting for a bakery that makes these!

We headed over to Monterey to wrap up the day with a little shopping. I'm sad that Borders is bankrupt and closing. We won't have any bookstores anywhere near us anymore. I'm glad I have my new nook color, but I really will miss wandering the little Borders at the mall in Monterey and the big Borders in Seaside. We also hit up Ann Taylor where I got a new shirt, cardigan and necklace, and Macy's where we killed our noses smelling perfume and cologne samples! I had a gift card to spend there (thanks to Annie!) and I restocked on one of my favorite perfumes, Ralph Lauren Romance.

I finished out Saturday catching up with Brian on our dvr recordings, laying around on the couch, staring at our new entertainment center!

Sunday was busy with cleaning... I did maintenance on our washing machine (including cleaning it), washed both my car and Brian's truck, pulled weeds from our front sidewalk and gutter, walked the doggie with Brian, and enjoyed our lazy Sunday. Well, enjoyed everything but the sunburn I got for forgetting sunblock! The Tour de France finished up and Brian was excited that his favorites, the Schleck brothers both finished on the podium and it was nice to see Cadel Evans win.

So back to Monday.... work is hectic right now because my boss is retiring in September, last fiscal year is closing this month and the new fiscal year has started. After a really long and frustrating day, I came home to relax with Brian. He's been working some early morning shifts lately, starting at 3 am and finishing at noon. Today was one of those days for him, so he was sleepy. Every night now, he's watering his seed packet flowers and the few berry bushes and tomato plants he has this year. They look great!

I spent a lot of time on the phone tonight, catching up with family and a friend. Talked to my mom, my Aunt Sherri about decor for Saturday's party in Placerville and Zarogina, my upline for Stampin' Up. We always have great conversations about our mutual love for crafting, so it's never a quick phone call! I'm excited about the classes and events I have coming up, so the day ended on a good note.

Scrapbook Layouts!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Sevall) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:30:00 +0000

Here are the ten layouts I finished in Michigan a few ~~weeks~~ months ago! I was a teensy bit obsessed with my new We R Memory Keepers Sew Easy tool. Just a smidge.... ;)

Hope you're ready for this onslaught of layouts....

Up first, this layout of my sister's family last Christmas:

I made two, the first one for Abby's album and this one for Creighton's album:

And a layout about our decision to say goodbye to Darby:

This is my niece Abby's first Christmas photo... :)

Of course, I couldn't do a batch of Christmas layouts without doing one about Brian and what he always wants for Christmas....

Still need to go back and add some journaling:

Another almost finished layout.... just need to add some journaling:

And another Scarlet layout for the books :)

Had to make sure all the furry inhabitants of our house got equal treatment of course!

A summary layout about last Christmas:

And a summary layout for Christmas 2009 too!

So that wraps up the layouts I did back in May.... it only took me until August to photograph them and upload them.... yikes! :)

Have you seen this?

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Sevall) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 14:45:00 +0000

I revamped my crafty blog and I'm now blogging over there again:

Also, make sure you update your RSS reader if you used to follow it. I've noticed that the redirect to a new website may cause the old RSS feeds to be lost! Happy Monday! :)

30-Day Photo Challenge // Day Four: Favorite Color

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Sevall) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 19:00:00 +0000

Image processed with ShakeIt for iPhone.

Today it's red. Tomorrow it might be something else :)

Info on the 30 Day Photo Challenge here.

30-Day Photo Challenge // Day Three: Clouds

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Sevall) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 02:00:00 +0000

Last picture for today and I'm caught up on the 30 Day Photo Challenge...

Photo proceed with ShakeIt for iPhone.

Not a single cloud in the sky today!

30-Day Photo Challenge // Day Two: What I Wore

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Sevall) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 00:15:00 +0000

Quick photo on lunchbreak for day two of the 30 Day Photo Challenge...

Photo processed with Instagram for iPhone.

Geez... my hair is messy, the house is messy... gotta get some cleaning done tonight!

One more picture later today and I'll be caught up!

30-Day Photo Challenge // Day One: Self Portrait

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Sevall) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 19:30:00 +0000

I first saw this 30 Day Photo Challenge on Vee's blog and decided that I wanted to participate too! I haven't done a photography challenge for awhile, so here's the list:

I'm catching up today, so here's my first picture and I'll be posting two more later today!

Taken with ShakeIt App for iPhone.

Self portrait taken while walking the dog. I was hoping to catch her in the picture too, but no such luck. She's quick when she's sniffin for treasures! ;)
Are you participating? If so, let me know so I can see your pics and come leave you some love too!

Our Guest Bathroom

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Sevall) — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 23:30:00 +0000

I wrote this post two years ago and never added pictures... better late than never?! Here it is! :)

For months, I have been trying to figure out what paint color I want to pick. This process takes me forever! And Brian is usually quick to agree (no pink, red or purple and I get no complaint). Maybe that is why we have only painted two rooms in our entire house and the rest of it is white? Dunno. Probably part of the reason! (Note... since I wrote this, we've now got four painted rooms inside the house, not two, and the outside of the house!)

So I figured, one bathroom at a time right now. Someday we will most definitely replace the light fixtures in all three of our bathrooms as we hate them and (I hope) we might tile all of the bathroom floors (in lieu of the linoleum from the builder).... but for now, this will have to do. Hoping to get the paint on the walls of all three bathrooms and done with the painting by the end of this year. We'll see how that goes! :)

So for the Upstairs Hallway Bathroom (we refer to it as the Guest Bathroom), Brian had the decor picked when I met him. I can recall a trip to Target back in our dating days where we acquired a shower curtain, trash can and bath mat. Since then, we have slowly collected the bits and pieces of the bathroom.... and that is how we wound up with a starting point of rubber ducks in our all white bathroom. Not my first choice, but six years of living with the ducks, so to speak, the little guys have grown on me.... I have debated the color to paint the wall for the last year and have finally arrived at Swan Sea (Behr). First time I've picked a color out of the color deck and Brian hasn't said a word.... I hope that's not a bad thing! :)

So here it is before.....

This is the view looking down the hallway into the bathroom. See... lots of white! :)

I didn't take pics until Brian had already pulled down the mirror above the sink, but this works :) And I have to point out that I hate the light fixture. It's in every one of our 2.5 bathrooms! At least it's something Brian and I definitely agree on -- we need to get rid of them! :)

And this is the view from standing in the tub looking back to the doorway:

There is also normally a mirror above the sink, but I didn't take pictures until after we had taken it down... oops!

And getting ready to paint....

And here's the color I chose (and Brian agreed to!):

Side Note: For months I tried to pick a color. It took forever, but I finally found (of all things) a bath towel in Target that I loved the color of!

So I color matched it and it was "Swan Sea." And yes, I took the actual towel into Home Depot and put it on the little color scanner! :)

See, perfect match! :)

Continuing along... here is the bathroom mid-paint job....

Sorry the pic is blurry, it's the best one I have!

And finally... what it looks like today...

This entire bathroom was inspired by rubber duckies. Just for the record, this decor choice is compliments of my husband Brian, long before we met! :)

Our collection of rubber duckies!

Notice the "reading" material?! It's hilarious!

I think this is my favorite thing - the handmade candles from this etsy seller!

And now for the remaining items on the "punch list" for this room:

The sink faucet fixture....

This light fixture, which let's just say is not my favorite!

And the linoleum floor... not my favorite either!

Yep, I still want to replace the floors, the lighting fixture and the sink + shower fixtures, but those are little fixes that can be done someday down the road. :) What a difference a can of paint can make! I'm in love with the color and ready to continue working on different other projects in the house.

So if you come visit and stay in our house, this is the guest bathroom! What do you think? :)

Quote: Kindness

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Sevall) — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0000

Ran across this quote early last week - love it!

Baked Pasta (aka Mock Lasagna)

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Sevall) — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 15:00:00 +0000

This recipe is a loose adaptation of this one for Baked Ziti and is what I served Friday night to the girls!

Photo credit.

I improvised. I didn't want to grate provolone... Or use that much sour cream. Or cook the meat with onions. And there was not ONE box of Ziti in all of the grocery store. Oh and I was starving, with company, so I didn't get a picture of how yummy mine looked! So here's the recipe for my somewhat healthier version:

Ingredients:

2 boxes of penne regata pasta (about 1 pound of dry pasta, go for something round, big and with grooves so it will pick up the sauce!)
1 bunch green onions
1 pound lean ground beef (I used 97/3, only 3% fat!)
2 twenty-six ounce jars of spaghetti sauce
2 bags shredded cheese (I used a mozarella and provolone mix)
1/2 cup sour cream (approximate)

Preheat oven to 350F. Boil water and chop green onions, then set aside. When water boils, add pasta and cook according to instructions (mine had a cook time of 12 minutes). When pasta is added to water, start cooking ground beef. Once beef is browned, add spaghetti sauce and seasonings to taste to make the sauce mixture. I used Italian Seasoning -- no salt. In fact, we never really add salt to much of anything. I'm not a huge fan, but this is where you would add it if you want it! Heat the sauce mixture while pasta finishes cooking. I left the heat high so that the sauce would heat more quickly.

Get a pan ready -- I used the biggest pan I have available, at least a 13x17 will be needed. Butter it lightly to prevent the baked pasta from sticking to the edges. Drain the pasta, turn off the sauce mixture.

Put half the pasta in the pan and pour about half the sauce over the pasta. Stir it. Sprinkle a handful of cheese over it, along with half the chopped green onions. Now put the rest of the noodles in, add the rest of the sauce, spreading it over the noodles with the back of your spoon. Then sprinkle the rest of the green onions over the top.

Now, take the sour cream, and take two large spoonfuls (about one-third of a 16 oz container) and spread them over the top with the back of your spoon. Cover the top in cheese, lots of it! I used one full bag plus one handful of shredded cheese total on this recipe. You will have about a half a bag leftover.

Put in the oven for 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Change oven settings to broil and brown the cheese for about 3-5 minutes. Watch it carefully so you don't burn it!

It's delicious. Definitely the easy way to do a "lasagna" without all the hassle! Everyone loved it and went back for seconds and now Brian and I are enjoying eating the leftovers!

Today I am...

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Sevall) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 22:03:00 +0000

....enjoying the weekend I've been dreaming of for months. Lazy. Quiet. Peaceful. And, most importantly, at home.

Brian is in the garage:

building us a new entertainment center for here:

I cannot wait for the first piece to be finished!

Speaking of finished... the laundry room is almost finished....

Just waiting on choosing a counter top, raising the center cabinet, finishing the trim for the shelf above the washer/dryer and hanging stuff back up on the walls!

Brian's wildflowers:

Are growing in now:

And I love them.

And I cannot wait for these to ripen...

I have a little mess to clean up from a fun little party last night:

We played bingo, ate a great new pasta dish I cooked up and had fun hanging out.

Now I get to go play with the crafty stuff all weekend....

Or maybe the fabric?

Or maybe I'll just take a nap with this one....

Or this one...

Or hope for more text message pics like these of my cute niece Abby and her big brother, my favorite nephew CT...

♥ & miss those cute kiddos! :)

Starbucks Hidden Menu Item: Cake Batter Frappucino

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Sevall) — Thu, 26 May 2011 14:30:00 +0000

So it's no secret I have a sister who works at Starbucks. :) She's been teaching me some interesting combos of items that taste like other things. This one tastes like cake batter. Perfect for someone like me who has a serious sweet tooth and loves the sugar-y sweet taste. I should add that Brian doesn't have nearly as sweet a tooth as I do and he wanted to drink the whole dang thing!

To order, it's a grande vanilla bean creme frappucino with 2 pumps of toffee nut syrup. You can order it light (non-fat) and it tastes yummy with the whipped cream. Why cheat yourself of the best part?! You'll definitely want to go for a run or go to the gym after consuming this!! But it's totally delicious and worth it. :)

Wordless Wednesday: Yep, she sleeps with the doggie toys in the doggie bed!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Sevall) — Wed, 25 May 2011 19:00:00 +0000

Let's Talk About Toothpicks (Megan, this one's for you!!)

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Sevall) — Wed, 18 May 2011 06:40:00 +0000

So I'm working tonight and I had to laugh when they came on the news to talk about a toothpick replica of San Francisco at the Exploratorium in SF. It reminded me of 7th grade and our toothpick house! And by "our", I'm talking about Megan and I. What started as a math project of draw out your dream house on graph paper turned into "now, you're going to build it out of toothpicks". Occasionally, I still flashback when I use a toothpick. :) So this one's for you Megan! I'm still looking for our floor plan. I really hope it's still stashed away in my closet at my parent's house. :)

Life has been very busy in recent months, but I hope to be back to blogging soon. Really soon.

Our First Five Years

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda Sevall) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 06:42:00 +0000

It's amazing how time just flies right on by! Later this year, we will be hitting the ten year mark since we met! :) So today I'm sharing the first five.... rapid fire in mini album form! :)

all product info here.

I haven't been around here much cause I'm just running around like crazy trying to keep up with life! I have some posts I want to write, so maybe I should just quit thinking about it and get to writing them!! And, I'm super behind on reading my favorite blogs in my reader. I'm hoping to catch up in the next week or so. Hope you have a great weekend! :)