Zach and Zaira

Last post...

2011-12-17T10:28:00.000-08:00

I won't be posting on this blog anymore...

As many of you know, I'm an interior designer. & for a while I've been doing research on how to get clients in this economy.

I've been advertising my home based little business & thank the heavens I've been able to get some clients.

I made a website a while ago, but I don't really know how to use it, so it's pointless to have it.

I made a "Design blog" where people & prospective clients can see some of my work, my style, things I like & my personal life. I'm trying a more personable approach.

With that said, my new blog is zairabenson.blogspot.com . I'm still going to post about my personal life but I'm going focus more on design.

So if you're interested on my life and design.. Follow me!!

xoxo

2011-09-22T21:09:00.000-07:00

Zach has been SOOO busy. He usually wakes up at 6:30 am and leaves for school at 7:15, comes home at 6:00 pm or 7:00pm we have dinner and he studies till 1:00 am. Sometimes he comes to bed at midnight.

It seriously breaks my heart to see him work so hard with little to no sleep & love it when he actually gets to do something other than study, like when he plays madden, when he plays sports with his friends or when he watches football.

What do I do when Zach is studying? Well, I get to enjoy my day with my friends or I do laundry. I don't know why but I LOVE doing laundry.

I finally got a job, so I'm excited about that AND I also started advertising for my business finally!!! I feel pretty productive now days.

Now we only have 3 3/4 years left, well more than that. But the count down has begun.

Med school is fun

2011-09-14T21:33:00.000-07:00

At least it is for me. The boys had a football game today. I don't know if they had fun. They have a lot to study today and the game just took away some time to study. But it was really fun for me. I got to go watch the game, take pictures and hang out with my friends.

The only thing I didn't like about Zach playing today is that I didn't get to spend any time with him today. He left at 7:00 am got home at 8:30 pm and he went straight to his office to study...

I really hope I get to spend time with him this weekend...

Basil

2011-09-12T19:53:00.000-07:00

My friend Kendall showed up at my house the other day with this beatiful pot of basil. I LOVE, love, love basil. But I never buy it because it's too expensive. I seriously almost got a little teary eyed. That was so nice of her...

I couldn't wait to use it, so I made some pesto

Rosted tomatoes

pasta. & this is what I got.

It was delicious! you can get the recipe here.

Zach Modeling

2011-09-10T23:21:00.000-07:00

Newspaper

2011-09-05T14:42:00.000-07:00

Zach made it into the Reno newspaper! Now I'm trying to get a copy.

Interior Decorating

2011-09-01T22:17:00.000-07:00

Alright, so here's the deal. I'm an Interior Designer.. I just graduated & moved to a city where the economy is baaaadd! I can't find a job. I really need one, so I'm looking for anything at this point, but I don't want to give up inerior design so I'm starting my own little business. Nothing fancy, just interior decorating.

I know the market is bad right now, but it's woth the shot.

I'm doing what I can to advertise. I ordered business cards & I can't wait to get to start handing them out. (if you need business cards go to vistaprint.com. You can get them for free!)

I also have a website zairabenson.weebly.com. & since I'm just starting my prices are really low.

If you need help putting a room together, picking out furniture, decorating a wall, choosing a paint color or anything related to interior decorating I can help :) you can contact me from my website or via email zairabenson@gmail.com

I'm doing work in Reno & Las Vegas!

I want to post more pictures on my website... so If you're interested I will help you decorate for free if you let me take pictures !

Some people have asked me to post pictures of my house. Here is a little preview. This is my living room.

2011-08-31T20:43:00.000-07:00

I was really excited to move to Reno, but I was a little nervous because I knew Zach was going to be studying the majoroty of the time. I didn't know anybody here...

We've been here for a month & I already have friends that I'm really close with & so does Zach.

The boys study ALL the time. When the boys have a quiz the wives get together so they can study all day or when we're bored we have lunch, dinner or just get together to hang out.

Two weekends ago we all got together at the Sparks Marina & had dinner & played volleyball.

I'm So thankful for good friends that keep me company.

Note how Zach and I are not together in the picture... I'm so short I had to move over to be in the picture.

And last.... I LOVE Reno! I don't think Reno gets enough credit. It's so nice here. I have two shopping centers close to my house, a TARGET close ( I had to live without one for three years), a mall, a beautiful Marina & more! I'm in love with this place!

And so it begins

2011-08-28T23:21:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted in a LOOOOOONG time. I took a little break this summer & now I have a lot of things to blog about.

We spent our summer relaxing & spnding time with our family & we moved to Reno at the begining of August.

Zach started medical school. I have a picture overload of his white coat ceremony.

I'm not going to lie... I cried when he got his coat.

There are 9 lds students in Zach's class. We wanted to take a picture at the white coat ceremony & we're taking another when they graduate to see how much we change in 4 years.

This day was great! I'm proud of Zach.

Have a good Sunday!

Hair...

2011-07-29T01:05:00.000-07:00

This is the way old ladies do their hair in Mexico. Growing up I thought this hair do was hideous... I still think its a little funky, but I like it !

Shop, shop, shop!

2011-06-09T00:17:00.000-07:00

I know I have been really bad with my blog since I moved to Vegas.

The reason why I haven't blogged is because I've been busy spending time with family, Zach had a birthday, my niece was born, we went to Reno for the first time & I opened an online shop.

I had opened one a year ago when I lived in Baltimore, but when I moved back to Logan I was too busy with school & work. Now I'm done with school & I have more time to do what I love.

My shop is for little girls right now, maybe with time I'll become more diverse.

I sell headbands & tutus. There's something about tutus I love. They are so cute....

Brittney not only let me borrow her little girls to be my models, but she also took the pictures. And I'm so grateful because she's a very talented photographer.

I'm posting a lot of pictures because these little girls are adorable & the pictures were so good I couldn't just post one.

Visit my shop here

I'm adding more products soon!

Kinley

2011-06-01T09:00:00.001-07:00

My little niece was born yesterday. She's perfect!

2011-05-27T15:04:00.000-07:00

I love these oreo faces!

2011-05-24T23:18:00.000-07:00

We moved!!!!

2011-05-10T00:04:00.000-07:00

What am I doing up so late? Well, I've been fighting with the computer for two hours now.

I sold my computer over the weekend because it wa giving me a lot problems. I took it to the apple store a couple of times, they told me it was fixed but I kept having problems. The guy that bought it said he could fix it easy, we just didn't want to deal with it anymore.

Now, I'm trying to figure out how to work the other computer. Which by the way is Zach's baby. I was trying to download photoshop elements & I somehow, don't ask me how, downloaded a ton of viruses & Zach about killed me. I'm not allowed to download anything without his permision now ha!

And it took me two days to figure out how to make my computer read my raw pictures. Anyways, I'm ready to blog again!!!

Doesn't this picture make you happy? Spring /summer is finally here! In Logan, anyways.

It was 70 degrees on friday. It didn't last, it's raining and cold right now, but the weekend was gorgeous.

We went up to the canyon and had a picnic with out best buddies.

It was the perfect weekend.

2011-05-09T15:21:00.000-07:00

You gotta love packing!!!

Yellow

2011-05-01T23:12:00.000-07:00

I want a yellow couch..

2011-04-28T23:34:00.000-07:00

We went to Vegas last week for Easter. It was the perfect weekend. The weather was amazing & I loved spending time with family.

We got back on Monday & it was freezing cold, it's snowing right now. Yes, snow in April, almost May. I'm not going to lie, I was pretty grumpy on Tuesday. I guess the weather puts me in a bad mood.

Updates:

Zach is almost done with school (& so am I)

Zach is going to be a rebel for the summer. He's so excited.

For those who haven't heard yet, we're moving again! This is our last month in Logan.

We will be spending the next two years in Reno!

Zach got into Medical school ( And he is going to kill me for posting this)

We're moving to Vegas for 2 months. I can't wait!!!!

Now I have to get some boxes and start packing.

A lot of people don't know I'm moving yet. I hate goodbyes, so I'm going to wait as long as posible to tell them :)

Feathers

2011-04-27T21:28:00.000-07:00

I finally got feather extensions thanks to my sister in-law! (She's awesome)

I love my feathers!

Look what I found!

2011-04-17T22:12:00.000-07:00

I took this picture almost a year ago. It was the day before we moved to Baltimore. I was watching Brady & Cooper. I had a lot of packing to do, so I turned on some cartoons on my computer. I left the room to grab something & this is what I found when I walked in. I couldn't help taking some pictures.

Maximo

2011-04-12T11:52:00.000-07:00

My friend Maximo came to visit us for 4 days. She was going to stay for 10 days, but we were worried that she would get bored so she changed her flight & only stayed for four days.

The weather was so nice before she got here and then, it snowed for 3 days straight! But she loved it!

Four days was wayyyy too short. Before she left she told me she wished she hadn't changed her flight. She wanted to stay here for a couple of more days & I did too.

I miss her already.

I love Maximo.

Beans

2011-04-05T20:38:00.000-07:00

Zach & I love beans. Especially black.

Canned beans have a lot of sodium & who knows what else they put in there... So instead of buying canned beans I make my own. They're really easy & inexpensive to make.

This is how I do it.

You need:

1 bag of beans ( I use a small bag)

water

crock pot

Pour the beans into a colander & rinse them.

Put the beans into the crock pot & put enough water to completely cover the beans and 2-3 extra inches.

Cook in low speed for 8 hours.

When done, dump out the water.

Now, you can make refried beans.

This is the recipe I use.

1 onion, peeled and halved
3 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed
1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
5 teaspoons salt
1 3/4 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin, optional

Sautee the onion & garlic with olive oil. Then, mix the rest of the ingredients with the beans. Cook for 5 minutes & mash them.

Enjoy your beans!

Random Pic

2011-03-31T22:04:00.000-07:00

The other day Zach & I were driving to school & we noticed something weird in the back of the truck in front of us. When we got closer we saw it was a dead little horse. It had blood on its stomach. It was pretty gross.

Only in Logan do you see a dead horse being transported through the city...

Remembering

2011-03-28T22:45:00.000-07:00

I came accross this book this morning while I was getting ready.

Zach had been reading it before school.

This is the Book of Mormon

the missionaries gave me.

This little blue book changed my life.

Apple Muffins

2011-03-24T22:31:00.000-07:00

Lately I love making treats. Baking used to be a big no no in my house. Zach hates it when I bake because it's usually unhealthy. Like that coconut cake I posted. He told me I'm not allowed to make it anymore because he pretty much ate it all. Well, I have a few healthy treat recipes. I know muffins are not really consider a treat, but I love them. I'm not really into sweet stuff. That's why I love diet or sugar free stuff.

I made my favorite muffins today. They are healthy & sooo good.

Do you want to try them? here's the recipe :)

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 apples

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup honey

2 cups walnuts (I love walnuts, that's why I use 2 cups or more, but you can use less)

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup applesauce

2 Tablespoons flax seeds (ground)

2 tsp baking powder

1tsp baking soda

preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix baking powder, baking soda & flour together. In a separate mixing bowl, mix honey, oil, milk, apple sauce & flax seed powder. Then, add the mixing flour & blend well with a hand blender or a kitchenaid ( what are those called? You have a hand blender & what's the kitcheaid? stand mixer? oh well, you know what I mean...) Then, add the chopped apples & walnuts. Line the muffin pan and fill up with batter. Bake for about 25 minutes until golden brown.

I'm really bad at explaining how to make things, so let me know if this recipe doesn't make sense. zairaera@gmail.com

Enjoy!!!