Wedding Shoe Lust

Can we take a moment out of our day to take a look at these super-fabulous pictures?! Specifically, I'd like everyone to pay attention to those super-fabulous white chuck taylors that those bridesmaids are rocking. TOO CUTE!!! I'd LOVE for my ladies to rock that look on October 2.

Since I know some of you (and by "you" I mean bridesmaids) read this, as all of SHOULD, obviously, what do you think of this? How would you feel about strutting your stuff in a pair of white chuck taylors? You'd match me! And it would be so much better than the sub-par silver flats that I've been able to come up with! Genius idea, right? Right! (Photos courtesy of Tim Will Photography)

Can we check out that adorable chuck-clad foot pop?! In the word of Megan, Presh!!

How adorable would those be with the dresses (only in blue and green, obviously)? So adorable!!

We could do the original:

Or the even more affordable version from Target:
I want it. I need it. Please bridesmaids, make it happen for me!

Here's links to the blog and website where you can find more pictures:

http://www.swsmag.net/blog/2010/2/2/real-south-carolina-wedding-grace-jamie-part-i.html

http://www.swsmag.net/blog/2010/2/2/real-south-carolina-wedding-grace-jamie-part-ii.html

http://www.timwill.com/blog/2009/12/02/jamie-grace/

Making a Run For It

I've been a bit of a sad blogger recently because Paul told me he has to go to Tupelo, Mississippi next weekend. He'll be there for two weeks, then come back for a week, and then go back to spend another two weeks. But I decided I'm not going to let my honey's impromptu "vacation" get me down. Instead, I'm going to use that time to better myself.

As it is, I find myself going to the gym 2-3 days per week because Paul has Monday and Tuesday off and he gets off early on Wednesday and I'd preffer to spend time with him than on a treadmill. I should go on Saturday and Sunday but I usually just can't bring myself to it. While he's gone I'm going to devote myself to going to the gym 5 days a week. And I'm going to run. He'll get back the beginning of May and we're taking engagement pictures later that month. I'm going to look the best I can for those pictures and not feel as uncomfortable in my clothes as I do right now.

I ran Friday and it was hard. I ran again today and it was a little bit easier. I wasn't praying for my mile to come to an end and I didn't think my legs were going to fall off my body. I know that I have a lot of work to do, but I always feel a lot better after I work out. I've considered doing the Couch to 5K progra, but I hear the podcast music isn't that great. I think I'll make a new running playlist (I've been using the same one for over a year) and just push myself to keep running. And by the time those engagement pictures roll around I'll feel a lot better. And hopefully I'll look better too. And when it comes time to tie the knot with the man of my dreams, I'll be hot!

Bang Trim for the Win!

At the suggestion of Jennifer and Jessica at the ol' DDS, I made an appointment with Lauren at Salon Del Sol toget my bangs trimmed. Ever since I grew out my cut-straight-across bangs that I rocked for a good 20 years (photographic proof below), I have yet to get my bangs to look just how I want them to. I'm fully aware of the size of my forehead. I know that, like the rest of me, my forehead is not whispy so my bangs shouldn't be either. So, armed with instructions written on a post-it note, I made my way into Salon Del Sol today and left with amazing bangs.

As a reminder, here's a before photo. Take noteof the significant amount of forehead hanging out below that birthday crown.

Here they are with a pony tail.

And here they are now. Take a look at those forehead-covering bad boys!

This is what it will look like when I wear it in a pony tail now!

And now, since I promised, here's proof of my longstanding rocking of the cut-straight-across bangs (not to mention those HAWT pink, rail-road-conductor striped, coveralls!)

I'm in Love...

She's so soft and pretty and roomy. Can I have her, please?

Exploring a New Frontier

I just made the most delicous shrimp quesadilla, EVER! Here's the recipe, in case you want to try 'er out:

1 pound shrimp (I used frozen, cooked shrimp)
4 tablespoons fresh cilantro
4 tablespoons chopped green onion
A few dashes chili powder
4 table spoons lemon or lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Tortilla (I used burrito size because it's what we had on hand)
1/2 cup shredded cheese of your choice

1. If you're using frozen cooked shrimp, thaw shrimp by placing it in a bowl of ice water. After the shrimp has thawed, remove tails.
2. In a bowl or large Ziploc bag, combine thawed shrimp, cilantro, green onions, chili powder, lemon/lime juice, salt and pepper. Let the shrimp marinate for 10-30 minutes.
3. Strain liquid from shrimp mixture and heat at medium heat until warmed through. Remove from heat.
4. Pour a small amount of vegetable or olive oil in pan and heat to medium high.
5. Place a tortilla in the pan and heat for about a minute, flipping with a spatula every 10 seconds. The tortilla should develop air bubbles. Remove first tortilla from pan when browned to your liking.
6. Add second tortilla to pan and do the same thing you did for the first tortilla. When it has browned to your liking, reduce heat to medium and spread cheese over tortilla.
7. When cheese starts to melt, add shrimp mixture and place second tortilla on top. Let it sit for about 30 seconds.
8. Slide one spatula under the quesadilla and hold another on top to keep it together. Now flip quesadilla over to heat the other side.
9. Remove from heat and serve with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, or Paul's favorite, Sesame Ginger Vinagerette. Apparently it's good with everything.

I meant to take a picture of the final product, but a combination of intense hunger and forgetfulness were working against me. Maybe I'll remember the next time around. But probably not.

Before I tried this recipe I was hesitant to cook anything with seafood that was more involved than dropping fish sticks onto baking sheet and popping them into the oven. Kitty never cooked with seafood when I was a kid so I don't really know how to do it. I can do chicken, beef, pork, even venison, like a pro, but seafood is beyond me. Shrimp quesadillas were my first baby step into the world of cooking with seafood. Next I'd like to attempt tilapia, tuna steaks and a salmon. Wish me luck!

Off hiatus

I've officially been HORRIBLE at updating lately. I wish I could lie and say I've been really busy, but that's not completely accurate. For the most part I've either been in pain or just plain worn out.

About three or four weeks ago I was on my way to work looking extra adorable in new purple suede loafers, when I noticed a loud grinding sound. I pulled over at the closest gas station, thinking, "I'll just put in air and be on my way." But it wasn't that easy. Instead of setting out on my way I listened as the air that I had just putin my tire seeped out of a giant gash that magically appeared. I tried to call Paul, but then I realized I hadn't taken him his phone when I left so from where he was sleeping in the bedroom, he wouldn't be able to hear me calling. Since I was in a panic and not thinking clearly I figured my only option was to start walking--in the rain. A mile later (did I mention those purple suede loafers hadn't been broken in?), I walked in the front door and burst into tears. I changed clothes and ended up taking Paul's car to work while he and Josh spent the entire day fixing my car. He also spent all of the next day getting the faulty exhaust repaired.

That Saturday I woke up to slight low back pain. But I ignored it and went to Walmart to pick up a crate for Ginny. I pulled all 40 pounds of it off the top shelf on my own, the put it in the caron my own and then carried it into the apartment on my own. Later that day I attempted to stand up off the couch and ended up falling and having to crawl back on the couch.I spent the next two days in unable-to-walk pain and didn't really recover for a week. It was a miserable week!

Evere since then I've just been trying to relax and/or catch up on errands I had put off. So that's my sad excuse for the disappearance. Hopefully I'll do better this time.

She's Back

I realize that I haven't blogged in for-freaking-ever, but it's partly for a good reason.

Paul and I, after months of deliberation, finally got a puppy! Well, she's not technically a puppy as she's a year old, but I thinkwe'll always consider her to be a puppy.

Monday was President's Day so I had the day off, and Paul always has Mondays off, so we actually got to spend the day together. We went to Puppy Love after exchanging my Christmas necklace that broke. We just go to gawk, since we know all their puppies are too expensive, but then we decided to go to Angels of Assissi, since the Roanoke SPCA is closed on Mondays.

Angels of Assissi is a no-kill shelter, but they have a pretty small facility, so a lot of their dogs are fostered out. Because of that, they don't have a lot of adoptable dogs to look at. On our first walk through none of the dogs we seemed like they were what we were looking for. They were either too big for the teeny apartment or too loud for the thin walls of the apartment. But then, as we were on our way out, we looked over and there was a new dog. She had been outside when we started our first walk. We went over to the cage, and that's when we met Ginny. Her official name is Virginia, but that's a mouthful and doesn't match her personality at all. Ginny does.

Eventually, after 24 hours, some angry interactions with our apartment complex, and fear that we couldn't have her, Paul and I brought her home. So, without further ado, here she is:

She's a chihuahua mix. They didn't specify what she was mixed with but we suspect she's part Corgi. She's currently busying herself ripping apart a toy I bought her last night, which is better than ripping apart the carpet at the door, which I just discovered she has done at some point. It almost looks like she's doing when we're away and she's desperate for a potty break because it looks like she's trying to dig out. We'll have to nip that in the bud.

In other news, my beautiful best friend Anna got married on February 13. Because of the snow I wasn't able to get home to help out with the planning and DIYing as much as I'd have liked, but I can't control the weather. And everyone who was in town did an amazing job putting everything together. Here's proof:

The beautiful bride, followed by her custom decorated foot-wear, and then the fascinator her aunt made her. With her nephew, Sam, the Fancy Pirate in his tuxedo.
My cousin, who teaches with Anna's mom and helped with a lot of setup, and I.
And another one of Paul and I for good measure.