A Lazy Girl's List

I'm over at Today Was a Fairytale today sharing my Lazy Girl's List of Fall Favorites - do me a favor and go check it out, yeah?  Tell Kelly that Casey sent you!

PS a little birdie told me there's a pretty sweet giveaway going on over there today, too!

The Ghost of Halloweens Past

Every year, it is so fun to look back on past years of costumes, no? 

 

Enjoy the good, the bad, and the downright ugly from my Halloweens past.

 

Dressed up as ...eccentric high school girls? at a Fall Out Boy concert in 2005.

Oh, and I broke my rib this night.

Being myself (a Ruby's waitress, at the time) for Halloween.

Hosting a party for Halloween, just two months after Handsome Hubs and I started dating.

We headed to Downtown San Diego for Halloween in 2009.

I was Hermoine and my ginger HH was Ron Weasley.

Had to show off our friends' Farmville costumes - the game was so popular that year, and Cute Apartment's super cute Eve costume.

Pub Crawl is a little bit of an exaggeration, as we bought tickets to a pub crawl that we never actually got to go on, thanks to a misunderstanding of sorts.

Our costumes were pretty popular though - Blue and Steve from Blue's Clues.

In 2007, I truly cannot remember what I did.  Being that I was a sophomore in college, the reason I can't remember probably has a little something to do with booze.

 

In 2010, my sweet HH and I were Fred and Wilma Flinstone and HH's costume was so darn cute.  How I managed to not get photos is not only depressing but a total disgrace to a photo obsessed gal like myself!

Quotable Tuesdays

Adios, October

In October...

 

We made our first ever mortgage payment!  A sad day for our bank account, but a satisfying feeling all the same!

 

Aunt Fancy Chef and Uncle Lighting came over and treated us to two fun surprises: dinner out and a super generous housewarming gift of some new lighting fixtures for our new home!

 

Ms. Art Teacher and I had a long overdue gab session, for which she supplied the sweetest little minuature champagne bottles.

 

So dang cute.

 

We unloaded some of our junk, that just so happened to be other people's treasures, at a garage sale lovingly hosted by Grandma Beach Bum aka Garage Sale Expert.

 

Family poker night rolled around again and this time I made a disgrace of myself, finding myself first out - but luckily Handsome Hubs grabbed second place!

 

I had a double twin day when I was lucky enough to have lunch with Twin Beauty School (now a graduate of Beauty School, bee-tee-dubs) and dinner with Twin Unicorn!

 

I got to spend a few hours with Lil C when his mom and daddy-o headed out for date night.  We even ventured out to Michaels for some supplies - mama practice, I tell ya.

 

Lots and lots of house projects were worked on - photos, recaps and before and afters coming very soon!

 

Handsome Husband and I got to spend some time with our San Diego buddies when we went down for his Alma Mater's Alumni Weekend for Athletes.  It was so much fun to watch HH play with his old teammates again!

 

Gardening Momma and I trekked it out to Highland for a Halloween party my cousin and her family throws every year, and judging by the amount of fun we had this year, I'd say we'll be back next year!

 

And on Wednesday, for our very first Halloween (or holiday, in general!) in our new home, the plan is to sit on our patio and hand out candy to the many many adorable kids that surround us in our neighborhood (is it hot in here, or is that just my baby fever?).

 

And clearly, by the looks of this post, I did not take nearly enough photos!



Cooking with Casey: Beef and Noodle Stir Fry

I'm pretty proud of myself for this one, guys.

 

I took a recipe, didn't have/couldn't find some things listed in it, and turned it into my own thing!  When I explained that the Handsome Husband, his response was "What are you, a cook, or something?" - my husband, he's just got a way with words.

 

You can see the original recipe by the one and only Pioneer Woman HERE.  Below is the recipe I used, including all my changes.

 

Beef and Noodle Stir Fry

Serves 4

 

I got way too much joy out of setting up this photo.

 

1 1/2 lb Flank Steak

1/2 cup Low Sodium Soy Sauce

4 Tbsp White Wine (I used Pinot Grigio, an uuber cheap bottle)

2 Tbsp Packed Brown Sugar

2 Tbsp Cornstarch

Garlic Powder

2 Tsp Chili Sauce

Canola Oil

1 Medium Sweet Onion (I prefer sweet onions, so I always use them)

2 Red Peppers

1 Tbsp Diced Jalapeno (I used a can, sister don't dice jalapenos in this house)

Anthony's Cut Fideo Pasta

 

Start by putting together your marinade/sauce that you will soak flank steak in by combining in a medium bowl: soy sauce, white wine, brown sugar, cornstarch, garlic powder (the original recipe calls for garlic cloves, but I am both lazy and cluless, so I simply use garlic powder and on this occasion, I probably used about a teaspoon?) and chili sauce.  Set aside.

 

Thinly slice flank steak.  I cut mine in half lengthwise, and then sliced, so my pieces were not too long.

 

 

Place flank steak slices in sauce and toss to coat.  Leave steak slices in sauce and set aside.

 

Dice onion (I prefer very small pieces, but if you like slices, that would work great too!), and slice red pepper into small rings/slices.

 

Heat about a tbsp of canola oil in a large skillet over high heat.  Once hot, add onions and sautee for about a minute and a half.  Remove onions and put in medium bowl.

 

Return skillet to flame, and allow to get hot again.  Add pepper slices/rings and cook for about two minutes - until peppers have some black and brown but are still firm.  Remove peppers and put on top of onions in medium bowl.

 

Return skillet to heat and add another tbsp of canola oil.  Allow to get hot again and, using tongs, add a chunk (you're welcome for the technical lingo) of the steak from the sauce.  Spread the slices of steak out in the pan and sear on each side for 20-30 seconds.  After both sides have been cooked, put on top of peppers and onions in medium bowl.  Continue until all meat has been browned.

 

Now would be a good time to put your water for noodles on to boil. 

 

Lower heat for skillet to low, and add back your bowl full of meat, peppers and onions.  Top with leftover marinade that steak was soaking in.  Let simmer while the liquid thickens.

 

 

Once water is boiling for noodles, add noodles and cook per package instructions.  (I used about 3/4 of the package, because I am a huge noodles fan, you could use less.)  Once noodles are done cooking and drained, add to stir fry mixture in skillet.  Mix to warm everything up one last time, and you're done!

 

 





Things Thursday: Things I'd Like to be in Another Life

1. A starfish, so I'll always be a star!

2. The President - we know that's not happening in this life.

3. A dude.  Although in actually, I'd like to be a dude for all of 15 minutes, y'all are gross.

4. A wedding planner, just like JLo.

5. A kitten, but only a housecat - this girl don't wanna catch her own food or sleep outside in the cold!

6. Miranda Lambert.  Love her.  Though I'd go by Miranda Lambert-Shelton, but that's just me.

7. An artist - I can barely draw a straight line as it is.

8. A goat, but only if I could be this guy:

 

9. A high powered bossy pants business lady.  Who wears Louboutins .

 

10. A butterfly.

 

{source}



Road Trips

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The thing about road trips is that in theory, they sound so cool.  Getting to make your own schedule, no stuffy plane to be stuck on, unlimited stops to check out cool sightings of the road.

 

But then there's reality.  A car seat that no matter what contorted position you're in, you're uncomfortable and need to switch every 15 minutes.  It's always either too hot or too cold in the car.  All you want to eat is junk, and then all you do is feel sick to your stomach.  Never a bathroom in sight when the urge hits.

 

Road trips blow.

 

{source}

 

I am a great road trip partner.

 

{source}

 

And by great, I mean if you look for the following in a road trip companion:

 

Someone who sleeps longer you think is humanly possible

 

Someone who has perfected complaining as if it is an artform

 

Someone who is always either too hot or too cold

 

Someone who refuses to drive, but has a lot to say about your driving

 

Someone who most always leaves something at home, and 50% of the time needs to go back and get it

 

{source}

 

Any takers?

Quotable Tuesdays

GFC Blog Hop!

It's Tuesday again which means it's time for the GFC Blog Hop!  I am so happy to be cohosting this fun Blog Hop (that I try to link up with every single week!) with Melissa!  Thanks for reaching out to so many bloggers, Melissa!

When I want to follow a blog the first thing I look for is GFC (Google Friend Connect), it's so easy and  nice to be able to go and see all of the blogs you follow in one spot. It's really a great tool to have. 

One side note- Did you know you can follow through GFC using your Twitter Account? TRUE, it's definitely an option!

Ok, so let's get to the party, shall we?

RULES are simple:

1. Follow your host via GFC

The First link below

2. Follow your co-hosts via GFC

The Next 8 links below

3. Link up below using your main blog url not a specific post.

4. Make sure to visit some of the blogs in the link up and follow them via GFC 

and if you want to leave them a comment, I'm sure they'd appreciate that as well.

5. Tweet about this blog hop

Tweet

6. Share about this blog hop by grabbing a button and putting it on your sidebar!

<a href="http://www.thelifeofanotsoordinarywife.com/search/label/gfcbloghop"> <img src="http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z237/melissaenault/gfcbloghop-1.gif" border="0" /></a>

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Adventures in Pinterest: Another Alcoholic Gift

In continuing my theme of heavy drinkers giving heavy drinkers drinking gifts (see what I gave BF Fashionista for her birthday HERE), I thought I'd share a recent birthday gift for the one and only Cute Apartment: the Glittered Patron Bottle:

This is such a quick and easy project, with a super fun result!

All you need is:



Also needed and not pictured: a sealant, I used a FolkArt brand paint-on varnish; foam brush; cheap paintbrush (about an inch thick worked perfect for me); E-6000 Adhesive

Quick and painless steps to glittered happiness:

1. Clean your bottle 'o booze with a damp cloth, and remove the weird green ribbon if you're using the Patron Silver like me (WTF is that thing for anyways?).

2. Going in sections (I did maybe 6 sections total for the entire bottle), paint on a medium coat of Mod Podge.

3. After each coat of Mod, liberally sprinkle glitter over bottle.  Best to do this over a shoe box lid or something of the sort to catch all the excess glitter - there will be a lot!

4. After each sprinkling, shake or tap side of bottle to remove excess glitter from the bottle.  Don't try and gingerly hand-sweep off the extra...learn from my mistakes.

5. Continue steps 2-4 until entire bottle is covered (or the portions you would like are, I chose to leave label showing, because let's be honest Patron is for ballers).

6. Using E-6000 Adhesive (this stuff is strong, best "glue" I've ever used!), put a small dot on the back of each rhinestone and apply in a border around label (or wherever you'd like - I thought it would be cute around the neck of the bottle as well).

7. After glitter/Mod Podge is dry to the touch (glitter doesn't move around when you rub gently), apply your varnish.  A thin coat is best, so you don't lose too much of the sparkle from the glitter!

8. Let dry at least 10 hours before you imbibe give to a friend.

My Pinterest inspiration:



Source: sororitycraft.tumblr.com via Casey on Pinterest

Linking up with: The Vintage Apple, Something Swanky, Vintage Wanna Bee, Ginger Snap Crafts, Lil Luna, I {Heart} Nap Time, A Diamond in the Stuff, Live Laugh Rowe, 504 Main, Tatertots and Jello, Be Different Act Normal, Six Sisters' Stuff, C.R.A.F.T., Delightful Order, House of Hepworths, Positively Splendid, BEAUtiful Mess

Lots of Link Love

 
 

Like Tara, I think it's important to emphasize the importance of community in the blog world and not only focusing on ourselves and our own blogs, but to spread lots of blog love to those who deserve it.  Every other Thursday, I will highlight the posts over the last two weeks that touched me, made me laugh, pulled at my heartstrings, and inspired me.

•  Sarah set up the most wonderful Silent Auction for The Turners - please go check it out and bid on some items before time runs out tomorrow night!

• Kimberly shared a tutorial for the most adorable mirrored pumpkin project.

• Megan had me laughing out loud with her list of 10 Things You Shouldn't Say to a Pregnant Woman.

Forgive me for my lack of love this week, it's been a rough one and I am way behind on blog reading!

Quotable Tuesdays

Show & Tell: When I Was 17

Linking up with my fave Mama today.

 

1. When you were 17, tell us what kind of car you drove, where you worked, and what you were usually up to on the weekends.

When I was 17, I was driving my prized Honda Civic with gorg rims (oh, the things you care about at 16/17).  I loved that car (wish I had a picture to share!), and one of my favorite memories is going with my parents the day after Christmas to pick out what color I want and ending up driving my baby right off the showroom floor!  I was working at Ruby's Diner, and loving it, though I didn't get promoted to server until a few months after my 18th birthday - pesky alcohol serving laws!  On the weekends, I was usually partying - that's right, this girl here was a total party girl at 17.  If not doing a little underage drinking, I was working with a total nerdfest extracurricular I was involved in, Model United Nations.  A nerdy party girl - I was like a walking oxymoron.

2. Show us a picture of you when you were 17 {roughly}.

3. When you were 17, tell us what you wanted to be when you "grew up."

When I was 17, I wanted to work in some kind of fashion merchandising or marketing.  Which is odd, because I wasn't at all fashioniable.  I also had lofty goals of doing makeup for a living (though I literally only wore it about 5 times a month at the time), or being some kind of CEO (clearly I knew nothing about much of anything).  I was not thinking of being a nurse - another story for another day. 

4. When you were 17, tell us the kind of boys that you dated. Did you have a type? Do you have a relationship you remember well? Tell us about it.

I had a boyfriend for much of my senior year of high school that I started dating at 17.  He was kind, incredibly mild-mannered, and nothing like me (not that I'm not kind of mild-mannered).  To be honest, I was sort of (and by sort of, I mean completely and totally) a bad influence on the kid.  I definitely didn't have a type, as the three boys (they were certainly not men) I "seriously" dated from ages 15-19 were as opposite as they could possibly have been. 

5. When you were 17, tell us where you pictured your life 10 years from then. Did it turn out the way you expected it to?

Well, it pleases me to no end to say that I am not yet 10 years out from 17!  But when I did picture my life at 27 (still a few years into the future for me!), I did picture it quite similar to what I hope and pray it will end up like.  Granted, my career is not at all what I thought it would be (and how happy I am I found myself here to nursing), but I wanted to be married and in love with my husband (I am now!), and have a family (thinking about thinking about it, you know) - that is what was important to me, and that is what is still important to me.

I actually wrote a whole post about When I Was 18 you can check out HERE if you want some more dirt about my late teens!

Fill in the Blank Friday

It's been a while since I've linked up for Fill in the Blank Friday, but I'm fresh out of inspiration, so here goes!

 

1. My favorite flower is  stargazer lilies.  And lucky my Handsome Husband knows that...ps HH, it's been a while since I had some pretty pink lilies to gaze at.

 

 

2. You should never talk about money, unless someone wants your advice/knowledge.  People who can't have a conversation without reminding everyone how much money they have or make drive me bananas. 

3. My favorite discovery as of late is some of the super yum recipes I have tried out recently.  Taco shells, zucchini boats (c/o Katie!), SO good!

 

4. This fall you will probably find me wearing leggings (just bought a pair from Old Navy, per Megan's glowing review!), loose tops and sweaters, and boots.  Or you know, scrubs five days a week.   

5. I wish I were at my house, painting the rest of my half-painted kitchen.  I got awfully inspired a few nights ago, and inspiration has yet to hit again...at least not when I'm home. 

6. My favorite TV show currently is a list way too long to list right here, so instead I'll share my top three new-ish shows: 1. The Mindy Project, 2. Partners, and 3. Up All Night (this is the second season, but I just recently watched the entire first season On Demand so it feels new to me!).  

 

7. This weekend I want to go to San Diego to see our amazing friends that I miss everyday, watch HH kick some alumni soccer ass, beer garden my booty off, go out to a bar (hello, it's been a while from this girl), and then head home for a Sunday of seeing my Small Town Grandma who I never get to see and flower/plant shopping for my front patio with Gardening Mama.  Couldn't plan a better weekend if I tried!

Things Thursday: Things I Don't Want to Read About on Facebook

1. Your political opinions.  Especially those ones that make you sound like a know-it-all...and a douche.

2. Your bodily functions.

3. How mad you are at your boyfriend/girlfriend/best friend/mother/father/dog/grandma/etc.

4. How terribly hard your life is.

5. Your sex life.

6. Anything about how much money you make.

7. Really anything from you, if you can't use proper grammar and spelling.  It's not that hard!

8. An announcement to all 1300 of your friends that your apartment will be empty for the next week while you're on vacay.  Not that I plan to break in, but it's just so damn stupid.

9. How drunk, high, or both you got last night.

10. A constant stream of your daily activites. 

Missing You When We're in the Same House

They said law school was going to be hard on our marriage.  That it would result in lots of sleepless nights, and many a frustration.

And they were right.

 

But not quite in the way I thought they would be.  I thought, if anything, it would a frustrating couple years.  That I would be angry with law school for keeping my husband so busy - bitter even.  But I'm not mad, I'm not angry, not even frustrated (not yet at least - still have quite a ways to go!).

 

I just miss my Handsome Husband!

 

I feel I'm lucky in that I love being around my HH - I don't just love him.  We are truly the best of friends and we have so much fun together.  The funny thing that this new transition into law school has brought is that I now miss him even when we're in the same house!  He can be in the next room over, but I miss him desperately because we went from spending so much time together (living in one 10x10 bedroom will do that to ya), to a whole new time in our lives.  

 

The good?  It makes our time together that much special.

The bad? It makes me just a little sad when I really miss the dude.

The ugly? After a few too many days of next-door missing, I get a little whiny. 

 

Dance party in Arizona - August 2012

 

Here's to counting down the days until Winter Break, and just a little bit of free time for my hardworking Handome Husband.

(Dibs on being your partner at the first dance party post 1st semester.)



Quotable Tuesdays

Show & Tell: The IF Game

 

It's been a while since I've linked up with my favorite mama, Becky, for Show & Tell - so here goes!

 

1. If you could relive any memory in your life, tell us what it would be, and what/if anything you would change about it?

 

I would want to relive my entire wedding day if possible.  It was, by far, without a doubt, the most fun day of my entire life.  I mean, how could it not be?  I got to start the day surrounded by all my favorite girls, get all dolled up in a dress I dreamed about wearing my entire life, see all my friends and family, exchange vows with a man I loved, drink and dance the night away, and go to sleep for the first time as a married lady. 

 

Oh, and I wouldn't change a thing.

2. If you could be any celebrity or well-known person, show us who you would be.

 

Easy one.

 

 

3. If you won the lottery, tell us would take the lump sum or take the money overtime, would you continue working or quit right away, would you reveal who you are, and what are some of the first things you would spend with your money?

The lottery what if game - so much fun!

 

First things first, I'd take the lump sum.  No question.

 

I would give my notice (and do the right thing and wait until they hired someone to replace me!), but I wouldn't just lounge around.  I'd get right on the train to get my RN, my BSN, my MSN and then start taking over the world!  I might have to squeeze in some vacays here or there, being a new millionaire and all!

 

As far as buying goes?  I would buy some land in our beautiful town and build our dream home.  I would also buy my parents their dream home, and pay for my sisters' education.  I'm sure there would be some more gift giving going on - this girl likes to give!

4. If you could live anywhere, show us where it would be and tell us why.

Really and truly, I would live here in Orange County, California.  It is my favorite place in the entire world, and I wouldn't want my life anywhere else.

 

 

Sidenote: It's actually always sort of irked me when people say they don't want to live where they currently do, but don't seem to be doing anything about it.  If you don't love where you live, why settle?

5. If you could have one magic power, what would be and what would you do with it?

 

I would like the power the heal.  I'd rather not fly, because I'm sort of afraid of being all that high up in the air if there's not a plane surrounding me.  I don't want to be invisible, because I have a feeling I'd just get my feelings hurt all the time.  So me?  I'd like to heal. 

Really Good Friends

Good friends refer you a great painter.

Really good friends get down and dirty,

and spend their weekend helping you paint.

Cute Apartment rocks the roller.

Handsome Husband on the ladder.

Ta-da!

A big thank you to some of our really good friends for being really good friends.