June 7, 2011
Ten on Tuesday
Not much to blog about around here today, so I decided to give you a "Ten on Tuesday" post! In this series, I'll post 10 items--songs, books, etc---I want to share.
Today's Ten on Tuesday focuses on some of my favorite websites. These are websites I frequent quite a bit for information or entertainment purposes. I'm leaving off Facebook and Twitter, because those are just a given.
1) Mint- I've used Mint to track my spending and finances off and on for almost three years. However, now that J and I are married and have a joint account, I check it almost daily. June is our first month with joint finances, so at the end of the month we will sit down together and review everything. Then we will take our first stab at really setting up a budget. It is very helpful and easy to use. Bonus: It's free!
2)News sites- The Commercial Appeal, The AJC and CNN are my favorite sites for staying updated on current events. I have to admit though,I mainly skim headlines and read the articles that are most intriguing to me. I need to do a better job of reading the news and really being informed on the issues going on today.
3) Pinterest- I haven't pinned a lot the last week or two, but I love browsing what others have pinned. It is also helpful to pin gift ideas for my birthday next month!
4) Healthy Living Blogs--These are all in my Google Reader, but I enjoy Meals and Miles, Healthy Tipping Point, Kath Eats and The Fitnessista among others! I get meal and workout ideas from these blogs.
5)Food Blogs/Websites--Although I have a stack of cookbooks and old issues of Cooking Light, I also use the internet to find recipes for a weekly meals. My favorites lately have been Eat Live Run, All Recipes, Cooking Light and Skinny Taste.
6) The Sugar Network of Websites--There are over a dozen Sugar sites, but the ones I have marked in my Reader are FitSugar, SavvySugar and CasaSugar.
The next few I don't check as frequently, but they provide some good laughs and are my go-tos when I need to waste some time ;)
7) Damn You Autocorrect--I've been the victim of Autocorrect before. These are hysterical.
8) Texts From Last Night- My friends and I love posting funny ones on each others' Facebook walls.
9) STFU Couples and STFU Parents- There are a number of STFU Tumblrs out there. I have more than a few people who pop up on my FB feed I'm tempted to send in(but I'm not that mean)!
10)Young House Love--Ok, I do see this one daily because it is in my Reader. They are such a creative couple!
Technically that was more than 10! I hope I showed you something new. What are some of your favorite websites?
Today's Ten on Tuesday focuses on some of my favorite websites. These are websites I frequent quite a bit for information or entertainment purposes. I'm leaving off Facebook and Twitter, because those are just a given.
1) Mint- I've used Mint to track my spending and finances off and on for almost three years. However, now that J and I are married and have a joint account, I check it almost daily. June is our first month with joint finances, so at the end of the month we will sit down together and review everything. Then we will take our first stab at really setting up a budget. It is very helpful and easy to use. Bonus: It's free!
2)News sites- The Commercial Appeal, The AJC and CNN are my favorite sites for staying updated on current events. I have to admit though,I mainly skim headlines and read the articles that are most intriguing to me. I need to do a better job of reading the news and really being informed on the issues going on today.
3) Pinterest- I haven't pinned a lot the last week or two, but I love browsing what others have pinned. It is also helpful to pin gift ideas for my birthday next month!
4) Healthy Living Blogs--These are all in my Google Reader, but I enjoy Meals and Miles, Healthy Tipping Point, Kath Eats and The Fitnessista among others! I get meal and workout ideas from these blogs.
5)Food Blogs/Websites--Although I have a stack of cookbooks and old issues of Cooking Light, I also use the internet to find recipes for a weekly meals. My favorites lately have been Eat Live Run, All Recipes, Cooking Light and Skinny Taste.
6) The Sugar Network of Websites--There are over a dozen Sugar sites, but the ones I have marked in my Reader are FitSugar, SavvySugar and CasaSugar.
The next few I don't check as frequently, but they provide some good laughs and are my go-tos when I need to waste some time ;)
7) Damn You Autocorrect--I've been the victim of Autocorrect before. These are hysterical.
8) Texts From Last Night- My friends and I love posting funny ones on each others' Facebook walls.
9) STFU Couples and STFU Parents- There are a number of STFU Tumblrs out there. I have more than a few people who pop up on my FB feed I'm tempted to send in(but I'm not that mean)!
10)Young House Love--Ok, I do see this one daily because it is in my Reader. They are such a creative couple!
Technically that was more than 10! I hope I showed you something new. What are some of your favorite websites?
June 6, 2011
Menu Monday
I've decided to hop on the Menu Monday train and post the meals I have planned for this week. I try to plan for Monday-Friday for when we go grocery shopping so as to have a good list and not be tempted to eat out. Next week(Sunday, maybe?) I'll post our opinions of them.
Monday: Grilled Chicken with Spinach and Mozzarella from Skinny Taste. Rice on the side.
Tuesday: Shrimp & Grits via Cooking Light( Note: This isn't the exact recipe I have marked at home, but it actually looks a little more interesting! I think I have all the extras on hand to make it)
Wednesday: Cheesy Brussel Sprout Casserole from Healthy Tipping Point. I've only cooked with brussel sprouts once before and it was a giant fail. I hope this works out. I've cooked her Santa Fe Casserole before and it is yummy!
Thursday: Salmon w/Asparagus
Friday: Enchiladas. Veggies & black bean for me, chicken & veggies for him.
Thursday may change a little because I'm planning on meeting a friend for drinks, but if it does we'll just cook that later! What are you cooking?
Monday: Grilled Chicken with Spinach and Mozzarella from Skinny Taste. Rice on the side.
Tuesday: Shrimp & Grits via Cooking Light( Note: This isn't the exact recipe I have marked at home, but it actually looks a little more interesting! I think I have all the extras on hand to make it)
Wednesday: Cheesy Brussel Sprout Casserole from Healthy Tipping Point. I've only cooked with brussel sprouts once before and it was a giant fail. I hope this works out. I've cooked her Santa Fe Casserole before and it is yummy!
Thursday: Salmon w/Asparagus
Friday: Enchiladas. Veggies & black bean for me, chicken & veggies for him.
Thursday may change a little because I'm planning on meeting a friend for drinks, but if it does we'll just cook that later! What are you cooking?
Weekend Recap: Parents & The Pool
Monday is back! Didn't we just have a Monday?
This weekend was nice and relaxing. My parents came to town and it was great seeing them. We hadn't seen them since we got back from the honeymoon. I've lived here over three years now, so I've pretty much shown them everything there is to see in Memphis(Elvis is still dead, people). It was nice to not have to *do* anything with them.
The arrived Friday afternoon and came to our apartment after I got off work. We finally got to show them the wedding pictures! My dad swears this is just a bad camera angle and he doesn't really have a bald spot:
Picture by William Massey Photography
This weekend was nice and relaxing. My parents came to town and it was great seeing them. We hadn't seen them since we got back from the honeymoon. I've lived here over three years now, so I've pretty much shown them everything there is to see in Memphis(Elvis is still dead, people). It was nice to not have to *do* anything with them.
The arrived Friday afternoon and came to our apartment after I got off work. We finally got to show them the wedding pictures! My dad swears this is just a bad camera angle and he doesn't really have a bald spot:
Picture by William Massey Photography
We cooked out on our tiny patio with our tiny grill. We made this flank steak recipe from Skinny Taste. It was delicious! I've only cooked flank steak once before and this was seasoned very simply--salt, pepper and garlic powder. I scored a deal on the meat too! I bought two packages(a little more than 2lbs...more than we needed, but what the recipe called for) at Kroger and they had just marked them down from $12+ each to $4-5 each! I rarely buy/make red meat. I was happy to get a deal. We paired it with rice and salad and just had a good time visiting and not dealing with a restaurant crowd.
Saturday night we went to Mellow Mushroom with my in-laws. Yummy pizza!
Sunday my mom ran errands with me while JR and Daddy went to a car junkyard to look for a part for Daddy's car(I told you the man loves a bargain). My mom bought us a few things--we're living large with brand name Cokes now! :) We normally buy Kroger brand cokes, but my mom bought some for us along with two bags of chicken breasts that will last use a month or two! We're set :) After my parents left, JR and I spent the afternoon by the pool before doing our grocery shopping and returning a few wedding gifts/purchasing some items we actually needed. We went to dinner with his family as we normally do Sunday and came home to wind down before starting a new week.
Next weekend is a little busy, so it was nice to relax most of this one! How was your weekend?
I'm very proud to say that Saturday I got up and completed Day 4 of Jillian Michaels' Ripped in 30 DVD before my 9 AM photography class! I was tempted to sleep some more, but knew that was the only chance I had to work out that day. Class was a little boring--people asked questions that didn't really apply to me since I have a Canon, not a Nikon camera. Next week is the last session. After class I met my dad at an estate sale he found in Midtown. My dad LOVES bargain hunting and goes at 7 AM every Saturday to hit up a big flea market back home. He had his eyes on a dining room table at this sale, but we didn't buy. I'm looking for a china cabinet, but I didn't see anything there I liked(and I probably need more than 3 settings to merit buying one!). After lunch at Chipotle(my first time since it opened in Memphis!), we spent the remainder of the afternoon by the pool at their hotel. All the lounge chairs were taken at our apartment. I read most of this book:
Image via Amazon.com
Image via Amazon.com
I finished it Sunday. Very entertaining, but I felt like it just "ended" without tying up a storyline!
Saturday night we went to Mellow Mushroom with my in-laws. Yummy pizza!
Sunday my mom ran errands with me while JR and Daddy went to a car junkyard to look for a part for Daddy's car(I told you the man loves a bargain). My mom bought us a few things--we're living large with brand name Cokes now! :) We normally buy Kroger brand cokes, but my mom bought some for us along with two bags of chicken breasts that will last use a month or two! We're set :) After my parents left, JR and I spent the afternoon by the pool before doing our grocery shopping and returning a few wedding gifts/purchasing some items we actually needed. We went to dinner with his family as we normally do Sunday and came home to wind down before starting a new week.
Next weekend is a little busy, so it was nice to relax most of this one! How was your weekend?
June 3, 2011
Summer Must Haves
I do believe it is safe to say summer has arrived here in Memphis(and pretty much everywhere else). What this screen grab doesn't reflect is that it currently feels like 102 right now. blah.So in honor of summer, here's my list of summer must haves:
1)Cute swimsuit
I'm a girl who will buy a swimsuit and wear it for years. My favorite places to get them are Target and Old Navy because they are cute and affordable. One thing that annoys me about those places though is that the fit of the suits changes each year! When I was shopping for the honeymoon, I bought two new suits and they were the only ones I wore all week:
I bought this one from Old Navy, with the matching bottoms(image via Oldnavy.com):
I am a Delta Gamma, so I have a soft spot for anchors! Then I splurged and bought a Ralph Lauren suit at Macys that I liked, because you only go on your honeymoon once! I can't find a picture of the exact suit on the website, but it is a halter top in this paisley print with matching bottoms.
2) Sunglasses- I love my aviators.
They aren't real Raybans. I lose/break sunglasses all the time, so I refuse to pay more than $10-15 for a pair. I like shopping the little kiosks in the mall that say "You like Rayban?" or TJMaxx!
3) Floppy Hat- To keep my face from getting burned,I like wearing a big floppy straw hat. If I wear a baseball cap, my head gets even hotter! I just bought this one at Target last week and it has just the right amount of floppiness! Although I'm ticked it is now on sale!
4)Sunblock. Duh. I love laying by the pool, drinking a beer and reading, but I don't want to get cancer! I use Aveeno for my face(because it is sensitive) and usually Banana Boat or something like that for my body. Always at least SPF 30. I'm interested in trying the new Neutrogena Wet Skin line--has anyone tried that?
5) iPod + Reading materials- I'll do another post one day on a good summer playlist, but my iPod is a must by the pool. I also read a lot more during the summer. I use GoodReads to keep track of the books I want to read. The iPhone app is really handy when I am in the library looking for books to check out! I just pull up my "to-read" list and look for them!
Those are my must-haves for summer! My parents are on their way to town for a weekend visit. I'm excited to show them our wedding pictures since they haven't seen them all. Then I'm pretty sure we're staying by the pool, because it is way too hot to do anything else(and they've already been to Graceland!)
What are your must-haves for summer?
June 2, 2011
Clear Eyes, Full Hearts
I don't watch a ton of television. I have "my shows" that I like to watch and that's pretty much it. I'll turn it on for background noise, but I don't spend hours wasting away in front of the TV(unless I'm sick, there's terrible weather out, etc...then I'm known for tuning in for Buffy marathon via Netflix).
One of my absolute favorite shows is "Friday Night Lights." You've probably read the book and seen the movie by the same name. The final season is airing right now on NBC, but patience isn't my strong suit and I went out and bought it on DVD. Thanks to NBC/DirectTV for having the screwiest setup ever, thus allowing me to do this!
J and I watched the finale last night and I am so, so sad it is over. It is rare that you find a show that has such wonderful actors, story lines, cinematography, etc. It is just a beautiful show. The actors are phenomenal--Kyle Chandler & Connie Britton especially. How those two don't have Emmys is beyond me! The show won a Peabody; everyone realized how wonderful it was but no one watched because NBC constantly scheduled it at terrible times.
Based on a small fictional town in Texas, the characters are REAL people. They are characters you recognize, especially if you're like me--from a small(ish) town where Fridays are about high school football. Coach Taylor and his wife don't live in a mansion, they don't have tons of money, they argue, they love each other, they raise their family...you could look down the street and find a couple just like them. The characters were wonderfully written and as you watched the show, you began to care for them.
Clay Travis said it best on twitter....the fact that this show is ending is criminal. It will be replaced by yet another talent reality show or Law & Order series. NBC did this a few years ago when they cancelled "American Dreams."
If you've never watched this show before, I suggest you start on season one NOW. Stick with it through the WTF story lines(I'm looking at you, season 2 murder plot) and you'll enjoy it all.
image via Google
One of my absolute favorite shows is "Friday Night Lights." You've probably read the book and seen the movie by the same name. The final season is airing right now on NBC, but patience isn't my strong suit and I went out and bought it on DVD. Thanks to NBC/DirectTV for having the screwiest setup ever, thus allowing me to do this!
J and I watched the finale last night and I am so, so sad it is over. It is rare that you find a show that has such wonderful actors, story lines, cinematography, etc. It is just a beautiful show. The actors are phenomenal--Kyle Chandler & Connie Britton especially. How those two don't have Emmys is beyond me! The show won a Peabody; everyone realized how wonderful it was but no one watched because NBC constantly scheduled it at terrible times.
Based on a small fictional town in Texas, the characters are REAL people. They are characters you recognize, especially if you're like me--from a small(ish) town where Fridays are about high school football. Coach Taylor and his wife don't live in a mansion, they don't have tons of money, they argue, they love each other, they raise their family...you could look down the street and find a couple just like them. The characters were wonderfully written and as you watched the show, you began to care for them.
Clay Travis said it best on twitter....the fact that this show is ending is criminal. It will be replaced by yet another talent reality show or Law & Order series. NBC did this a few years ago when they cancelled "American Dreams."
If you've never watched this show before, I suggest you start on season one NOW. Stick with it through the WTF story lines(I'm looking at you, season 2 murder plot) and you'll enjoy it all.
image via Google
Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose.
June 1, 2011
Wedding Wednesday: The Proposal
Part of me wishes I had blogged throughout the wedding planning process. What a neat way to record a time that at one moment seemed to be dragging by and at another flying by with lightening speed! However, I never could make myself sit down and do it. So I'm doing it now, looking back on the 14 months I spent planning the day I dreamed about since I was a little girl!
What better place to start than the beginning?
We started talking about getting married back in the summer of 2009 and we shopping for rings. I made it very clear that he shouldn't buy a ring until he was ready. I knew I was going to spend the rest of my life with him, so I didn't feel the need to say "I need the rock by X or I'm gone!" While I didn't tell him what I was thinking, I was guessing he would ask sometime in the spring or early summer of 2010.
February 27, 2010 was a really pretty, unseasonably(55 or so) warm day. JR and I had a date planned. It is something we try to do each month and this one was our make-up Valentine's Day date because neither one of us like the idea of battling the Feb.14 crowds and waiting four hours at a restaurant we could go to any other day with no wait!
At the time, he lived in an apartment out in suburbs while I lived closer to my job downtown. We were spending the weekend at his place and had plans to go to Bonefish Grill, one of our favorites for special occasions that wasn't too far from his place. He told me all weekend he wanted to go downtown to The Peabody since it was such a pretty day and and I'd received my DSLR for Christmas and could practice taking pictures with it down there. I thought it was odd he wanted to drive 30 minutes in the opposite direction of our destination, but whatever. It was date night!
We made it downtown and into the lobby of the hotel...and saw Charles Barkley. That was exciting. I entertained myself taking pictures of the ducks in the fountain, all the while J was trying to get me up to the roof. He finally convinced me to step away from the ducks and we went up to the rooftop for a view of downtown Memphis. He found a spot away from some crowds, told me he loved me and then he proposed!
After celebrating, we immediately called our friends and family. He called his parents and sent a mass text to his friends. I spent a half hour calling my family and then all of my close friends. We had champagne to celebrate and then went off to dinner!
That's our proposal story! Sweet but not extravagant, it was one of the best days ever!
What better place to start than the beginning?
We started talking about getting married back in the summer of 2009 and we shopping for rings. I made it very clear that he shouldn't buy a ring until he was ready. I knew I was going to spend the rest of my life with him, so I didn't feel the need to say "I need the rock by X or I'm gone!" While I didn't tell him what I was thinking, I was guessing he would ask sometime in the spring or early summer of 2010.
February 27, 2010 was a really pretty, unseasonably(55 or so) warm day. JR and I had a date planned. It is something we try to do each month and this one was our make-up Valentine's Day date because neither one of us like the idea of battling the Feb.14 crowds and waiting four hours at a restaurant we could go to any other day with no wait!
At the time, he lived in an apartment out in suburbs while I lived closer to my job downtown. We were spending the weekend at his place and had plans to go to Bonefish Grill, one of our favorites for special occasions that wasn't too far from his place. He told me all weekend he wanted to go downtown to The Peabody since it was such a pretty day and and I'd received my DSLR for Christmas and could practice taking pictures with it down there. I thought it was odd he wanted to drive 30 minutes in the opposite direction of our destination, but whatever. It was date night!
We made it downtown and into the lobby of the hotel...and saw Charles Barkley. That was exciting. I entertained myself taking pictures of the ducks in the fountain, all the while J was trying to get me up to the roof. He finally convinced me to step away from the ducks and we went up to the rooftop for a view of downtown Memphis. He found a spot away from some crowds, told me he loved me and then he proposed!
After celebrating, we immediately called our friends and family. He called his parents and sent a mass text to his friends. I spent a half hour calling my family and then all of my close friends. We had champagne to celebrate and then went off to dinner!That's our proposal story! Sweet but not extravagant, it was one of the best days ever!
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