Monday, June 20, 2011

"Next Door...

ama & wuelo edited… there’s an old man who lived to his 90′s and one day passed away in his sleep. And his wife, she stayed for a couple of days and passed away. I’m sorry I know that’s a strange way to tell you that I know we belong…”
-Ben Folds “The Luckiest”

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

22 Before 22: #14 Master cooking a gourmet 5 course meal


Now that we have moved to a bigger space and are mostly settled in, I have decided to start planning my 5 course dinner party. I still need to work out the guest list but I know I want to design custom handkerchiefs as the invitations.


30 before 30: #21 Own the Adobe Creative Suite Design Premium

I completely forgot this one was on my 30 Before 30 and thereby forgot to mark it off :-/
Back in March when Luke and I got our Tax Return back, we decided to each take a bit of it and buy ourselves early anniversary presents. Luke wanted a PS3 and I decided to revamp my computer. This was going to involve upgrading my memory, backing up and wiping my hardrive, and installing new adobe products.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Seeing Dallas on the Cheap {Genghis Khan: The Exhibition}

Today start a little mini series I am putting together for families, couples, and out-of-towners who want to do something fun in Dallas without breaking the bank. There are tons of free and really cheap events and activities in Dalas that just aren't advertised so you have to know where to look. I hope these upcoming posts will make that quest a little easier :)
For my first cheap Dallas activity, I present to you all Genghis Khan: The Exhibition now showing at the Irving Arts Center.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

I'm Not Dead Yet!

Just a quick note to say I'm not dead, just very very busy! Here's a brief recap...
  • We moved to Greenville.
  • My mom came up and completely set up my kitchen, guest room, and office.
  • We still have about 10 boxes or so to unpack which I hope to have done by this weekend.
  • My mom and I reupholstered our couch and I scored a great deal on fabric for throw pillows (remind me to post pics and the story about that)
  • I have plans to refinish our entertainment center and coffe table trunk in a high gloss red ;)
  • I am working on a custom invitation suite for an amazingly awesome new client
  • I am making all my outfits for the convention and only have 2 weeks left to finish... will have to share pics of those too!
  • I planned and hosted a movie night going away party for a friend (more cute pics coming for that too)
  • Luke and I hit the one year mark and finalized our official celebratory plans. Plus got some sweet gifts from family and friends including a GPS... WOO! No more getting lost!!! :D
  • And I gifted myself with a Cruz Tablet :)
Ok that's all that came to mind now... I will share more details later. Thanks for hanging in there and bearing with me folks!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Anti-"Green Thumb"

So since we will now have a yard (Did I mention that we are moving into a duplex? So long 2nd floor apartment and 16 immediate neighbors!), Luke mentioned that the Dallas Arboretum was having it's plant sale this weekend. I blew him off because I had no desire to drive down to Dallas to pick up plants.

22 Before 22: #18 Make/Finish our wedding video

Just shy of one year later and I have finally finished our wedding video. Up until Tuesday evening, I hadn't even seen the footage because I had lost my firewire cable. So it was a pleasant surprise to finally see all the fun shots our friend, Mario Guzman, captured of the special day.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Sponsored Post & Giveaway: FRESCHETTA® Simply Inspired

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of FRESCHETTA® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

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Freschetta Simply Inspired Rustic Pepperoni Pomodoro

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Sunday, April 17, 2011

22 Before 22: #21 Finish our wedding/newlywed scrapbook

A few weeks ago I purchased a $45 groupon to Blurb for only $20. Since it's been almost a year and I have still to even start on our wedding scrapbook, I decided to simply put our photos into a nice photo book. I was able to create a 68-page hardback book with a dust jacket and all the pages printed on premium lustre coated paper. All in all, I only had to pay for shipping and my coffee table book should arrive in a couple weeks.

Amazon
Feeding the Soil
As regards our newlywed scrapbook, I ordered a black fabric 8.5"x11" 3-ring binder and 100 top loading page protectors. I plan to just order my favorite photos from the past year as 4x6 prints from ArtsCow and mount them on pretty scrapbook paper mats. I will use double-sided tape to adhere a photo to a plain piece of paper and just journal below it about that specific memory. While not the prettiest, I want to keep this album simple so that I can actually keep up with it over the years. I was totally inspired by the living, growing scrapbooks created by Sara of Feeding the Soil and Amy of Progressive Pioneer.
I'll share pictures as I keep our family scrapbook updated and I am still eager to finish up the coffee table book version of my wedding blog to have printed by Blurb.

{The photos featured in our wedding book are property of Sixfourteen Photography, JD Parker, Melanie Canales, Lyzette Cantu, Synthialyn Schultz, Nat Washburn, Scott McCleskey, Tiana Nolan, and Marcie & Rae Fisher}

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Easy, Yummy, & Cheap Peanut Soy Asian Dinner

I participated in a recipe swap a while back and received a super simple recipe for Asian chicken. Plus it's so cheap it should be a sin!

Ingredients
2 Tbs Peanut Butter = $.16
2 Tbs Soy Sauce = $.18
1/2 lb Chicken Breast (cubed) = $1
Simply Asia Microwave Meal Kit = $2

Whisk peanut butter and soy sauce until creamy. You may have to experiment with the amount to get a smooth creamy slightly thick texture. Put chicken in gallon size ziploc bag and pour sauce mix over. Remove air and seal bag, mix well so chicken is thoroughly coated. Pour bag's content into skillet and cook  until chicken is white all the way through.
When chicken is almost done, prepare noodles according to directions on package. Split the serving in half and serve with chicken.

Serves two on $3.34. Score! :)

I would post a picture but it's kinda all the same color so doesn't look too pretty but oh is it yummy ;)

Saturday, April 9, 2011

22 Before 22: #2 Create a photography portfolio website

It's done! I finally created my photography portfolio website and I am so happy about it! :D
Feel free to check it out and be sure to stop by the "Specials" page to snag yourself some great deals on portfolio building sessions I am offering!

Friday, April 8, 2011

Portfolios

I am currently going through my photos to finally create a photography portfolio website and I found one of my favorite shots I've ever taken. It's not one I can include in my portfolio since it needs explanation since most people won't get it at first...
It looks just like a bad blurry photo at first... but if you really look at it, you can see the bride and groom dancing and moving closer together until they meet in the middle where he kisses her forehead. It warms my heart every time I see it :)

I also completed my graphic arts portfolio last night so feel free to check it out! ;)

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Dishing For Dana

Hey Folks!
Today I have a special request for my beloved readers. Back when I was engaged, I came across the wedding wonder woman, Dana Larue aka The Broke-A** Bride. She is this amazing, creative, budget-conscience lady who puts every fiber of her being into helping others plan cheaper weddings. Since her own beautiful wedding, she has become a wedding superstar and started her own brand that ranges into nearly every spectrum of the wedding industry. Her story is what inspires me everyday with my own business and creativity.

Except Dana is sick. Like really really sick! She has an autoimmune disease that has required 11 surgeries! And now she has to undergo her 12th! As someone in the same line of work, I can honestly tell you that Dana isn't rolling in the dough. In fact, her and her hubby, Hunter, are 13k in the hole just from her medical bills (not including the up-coming ones with her next surgery). But Dana doesn't want to be a charity case.

Instead she has created a collection of comfort food recipes brought to you by amazing bloggers (like myself *wink*). In exchange for a donation as little as a penny you can get access to this entire collection of recipes! Can we talk about how much easier menu planning will be?!
Plus Dana is going to turn Dishing for Dana into a physical cookbook that you can purchase in e-format for just a $10 donation or in print with a $40 donation. Think about it, not only will you be helping out a lovely lady going through a rough time but you will be getting something you can use over and over again for generations to come. Win Win, right?
So I hope you guys can find some room in your hearts and wallets to help Dana out! And if not monetarily, there's other ways you can help too!

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Pinterest never ceases to amaze me...

So my new addiction is just to browse through "Everything" on Pinterest. So many pretty pictures! Well like 2 minutes ago I came across these two pins right next to each other...
Is it just me or does this not speak volumes about pop culture? Dare I say Zoey is today's Audrey?

Craft Room Inspiration

So we have given our 60 day notice at our apartment complex. We don't know where exactly we will live come June (scary!) but we have a few options ahead of us and aren't too worried that we won't find something. Since we knew from the beginning that we only planned to stay at this apartment for a year, I have held off on all nesting and decorating projects. We plan for this next move to be a relatively permanent one, so I look forward to finally settling in somewhere.
A big item on my nesting list, is creating my office/craft room. I've shown you all what my office currently looks like. And while it's been great in our current living situation, I hope to move it out of the guest bedroom. Ideally we want to set up a den which will house my office and craft corner and a TV and couch for Luke. I'm not the type of person who just sits and watches TV or plays video games. I like to be doing something creative, but that usually means I'm in a different room from Luke. That's been no fun so my computer is currently stationed on our coffee table so I can multi-task but be in the same room as Luke. If we had a den, we could design a pretty space that accomplishes this but everything has it's own space.
A requirement for this space would be a craft table. For the last year, I have had no large table surface to work on craft or sewing projects. Therefore, there has been minimal craft and sewing projects. I have had my eye on a few table options and these are the styles I love...
While I love the simple upcycled look of the sawhorse desks, I adore the organizational factor in the first desk. After doing some research I found plans for both options. I can either build my own wooden sawhorses (if I can't find some at a yard sale or on craigslist) and screw a MDF board on top or I can make a gorgeous storage craft table from Ana White's plans.
Since I will be using this table for all sorts of arts and craft projects including those that involve xacto knives and strait pins. I wanted a table top surface that would be protected from the damage of these utensils. I vaguely remember reading somewhere about a pad of some sort of material that this crafter would cover her table top with. Once it got worn out she would just tear the top layer off and there would be a fresh sheet below it. If anyone knows what I'm talking about, I would love to hear what it's called.
In the meantime, I have scoured the internet looking for a suitable craft tabletop protector. Not Martha had a great article on using cork and kraft paper for cutting tables. I was able to find some rolls of cork at Amazon, Office Depot, and The Container Store, but all three options would come out to about $40 to cover the whole table. The advantage of the cork is that you can pin patterns directly to the table top so that they don't shift while cutting. The disadvantage is that Xacto marks will tear it up faster than a self-healing option.
Since the self-healing cutting mats aren't in my budget at that size, I looked for an alternative. For around $50 I could cover the whole table surface with a vinyl drafting board cover. This is a viable option, but it's not super budget friendly :-/
The cheapest option I found, was recycling an old piece of linoleum. While not the most ideal choice, it would protect the table surface from scratches.
Of course, I could always opt against having a protective layer, especially if I'm just using an MDF table top that I could always replace later. And I'll probably always use a pattern cutting board when working with fabric which is far more economical at $7.
I'm not 100% sure what I'll decide to do but I'll keep you all posted once I start working on the room.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

22 Before 22: #19 Make 22 different kinds of cookies


Here is the list of cookies I plan to make... so yummy! :)

1. Mexican Wedding Cookies  - Made polvorones instead
9. Cake Batter Cookies  - Made a giant chocolate chip cake batter cookie shaped like a heart for our 1 year anniversary. I even frosted it and wrote happy anniversary on it :)
14. Tagalongs 

22 Before 22: #4 Read 22 Books

For those of you who know me, you know I love to read and reading 22 books this year would be no problem. So I decided to make it a bit more challenging by creating a specific list of 22 books.



2. Crossed by Ally Condie
3. Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan
4. The Money Class by Suzi Orman
6. The World Above by Cameron Dokey
6/1/11 - it was good but not as compelling as some of the others in the series.
7. Violet Eyes by Debbie Viguié
5/1/11 - Finished in one setting... proves to me why this is my favorite series and love this retelling of the princess and the pea :)
8. Saffron Dreams by Shaila Abdullah
9. The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson
10. What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
5/21/11 - Classic Dessen! So far one of the best books I have read this year... Sarah never fails to deliver :)
11. The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
12. Heist Society by Ally Carter
6/10/11 - So very good! Cannot wait to read the next book in the series. It was like reading a young people version of an Ocean's 11 movie :)
13. Across the Universe by Beth Revis
2/1/11 - Very interesting story (although I pegged the villain long before it was revealed) and I look forward to the sequel to see how they handle the situation it ends with.
14. Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott
3/1/11 - I am a huge Scott fan so I was very excited to get a digital ARC from Simon & Schuster. It was a quick read but not my favorite Elizabeth Scott book.
15. Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs
16. Dear John - Nicholas Sparks
8/25/11 - Finally finished the library audio copy I uploaded to my ipod several months back... I have to say this is probably my last chance for Nicholas Sparks. I have always felt that his books were needlessly depressing and this one doesn't even end bitter sweetly. It's just annoying. Savannah was annoying. To me she could not have been a more selfish character and for that I cannot possibly recommend this book to anyone. I absolutely cannot tolerate a word that comes out of her mouth and she really never understood what love means if she couldn't put up with a long distance relationship for a few years. As someone who was in a LDR for 2.5 years, Mr. Sparks cannot delude me into feeling sympathy for her. Such an awful waste of time!
17. Matched - Ally Condie
6/21/11 - Amazing book and cannot wait for the next 2 in the trilogy. It was a fresh take on an age old plot line. Completely recommend it!
19. Beastly - Alex Flinn
5/11/11 - I liked the modern twist on this Beauty & the Beast retelling but I like some of the other versions better. The chat room subplot was a bit of a stretch for me and just came across as corny.
20. One Red Paperclip - Kyle Macdonald
5/8/11 - Just finished and this book is so amazing and inspiring! I encourage anyone who has a dream project up their sleeve to read this book and get inspired to actually dive in and work on that project. I know I have been! :)
21. I Now Pronounce You Someone Else by Erin McCahan
8/9/11 - Very, very, very good book! Very clean and beautifully written. McCahan was able to capture so many emotions appropriate to that age and transitioning period. Definitely one of my favorites!
22. Prom Season by Elizabeth Craft
4/20/11 - Fun read like watching a teeny bopper movie but many typos and discrepancies. Definitely not as good as similar books by Rachel Hawthorne.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

New Template

What do you guys think of the new blog design? I think I'm loving it but would definitely like feedback ;)

Friday, March 18, 2011

Internet Tools and Sites I love: Taxes, Browsers, & The Kitchen Sink

Well the week is coming to a close and so it our wrap up of my favorite internet tools and sites. Before I leave you though, I wanted to share a few final sites that help keep me sane...


Misc. Internet Tools for Making your Life Easier


TurboTax
April 15th is fast approaching. Have you done your taxes yet? This was my second year of filing online with TurboTax and let me tell you, it was great! All it takes is a couple hours (maybe longer depending on your situation) and you can have everything electronically filed with the IRS and 2-3 weeks later your refund will be sitting in your bank account. How sweet is that?!






Hulu
If you have busy evenings like us, then catching tv shows when they air is out of the question. That's why we love Hulu! Now we can watch all our favorite shows (including a lot of cable shows) all in one evening. Plus with only 2 minutes of commercials total, it is so much more enjoyable than regular tv. And let's not even discuss the savings from not signing up for cable. And now with the $7.99 monthly subscription from Hulu Plus, you can watch entire seasons and series of many of your favorite TV shows.


MyPlate
I know I've talked about the wonders of MyPlate before but as a reminder, if you are dieting or simply interested in eating healthier, maintaining a food log is the best course of action. MyPlate makes it so easy and pain free plus has tons of other cool resources that it is totally worth checking out.










Google Chrome
Are you still using Internet Explorer? If so, what is your problem? Seriously! Do you not know how dreadfully awful Internet Explorer is as a web browser. It's slow, unsecured, fritzy, and a shear nightmare. Don't believe me? That's because you haven't experienced the internet in any other form. At the very least you should have upgraded to Firefox by now. But better yet, why don't you embrace what the must trusted name in internet technology has developed? Google Chrome is the best browser I have experienced to date and I have tried a lot (IE, FireFox, Safari, Opera, Dolphin...). Chrome is fast, sleek, easy to use, and comes with an awesome security feature that will stop you from entering a site with detected malware threats. Yes please! So if you are going to heed any of my suggestions, heed this one and give Google Chrome a try.


Well that's it for me folks. This week has been crazy with personal developments and I promise to share those at some point...


Have a wonderful weekend!


Disclosure: I was not compensated in any way for writing this post. I just wanted to share some awesome sites with my dear readers :)