DIY?- Cuz I Gotta

Too much cheese? Yeah but I couldn't resist!

Let me share with you the little gem I found on craigslist. I knew immediately I wanted it because I had been searching for some type of china cabinet for a long time. I also knew I wanted one that I could paint and transform into something beautiful. The great part is I suckered my mom into buying it for me for my birthday coming up. :) Score.
This is how it went down:
Me: "Mom, if you love me you will buy me a china cabinet for my birthday. Or just because I am a wonderful daughter."
Mom: "Well I guess."
Guilt trips work.
Now that I think about it I don't know whether the I guess was that she loved me or that she would buy it for me.  Probably both but I did get the cabinet so I don't know what that tells me. Just kidding! My mom super loves me!

I love the details at the bottom and the top has clean lines. The inside has two shelves that need a little TLC but nothing that I can't handle.

Here are some eye candies to get my inspiration flowin'.

         

             

What I love about all of these is they have charm and a pop of color. My kitchen and dining room are very neutral so I want that pop of color on my cabinet. I am thinking of painting the outside a blue sea green and then the inset a marscopone cream. I think it will look perfect housing my jadeite dishes that I have started collecting. 

 Swoon. That just might be the prettiest thing ever. I am going to try and start on this project this weekend and let you know how it turns out. I might even guilt my mom into coming over to help. I've never ever tackled a project like this but I figure if I screw it up then it's nothing a little paint remover can't handle, right?

    

What's A Girl To Do?

I have a hair appointment this Saturday that I am pretty excited about. I'm totally the kind of person that will put off a hair appointment and put it off and then all of the sudden want it done and want it done NOW! I can't help it. Probably because 1. I am lazy and 2. I am a tight wad.
Let's be honest for a minute. It is expensive to get your hair done and while I love all things girly and getting pampered, I love having that padding in my bank account even more (I just realized my husband will love this post and the fact that I just said that).

Anyway, after my hairstylist went and moved to Tampa on me, I called up my friend Clelie and booked an appointment with her. She has never done my hair before as far as color or cut but she did my wedding hair and I trust her completely. It might help that I know her in real life and can be honest with her and tell her what I think.

So I am debating some new hair styles and would love your opinion. My hair is long right now so I was thinking I need a little length taken off so I won't be so hot and it will keep me from picking my split ends. Hey, I am being honest...

So which one do you like?

Too Much Celebrating...

To post yesterday! I kid, because actually on the day of our anniversary I went to the movies with my brother to see Harry Potter. Yeah, I know... complete wife fail. But to be honest, we have gone together for every movie and the hubs said it was fine by him. And don't think too poorly of me because we had celebrated the night before anyway.

I went to pick up hubs present on Friday and blabbed about it as soon as I walked through the front door. I'm a great secret keeper like that. But the thing was, I had his wedding ring engraved with our initials and the date and had "dropped them off to get cleaned". So as soon as I walked in he wanted his ring back and I had to spill the beans. I could have chanced him just not noticing until Saturday but lets be honest, I really can't keep it a secret longer than I have too... I get jittery and giggly and then the gig is up.
Saturday we celebrated with the rest of our presents and dinner at Porcini's. Restaurant name sound vaguely familiar? Well, it might. No, we didn't ask for a back booth just in case Slick Rick Pitino had another lady friend back there. But the meal was fabulous...steak with Gorgonzola butter, potato cakes, and grill asparagus. Yum! They even gave us a complimentary cake, how sweet!

Then we went home and ate our own wedding cake after a year of it sitting in our freezer. I was really curious how it would look when we unwrapped the box. It was mold free but they did pack it with the fresh flowers still on top. Do you know what fresh flowers look like after sitting in a freezer for a year? Yeah, well I didn't want to. After we picked them off this is what it looked like...

And it was surprisingly good. The icing tasted just like it did the day we ate it and it was probably the best icing I have ever had. The strawberry cake was a tad bit dry but it was still pretty good. Nick obviously thought so since he ate two pieces of it.

This is actually what our cake looked like during the wedding.

It was gorgeous and you would never actually know that it is fake. Yep, you read that right. It's made of Styrofoam except for the very top layer that we used for the cake cutting ceremony. We had 3 types of sheet cakes from the back; two were the strawberry and vanilla buttercream and the other was a buttered rum cake. Both were delicious. I know there are a lot of people planning weddings out there in blogger world and I would say that I highly recommend doing this for ANYBODY! I got a huge chocolate cake for the grooms cake, a fake wedding cake, and 3 sheet cakes for around $300.
Honestly, I priced a LOT of everything for the wedding. I had to really think to myself what I wanted to spend the money on. Did I want to pay $1000 for a cake that would be gone in about 10 minutes or did I want to put that money toward something I can actually keep like my photos. Photos definitely won out and I am so happy I made that decision.

Anyway, I'll leave you with the present Nick got me. I kind of already knew he had bought it because I found the receipt. Wife fail #2. But I was just as excited to get it in my little hands. Now I just have to decide where to hang it!

You'll Thank Me Later

This recipe might actually be the best thing you have ever tasted. It is one of those dishes where every time you take a bite you say "MMmmmmmm" to no one but yourself. I wouldn't lie to you.
I made this last week while my husband grilled some steaks. Most people get really intimidated by risotto but don't be! It really is simple if you know how to make a counter clock wise stirring motion... which you all should!
This might just be the best side dish ever... I think I already said that but that's how good it is. Listen to me people!

Creamy Mushroom Risotto

adapted from Gourmet Mushroom Risotto on Allrecipes.com

What you will need:

6 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 package mushrooms (I use baby bella mushrooms that are pre-packaged and already sliced)
2 shallots,diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups arboria rice (you can get it at Kroger)
1/2 cup white wine (use one you like the taste of and that isn't too sweet. Dry wines work best)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons butter
chives for garnish
salt and pepper to taste

In a saucepan simmer the chicken broth over low heat until ready to use.

In a large skillet or dutch oven set to medium high, add one tablespoon of olive oil and saute the mushrooms until tender. Once soft, remove mushrooms and juices and set aside. Don't adjust the heat and using the same pan, add one more tablespoon of oil and add shallots and garlic. Stir until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add arborio rice and stir to coat in oil. Continue stirring until the rice turns a slight color of golden. Make sure you aren't burning the onions or garlic in the process. You may have to add a smidge more oil and that's okay. Once it starts to turn add your white wine and stir continuously until all the liquid has been absorbed. Once it is absorbed add 1/2 cup of your simmering chicken stock continuously stirring until all liquid is absorbed. Repeat this process 1/2 cup by 1/2 cup until all chicken stock has been added.
Here is where you might start making your temperature adjustments to your burner. I turned mine a little more to medium. You do NOT want to rush this step because adding it slowly makes the risotto creamy. You don't want your burner too hot where the rice is sticking to the bottom and you don't want it not hot enough where it is taking forever to absorb. You know your burner and how true the temperatures really are. This step probably takes about 25 minutes but SOOO worth it.
Once your rice is al dente and all the chicken stock has been used, add your mushrooms and juices back in plus your butter and Parmesan cheese. I don't really go by the amount when adding the butter and cheese. I just do a tablespoon of butter at a time and a sprinkle of cheese then taste and add more if necessary.
Finish with chives and serve immediately.


You will most definitely say "MMmmmmm" once you take your first bite. Plus, this recipe is sure to impress any dinner guests and they will think you have gone and went off to culinary school. It's a hit and totally worth the time to make it.

Are you up to trying it? You should and let me know what you think!

*Edit: I don't know why I said counter clockwise motion. Looking back that is pretty stupid of me. You can obviously do clockwise stirring too. And if you are a real rebel you can even do both! Live on the wild side a little. 

It's been a year!

Tomorrow will be exactly one year since the day I married my best friend. I remember bits and pieces of the day; the stirring commotion and jittery butterflies. I remember arriving at my venue and getting to our suite where my friend Clelie was ready to do our hair. I remember the first time I walked onto the terrace to have a look at my groom and the tears that followed. I remember taking pictures in my dress down by the river in downtown Louisville... which led to me sweating profusely in 100 degree weather. In turn I almost passed out and went straight to the suite and instructed my bridesmaids to "Please get me OUT of this dress!" That may have been my only bridezilla moment of the day! :)  I was so nervous before walking down the aisle that I thought I might puke, but there really is something in seeing your groom waiting for you at the end that made the whole room go quiet. I don't remember much about the ceremony or the reception.... they were both blurs of memories and excitement. Looking back the day went by too fast. I wished I had stopped more that day; took a little more snapshots of the moments I was making with my best friends and family.  The first year of our marriage seems to have gone by just as fast but I know that I will have a lifetime of memories to make with Nick.

Tonight we are celebrating with dinner. I don't really know where we are going, but I know Nick has put thought into where he wants to take me. He is always thoughtful like that. We will be coming home to some wedding cake dessert, which I am both interested and scared about. Ours will probably be freezer burned and moldy!

I'll be sure to post some wedding pictures tomorrow along with the deets of our dinner and presents!! I can't wait to get mine :)

Finally!

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I asked for you to send up some prayers? Obviously you all have a straight connection because they worked! I was offered a new position at work and I accepted! I really wasn't allowed to share the news until now and I have been bursting to blog about it. I am really excited about this new opportunity. For the record, I am staying with my same company but just switching departments and job titles. I will be working in the training department where I will be the new training administrative assistant. This job fit right in with my teaching background and I am excited to get in there and get to work. But this also means... NO MORE WORKING ON SATURDAYS! Which to me is just about the greatest thing ever!!
So thank you to all those who crossed their fingers and said a prayer! It's time to celebrate!

Get Outta My Head!

I seem to not be able to stream enough thought together to make one entire cohesive post so I will leave you with the ramblings of my brain... you've been warned!

~ If I had known that 1 year olds could be lethal germ magnets I may have second guessed this whole church nursery thing. I mean, I know I don't have kids and all but how do moms not get sick every five seconds? This sore throat is for the birds and its going on 2 weeks.

~ Casey Anthony verdict... disappointed. That's all I've got to say about that.

~ When did I get old? Not really sure, but it always seems like holidays are a tad more disappointing when you're in that transition in between married but don't have kids yet. This old fart was gone from the party by 8 and in bed by 9:30. I was also the crabby neighbor that was ticked when fireworks were going off outside my bedroom window at 2 in the morning! Come on people... you've seen one you've seen them all.

~ I have officially started my birthday countdown and I just wanted you to know that it is at 26 days. You're welcome.

~ The hubs and I's one year anniversary is next Sunday. We are celebrating Saturday night with dinner out although I don't know where since it's a surprise. I kind of like it that way because that way if dinner is bad he takes all the blame! lol I kid... kind of

~ On another note, we set a limit on our anni presents and said we wouldn't spend over $20. Mainly this is because we are heading to Charleston, SC for a week at the beginning of August which will cost quite a bit so there was really no reason to go all out on presents. Ha but maybe I should have considered what you could actually buy with $20... word to the wiser (than me) not much. Don't worry hubs, it looks like you have got one big glitter construction paper heart headed your way! ;)

Ok, that is enough brain dump for the day. You're even more welcome!

Giveaway

Ok. I usually don't do this but this giveaway is just too great not to blog about for some extra entries (because I really really want to win!!)

Shasta is giving away a Clarisonic Pro and what I wouldn't give to get my hands on it.... because lets be honest (more so with myself) I really neglect my skin. Eek. And guess what? I don't even wash my face before bed. *ok don't yell at me please* But it's the truth!

So I would say go check out the giveaway but I secretly hope that you don't because that will give me a better chance to win. But I WILL say go check out her blog because she is adorable.

Shasta Anne

Pay it Forward

There are some good people in this world ya'll, and I just happened to experience it.

There is a local news station that gives out 300 cash to a deserving person. Today's deserving person happened to work for my company so at around noon the news crews showed up ready to surprise her. This girl has had an unbelievably tough year. Her husband was killed in a car accident right after finding out she was pregnant with their first child and I believe her daughter has had some health issues since being born.

It was so wonderful to see her face when they gave her the money. She was so humble and at such a loss for words that there probably wasn't a dry eye in the entire lobby.

This is where the story gets better (even though it's already pretty awesome). A customer comes in during all of the commotion and is wondering what is going on. So while I am helping him with his business I am also explaining about my co-worker and how wonderfully deserving she is of this attention. At the end, he hands me a one hundred dollar bill and tells me he would like to donate it to her as well. Melt. My. Heart.

I know that working in customer service can be tough but today reminded me that there are good people out there. People that generally want to help others without recognition for themselves. I'm glad I witnessed that today.