Status of the Summer Manifesto...

While crickets chirp here... we are off enjoying the summer!  Here's how it goes so far with the Summer Manifesto....

My favorite pic so far this summer -- my Dad beating Brian at croquet.  First and only time that's happened in our backyard so far... ;)

Play with Scarlet everyday | YES. :)
Go hiking | Still on the list....
Go biking | Still on the list.... waiting for the Indian Summer to kick in for this one!
Go explore | Went to the Strawberry Festival and Gizditch Ranch with my parents, my good friend Erin and her niece.
Read a Book | Let's Pretend this Never Happened by Jenny Lawson (hilarious!), currently reading Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
Spend Time in Our Backyard | YES.  Been playing with Scarlet, playing Croquet, hanging out with friends, BBQing, gardening... so in love with the backyard!
Enjoy our personal Farmer's Market | Tomatoes, onions, carrots, lettuce, broccoli, squash, jalapenos, watermelons, lemon cucumbers, berries, strawberries.... all DELICIOUS!
Go to the Flea Market | Not yet...
Spend time with family & friends | Big, huge YES!  Coffee with my local girls using my new espresso machine (Leti, Anna & Elaine!), lunch out with various coworkers & friends, dinner out with Alli (Tommy's Wok & Pinkberry), dinner with my work team & boss, my parents have visited us twice, BBQ & Tour de France with Andrew & Melissa, stampin' time with Bri and Kat, skype with Zarogina, phone calls with too many to list, Monday night Bachelorette/Bachelor Pad chat sessions.... all kinds of fun with the hubby watching the Tour, running errands, hanging out watchin' our favorite summer shows & the Olympics, trying new restaurants.... it's been a fun summer so far! :)
Make stuff | So far a pile of cards, been working on a baby quilt and a crocheted blanket, jam (red raspberry, olallieberry, mixed berry, blueberry, apricot and strawberry vanilla!)... I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch of other stuff!
Watch movies | oh no shortage of this either!  Brian and I went to see the new Spiderman (loved it).... all kinds of movies on the Netflix and cable too, but we've slowed down over the last month to pay more attention to the Tour de France and Olympics... now it's hunting season so Brian's off hunting all the time!
Play games | Words with Friends, Matching with Friends, Scramble with Friends and Draw Something on the cell phones!  In real life, croquet and badminton in the backyard ;)
Work on the house | Aside from keeping the garden alive and the house picked up, nothing major yet... this will probably move to the fall/winter!
Go camping | Not yet... probably won't happen until hunting season is over and we are well into fall... sigh...
Try something new | Olallieberries -- YUM!  Gizditch Ranch was also something new to me and a lot of fun -- planning on going back early next summer to pick our own Olallieberries!! Two new restaurants in Salinas -- BJ's Brewhouse and Five Guys Burger.  Pinkberry -- LOVE it!  Gym at lunchtime (also loving this!). 

So we aren't doing so bad on this list... a few more things to be done this summer for sure!  A trip to take, more time with friends and family.... more fun to be had :)

Are you enjoying your summer?!

Brian's Squash Lasagna

Have a mentioned before that my husband is a phenomenal cook?!  Well he is!!  He has taught me so much about cooking fresh food by taste and today is no exception.  He made this delicious Squash Lasagna:

I'm so spoiled! :)  Here's his recipe...

Brian's Squash Lasagna
Makes:  One 8x12" pan of lasagna
 
3 large zucchini squash, cut length-wise into 1/4" slices
2 small onions, chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1-2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
pinch of salt
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of tomato paste
1 can of tomato sauce
1 large tomato, diced
1 cup of water (or chicken, beef or vegetable broth)
1 ball of fresh mozzarella, grated
canola oil spray

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and pull out a 8x12 glass baking dish.  Heat a cast iron skillet sprayed with canola oil spray (we usually use Pam or Costco brand).  While heating, put all the sauce ingredients in a blender -- the onions, garlic, spices (Italian seasoning, pepper, crushed red pepper, salt), diced tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, fresh cut tomato and water -- and blend until combined (it will be chunky!).  Pan sear the slices of zucchini until lightly browned on each side.  Time to build your lasagna layers -- put about half the sauce in the bottom of the baking dish.  Layer about half of the pan seared zucchini slices next, then about half of the grated mozzarella cheese.  Your next layer will be the rest of the zucchini slices, then the rest of the cheese and top with the rest of the sauce.  Cover with aluminum foil (to protect your oven from splatters!) and bake at 425 degrees for 50 minutes.  Serve with your favorite salad and bread.  Enjoy!!

A Glimpse of Today...

It's been a while since I've done a random snapshot life around here.... so here's a fun little quick list :)

My new favorite flowers.  Photo from here.

 The last person I sent a card to: My Mom for Mother's Day!
What I ate for lunch today: Carne Asada Tacos with Rice & Beans at Guadalajara Grill in Salinas w/Brian
Something I recently learned: How to make my own mocha :)
My favorite song this year: We Are Young by Fun ft. Janelle Monáe
The last book I read: Let's Pretend This Never Happened: (A Mostly True Memoir) by Jenny Lawson - absolutely hilarious and awesome.  Definitely a must read! :)
What I am wearing right now:  Dark grey jammy pants and a magenta Old Navy tank top.
The last phone call I made: My Mom :)
Inside I don't feel very different from when I was: 18.
The last restaurant I ate at was: Guadalajara Grill :)
My favorite TV show is: Grey's Anatomy.

Summer Manifesto 2012

Because I've been bad about blogging lately...
Because I need a kick in the pants to start blogging again....
Because I want to capture what we want to do this summer...
I'm jumping on the bandwagon and writing us a summer manifesto!

So without further ado...

What do you have planned for your summer? :)

Ten Years Ago Today....

I graduated from UC Davis and I celebrated with family & friends.

And the next day, I packed all my worldly belongings into the back of his truck and moved to into his house.

And ten years later, we are married, love our home and I cannot imagine my life any other way.

Amazing how fast the years fly by. 

I can't wait to see what our next ten years together hold!

Love you baby! xo :)

12 Goals for 2012

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:

1. Find a new job.
2. Learn to make marshmallows.
3. Make 6 quilts and sew myself a shirt.
4. Read 10 books.
5. Run a 5k.
6. Knit a blanket.
7. Frame and hang photos.
8. Finish laundry room and paint the kitchen back splash.
9. Consistently take pictures, organize all our digital photos, scan all the rest and make backups.
10. Go camping with Brian at least once.
11. Do Project Life album and keep up.
12. 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!

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...

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

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!

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.