Resolutions?

Get skinny
Get rich
Become famous

BOOM

 

Just kidding.  I've never made resolutions.  Why wait until January 1st to make a change?  Also, I feel like most resolutions I see floating around facebook are doomed for failure from the beginning.

"Run at least 1 mile every day"
"Tell someone I appreciate them every day"
"Create a budget and stick to it"

I don't know about you, but I can barely cook myself a meal every day.  If you feel like you can run 1 mile every day for an entire year, it's time for you to get a full time job.

I'm not going to wait until January 1st to tell people I appreciate them.  I appreciate you.

I think creating a budget and "sticking to it" is something I do on a weekly basis.  Then I see something like new AT boots that I absolutely need.  And buy them.  Then break my budget.

So long story short, I've never been a new-years-resolution creater.  I know I'll break it.  What's the point of setting myself up for failure?

This year boyfriend and I have created a "goal" to begin at the new year.  We mostly picked this time because I refused to start this goal during the holidays.  With scrumptious fatty foods and all.

This year, we are going Paleo.  Or rather, he's going Paleo and I'm being an awesome girlfriend and supporting him.  Let's be honest, boyfriend doesn't do much of the cooking. 
Or grocery shopping. 
So in order for him to be on a new diet I also need to be on board.

Goodbye pasta/toast/bread/grains
Goodbye cheese/milk/ice cream/dairy
Goodbye cookies/chocolate/that-time-of-the-month-soothers
Goodbye everything except meat, veggies, fruit, and nuts

The paleo diet is also known as the "Caveman" diet.  The main idea is to eat the way hunters and gatherers ate: Meat, Veggies, Fruits, and Nuts.

If you can't hunt it, and if you can't gather it, don't eat it.

This eliminates all grains.
This eliminates all dairy.
This eliminates Annie's Mac and Cheese and Dairy Queen cherry dilly bars.

Source

It's a huge crossfit fad.  And because my boyfriend is loyal to his crotchfit crossfit, he felt it was time to step it up a notch and jump on board the Paleo wagon.  A lot of people speak praises about Paleo and how it has changed their life, so we will see if we like it!

Is anyone else Paleo?  Or does anyone else have a new diet resolution?

Christma-giving Update!

My goodness I've been absent from my little bloggy for quite some time now.  I have no idea how those mega-blogger manage to continue blogging during the holidays!  Studs. 

You all are studs.
I have a million updates, and I don't even know where to start.

One massive blog post?  A million outdated mini posts?  Quick anti-climatic synopsis? 

Here's the skinny:

• Hosted my first Thanksgiving!  My family came to Portland and helped me break in our brand new kitchen and brand new mattress.  
• Gym Gym Gym - at some point I decided getting a personal trainer was necessary.  Actually, I didn't think it was necessary.  Boyfriend on the otherhand insisted.  Talk about developing a "does my butt look fat" complex!  But really, I've really enjoyed having my personal trainer and I'm certain he's the only reason I can still squeeze into my skinny jeans after Thanksgiving and Potlucks and Christmas.
• I went home!  I took 4 days off work and traveled back to Reno to celebrate "Christmas" with my family!  I spent a few days with my mom and my mom's family, then spent a few days with my dad's family up in Truckee.  Then just in time for Christmas eve and Christmas I flew back to Portland to spend some time with my honey.
• One of my amazing friends from college got engaged.  Finally.
• I "met" my niece and nephew.

What a life.

 

I feel like I could write for days about my amazing past month, but I'll leave it short and sweet.

 

MERRY-BELATED-CHRISTMAS! 
HAPPY-ALMOST-NEW-YEAR!

Friday Letters #5

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!

I've had a horrible time all week thinking it was a day/time that it really wasn't.

For example - I work with a lot of East coast clients.  When I work in their servers I'll ocassionally look down at the clock and see something like "4:00pm."  To me, this means it's almost time to go home.  In reality, this means it's 1:00pm and I'm looking at the wrong clock.

Face palm.

Anyhow - happy Friday!!

Dear Boyfriend - You're such a good friend to go in to work today at 3:00am for a co-worker who needed some sleep.  I'm not sure how you'll manage to work from 3:00am-5:00pm, but I'm so proud to be dating such a caring person.  LOVE YOU!

Dear Thanksgiving Dinner - I CAN'T WAIT!  I've got my shopping list planned.... and that's about it.  Need to clean house, clean car, clean dogs, clean more things I'm sure, shop, clean, eat, and be merry.

Dear Family Coming for Thanksgiving Dinner - Get here already.  I'm ready to show off my mean cooking skills (Store-bought pie ok?  Canned corn?  Good.)

Dear Sunny PNW Days - HALLELUJAH!  I've heard November is supposed to be one of the rainiest months in Portland, and we have been blessed with sunny cool crisp days.  Please hold out for Thanksgiving!!

Dear LA Fitness - You're not half bad.  I've actually enjoyed the gym these past couple of weeks.  That doesn't happen often.

Ok that's all I can think of - have a lovely Friday friends!  If anyone has some delicious Thanksgiving recipes they like the share I'm all ears!!

Whole Wheat Donut Holes?!

Yesterday one of my coworkers brought some goodies to work.

I LOVE GOODIES.

She picked up some donut holes from Trader Joes. 

As if I'm not already one of the biggest TJs fan, she reaffirmed my loyalty with these donut holes.

After one bite, I looked at my donut hole and noticed WHOLE WHEAT SAY WHAT!

I thought I'd share this amazing treat, which I naturally justified with "they're whole wheat."

Mega Update

I considered making several small posts with a bunch of updates since I have been a little absent lately, but I decided to just make one mega-post.

Because that's easier.

And I'm lazy.

Mom visited for a few days! (hence the blogging hiatus)
We shopped.
And watched TV.
And shopped some more.

Isn't that what moms are for?

She bought us THIS gem we found from heaven Home Goods.

 

She also babysat the pups while I was at work.

And sent me this text message.

Bad Ibo!

Tube = Lipstick Tube.  You get the picture.

 



 



Polly got spayed.
This is her.
All high on pain killers.
Stinky little pill popper she is.

 



And this is Ibo - hanging out like he owns the place.

 

Aaron went back to Reno to visit his mom and brought me back a present!

WOLFPACK YOGA PANTS!

He's a keeper.

Who needs a ring when you've got YOGA PANTS!

 

And last but not least, thanks to Tabitha at My Cliffnotes, I found an awesome hair stylist and got my HAIR CUT!  I needed it - I was getting headaches when I put my hair in a pony tail.  This girl did an amazing job, so if anyone in the Portland area needs a hair stylist I'd highly recommend her!  Just ask!



Instagram!

@AshleyACray

 

I'll show you mine if you show me yours

(that's my way of soliciting new people to follow)

(for the creepers out there, don't take that creepily)

 

(and stay away)

 

(kthanks)

My Go-To Food

I'm skipping Friday Letters today, because I was having a hard time thinking of my letters!

So instead, I'm making a foodie post.

I lovelovelove zucchini.  I hated it when I was younger, but one day something switched in me and I can't get enough of this veggie.  I never leave the grocery store without a zucchini!

On days where I don't feel like cooking or making a fancy dinner, I'll cut up some zucchini, add some garlic, and sautee. 

MY FAVORITE.

The other day I had some extra wild rice, so I added my zucchini/onion/mushroom mixture to my wild rice.

... and you can tell it's a lazy day with the paper plates.

 

It really was delish.  It doesn't quite look yummy in my "after" picture, but it was simple and easy and I got my zucchini fix for the day :-)

College Halloweens

I miss Halloween in college.

So in honor of college-costumes, I decided to post my two favorite costumes:

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum

Little Mermaid (a given for all redheads)

You know when it's time to cut your hair...

I cut my hair about 2x a year.  Horrible, I know.  But it's not a priority in my life.

If it weren't for a specific reason, I'd probably NEVER cut my hair. 

But 2x a year, I have a problem.

A big problem.

My hair gets so long. 

So heavy. 

I get headaches. 

Does this happen to anyone else? 

Especially if I put my hair in a pony tail, it's instant-head-ache.

Nevermind the nasty split-ends and grown out layers.  I'm talking HEADACHES that not even caffeine can cure.

With that being said, I'm looking for a stylist in Portland/Vancouver.  If any PNWers have any recommendations, please feel free to pass them my way.  Because this girl needs a hair cut, pronto!

Friday Letters #4

Dear Waffle Friday (@ work) - I love that we keep running into each other.  I don't care about trying to "eat healthy" or eat less sugar.  I'm going to cover you in whipped cream and jam and get a little wild this morning.

Dear Warren Miller Tonight - I AM SO EXCITED!  Boyfriend bought us tickets to get a little Warren Miller action in to officially kick off the ski season.  Who cares if I don't have a ski pass this year?  They're $1,000.  And that's ridiculous.

Dear Podcasts - Thanks for keeping me company during my commute home from work.

Dear Air Conditioning (@ work) - Be nice, or leave.  There's no reason you should be acting up at 6:30am.  I'm freezing, and it's your fault.  Go away.

Dear Miss Kimmy - Thanks for lending an ear this week to let me VENT.  You always get me.  And understand me.  And I miss living down the hall from you.  LOVEANDMISSYOUTONS!

Dear Unborn Twins - Not my twins, of course.  But this girl just found out she's going to be an Aunt to both a little boy AND little girl!  Best of both worlds!!



Happy Friday, folks!

Speaking of podcasts, does anyone have good podcast suggestions?!  I'm always looking for new ones.  It's nerdy though - I understand.

Bloggy Peeps

Like any type of hobby/profession, blogging involves networking.

You surround yourself with blogs you enjoy reading, and that you can relate to or learn from.

With that being said, I've had the opportunity to connect with some amazing ladies lately!

 

Miss Tabitha was my first Portland Bloggy friend!  And homegirl is crazy funny - check out her blog at My Cliffnotes.  You'll love her posts, and she lives in Portland, so she's pretty rad.

Dayna is adorable and I feel like I've known her for ever!  I can relate to her on so many levels.  Her bloggy is on the top of my list of blogs to creep on each day.  Her blog is Pearls, Curls, and All Things Southern

Kayla at Simple Bliss and I had a "moment" today.  I've been down lately, and going through some personal stuff and feel like I have no one to talk to.  I found out today that Miss Kayla is in a similar boat.  Needless to say, we vented to each other, and bonded :-)

Did you know?



I need this!



1. Your brain responds to sugar the same way it responds to drugs/alcohol.  It's a real addiction.  And I'm addicted.
2. In Portland, it's legal to be naked in public.   
3. The average couple gets engaged after 2-3 years of dating, and 75% of women are willing to end the relationship if no rock has been received.  I'm apparently part of the 25%.
4. Vodka Tampons - you can get drunk from not drinking, but rather inserting alcohol through the rectum.  I learned this from a nurse - it's a real issue!
5. Redheads are hyper sensitive and require more anesthesia.  If you don't believe me, ask your Wisdom Tooth Doctor.  They cringe when a redhead walks in.

Mouses have wee wees?

Has anyone heard of the Bad Lip Reading youtube videos?

They're a hoot-and-a-half.

Boyfriend first introduced me to the Michael Buble video, but recently this weekend we were introduced to the Twilight video.

If you need a Monday laugh, watch this bad boy:



25 Going On 80

Boyfriend and I are slowly moving into our new house.

 

And by "slowly," I mean we have unpacked the kitchen. 

And our closets.

And that's it.

 

One thing that we needed to do was contact paper the kitchen cupboards/drawers before we could put things away.

 

My Aunt Peggy is a contact papering maniac.

 

You see, back in the olden days where computers don't exist and a handshake still means something, people used to use this thing called "contact paper."

 

It protects your cabinets and drawers.

Duh.

 

Guys would help their friends move the heavy shit items.

 

And girls.

Girls would help each other contact paper the cupboard and drawers.

 

So whenever I would move into one of my many new apartments, my Aunt would always say, "Wish I were there to help you contact paper!"

 

So you might remember me contact papering here.

I basically turned into an old-timer and contact papered the crap out of that apartment. 

HELLO SECURITY DEPOSIT BACK!

 

So when we moved into our new home, you bet your butt I made sure to contact paper!

 

But this time was different.

This time, boyfriend wanted to help.

 

I don't know what possessed him. 

But he was in a saucy mood. 

And while pestering him that he didn't know how time consuming this old-lady skill took, he decided to lend a hand.

 

And by "lend a hand," I mean do it himself.

 

....so I photographed the moment. 

Because it's worth a million bucks to me :-)

 I know with the newer cabinets/laminate interior, you almost don't need to.  But I still don't like to risk things spilling.
Has anyone else ever contact papered?

Frolicking in Washington

As I've mentioned so many times before, boyfriend and I don't have the same days off so we don't get to go on as many weekend adventures like we used to.

That's okay.

So we both planned to take a few days to go explore Washington.
You see, boyfriend has a love affair with mountains, and up in Washington live the Cascades. 
Google them. 
They're badass. 

So we decided to go on a couple little hikes, explore Bellingham (a coastal college town), and Leavenworth (a Bavarian themed town).

Our hikes were dependent on the weather - and due to tons of rain, we stuck with short hikes. 

No backpacking adventures for us!  I may get dirty with the boyfriend, but I refuse to camp/backpack in the rain.  Sounds like a muddy nightmare to me!

You'll see the colors were
AH-MAZING
TO DIE FOR
BEAUTIFUL

I adore Fall more than any season, so I was in HOG-HEAVEN the entire time.

We car camped the first night. Car Sweet Car

Boyfriend's Instagram creation.  Cold & Foggy Summit

Another one of boyfriend's Instagram creations

It was a lovely little trip, and while the rain put a damper (no pun intended) on some of the things we wanted to do, we didn't let it hold us back!

Watch out boyfriend, I've got a taser

When boyfriend first joined law enforcement, he was required to be pepper sprayed and tased.  Neither of which he ever, ever, wanted to do again.

Sure enough, his work needed a victim volunteer to help with a community educational program to inform the public about the different tasks and challenges law enforcement faces.  The volunteer they needed was for a tasing demonstration.  That super-smart boyfriend of mine was enticed by overtime hours and signed up.

So I joined him.

... to watch him get tased of course.

His Sargeant jokingly asked if I'd want to tase him instead.

You bet your law-enforcement-ass I do!

Up until he handed me the taser, I was expecting him to say,

"HAH Just kidding you naive little girl.  We would never let you taser your boyfriend."

But that never went down.

Instead, he handed me the taser, showed me the laser and instructed me to blast my boyfriend with two-prongs of electrical goodness.

So I nailed him right in the spine. 

With an audience. 

And a Sargeant as my instructor.

I mean, I could do this Deputy Sheriff thing. 

I'm a natural.

P.S.  Does anyone else think taser should be spelled with a "Z" instead of an "S" ??  Google told me it was "S", so I believed it.

Friday Letters #3

I've been a slacker blogger lately.  I have so many posts I've written, but I'm a lazy lady and can't find the cord to my camera for the pictures.

So the posts go unposted.

Stupid camera cord.  When will they start making cameras that can wirelessly sync with our computers?!

Dear Sushi From Last Night - Please stop making my stomach hurt.  And PLEASE no food poisoning!

Dear Boyfriend - I can't wait for our little trippy this weekend + Monday + Tuesday.  It's not often we get to have an entire day together, so I'm excited to have the entire WEEKEND!

Dear 5am-2pm Shift - Today, we're done.

Dear Foggy Mornings - I love you.  The foggy mornings make me love living in the Pacific Northwest

Dear Polly - I'm so proud you learned to use your doggy door in less than 24 hours!  I pup is smarter than your pup.

Hopefully today goes by quickly so I can run home and PACK!  Boyfriend and I are road trippin' through Washington to go to Leavenworth and Bellingham and go HIKING!  We haven't had many days off together since I work M-F and he works Th-M, so we are STOKED.

Shenanigans of a Deputy Sheriff's GF

All I have to say is that I have a couple of posts coming up that I am SO EXCITED ABOUT.

One is about my recent ride-along I did with the boyfriend.

The other is.... priceless. 

I got to use a weapon, and that's all I'm saying. 

As soon as I get the video from the boyfriend's iPad

it's going viral

HAPPY MONDAY!

Friday Letters #2

It's Friday and I couldn't be happier!  This girl is ready to throw on some comfy clothes, a good TV show, and eat everything I can get my hands on.  Last night I was so tired that I pretty much skipped eating dinner because it was too much work. 

My Priorities clearly need adjusting.

Dear Stomach - please stop growling/gurgling/whining.  My co-workers can hear you and it's really embarrassing.

Dear 3:00am Alarm Clock - only one more week!  Then we're done.

Dear New Ice Maker - I love you.

Dear Grimm - I'm happy there was finally another episode!!  Now if someone could just tell me where in this city to find Grimm, I'll be happy.  I know he's here.  Filming.  And I'm dying to see him.

Dear Real World, Cast Of Portland - I also kind of want to see you too.  #KeepPortlandWeird

Dear Boxes - Please unpack yourself.  I don't have the motivation this week to put everything away.  KTHANKS.

House and 3am Alarm Clock

I've been a little MIA.  But I have a good reason!

Boyfriend and I finally moved into our new home!  We received our keys and within 24 hours, we were completely moved into the house.

...now unpacking is a different story.

In addition to our new move, I've been working the morning shift at work.  Working 5am-2pm makes for a mega-super-tired-Ashley.

But can we talk about how much Polly loves her new yard??! 

Polly goes to crossfit

Boyfriend took Polly to Crossfit and snapped this photo.

Don't tell me she's not the cutest little thing you've ever seen!!  Always photo ready :-)

Squeaky Clean Oven!

I have a confession.

I cleaned my oven.

.... and it made me giddy.

I remember back when I had my apartment with Courtney, I was in charge of cleaning the oven when we moved out.

And boy was that a mess.

Have you ever tried using that chemical oven cleaner?  I coughed for about a week straight, swore I developed asthma, and couldn't walk into the kitchen without my chest feeling heavy.

Screw nuclear weapons, oven cleaner will do the trick!

Well as you may know from this post, boyfriend and I will soon be moving in our new home!  I'm trying to prepare by cleaning and packing the little things.

Today I started with the oven.

I didn't want to develop asthma for a second time in my life, and I value my lungs, so I sought the advice of Pinterest. 

Baking soda. 

A girls best friend.

I read a few places to mix baking soda and water and let the oven stains soak for a little bit.

I like vinegar better than water. 
So here's what I did:

• Scraped the easy stuff to remove crumbs/chunks (yum)
• Combined Baking Soda and water to form a liquidy paste
• Poured the paste on the perma-stains
• Went to watch Dredd at the theater (very crucial step in the process)
• Came home, scraped off my baking soda solution and VOILAAAAAAA!

STAINS BEGONE! 

It was a miracle. 

Everything scraped up so easily. 

I'm amazed. 

And in love.

Friday Letters

I'm so happy it's finally Friday! It seemed like it was Friday on Wednesday, which is never fun.
Today I'm linking up with this Gal for Friday Letters!

Dear Polly - I was a little more than irritated to wake up this morning to a messy bathroom full of accidents. Again. Is your food not agreeing with you? Do I need to wake up in the middle of the night to take you out? If you could let me know, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Dear Rain - I'm liking it right now, but in 2 months I'm not so sure I'll like it still. Although I can't wait to start wearing my boots again so I'm still a little giddy for the rain. As long as we get a mini-break for when it's time to move, that's all that matters to me!

Dear Boyfriend - Thanks for putting up with me this morning and my moodyness for having to clean up the entire bathroom since Polly exploded. Also, thank you for taking the pups out so that I could get the bathroom in order.

Dear Maggie's owner - Please stop yelling "Maggie COME! Come, Maggie! Maggie! Maggie! Maggie, COME! COME! COME! MAGGIE!" at 12:30am. Put the damn dog on a leash since she always seems to never come the million times you yell "COME!" Kapeesh?

Dear Waffle Friday at Work - so good. That's all I have to say. Best. Breakfast. Ever.   Hope everyone has a lovely Friday and it goes by quickly!

Toothpaste, Gum, Savings OH MY

I recently paid $3 for $17 worth of items and got back $7.  Can anyone say $4 profit??

My obsession with coupons is no secret around my house.  My boyfriend puts up with coupons throughout the house.

Every now and then he'll find a coupon on the ground and say, "Can I throw this away?"

NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

... I mean, "Darling boyfriend, of course not."

I'm not extreme by any means, but goodness I love that Extreme Couponing show.

Here is my latest purchase from Walgreens (and keep in mind, I had recently used all of my colgate and Glade coupons, so I wasn't able to use those but my savings would have been even GREATER):

2 Colgate Toothpaste for $6 (regular price = $3.89 each)
Received $3 Register Rewards (RR)
Total: $6
Received Back:  $3

2 ID Gum by Stride for $2 (regular price = $1.49 each)
Received 1,000 Reward Points (=$1)
Used $1 of 2 coupons
Total: $1
Received Back: $1

3 Glade Air Freshener Holders for $4 (regular price = $2.29 each)
Received $2 Register Rewards
Received $1 Reward Points (=$1)
Total:  $4
Received Back:  $3

I used $8 worth of Register Rewards from previous purchases (shaving razors!).  Keep in mind I only used 1 coupon since I had already used my others for previous purchases, however I could have used two $.75 off for colgate ($1.50) and two $1 off for Glade ($2) meaning I wouldn't have paid ANYTHING.

But here's what I did anyway

Total After Coupons and Sale Prices:  $11

Register Rewards Used:  $8

Total Paid:  $3

Total Received Back:  $7

Woohoo!!

Announcement!

I can't contain it any longer.  I didn't want to talk about this much for fear of jinxing things but...

Boyfriend and I are buying this house, and close in 2 short weeks!!

We are buying it completely independent of help from family, so we are so excited and proud to be owning this home! 

Boyfriend has a majority of the pictures on his iPad, but I managed to snag a picture of the kitchen.

 

Can't wait!!

We are accepting visitors of all shapes and sizes :-)

I opened a bill, then cried

The title of this post says it all.

But what it doesn't tell you is that this happened twice within 2 minutes.

Here's the scoop:

After day 4 of hospital visit - looks
who's walking upright!

January

Before I moved to Portland, I was in the hospital twice in two weeks.  Stress kicked in and my body felt it was necessary to pass a kidney stone.  Twice.

February

Moved to Portland and 1 week later, my body decided to part ways with my appendix in a non-routine appendectomy.  I spent 1 week in the hospital.

April

Appendectomy problems, back in the hospital for 2 days.

August

Doing great!!  Until another Kidney Stone made its appearance into this world.  Hello hospital.

Last month I was SO HAPPY to finally pay off all of my hospital bills.  Even with insurance, I was up to my chin in hospital bills.  Over $3,000 now.

So this past weekend boyfriend and I went to the Post Office to pick up mail.

I began ripping through my mail expecting it to be all spam when I saw at the top of a statement:

THIS IS A BILL

What??? 

Granted, it was only $50. 

But what??? 

I paid off all of my bills!!

Did you know you have to pay for the doctor who sees you IN ADDITION TO the emergency room visits?  True flipping story.  So slap my booty and pull my hair, my emotions kicked in. 

I know it's only $50 and compared to the rest of my bills was relatively tiny, but I was so relieved to have all of my bills paid off that this just sucked. 

So I cried. 

And boyfriend calmed me by saying:

"At least it's not that much."

He was right.  Buck up and grow a pair, Ashley.  It's not the end of the world and other people have it 10x worse.

So I open the next letter and see:

THIS IS A BILL

WHAT-THE-HOLY-HECK-WHERE-ARE-THESE-BILLS-COMING-FROM-SHUT-UP-AND-STOP-IT-NOWWW!!

What's the damage? 

$297

Release the gates, it's flood season. 

I bawled. 

You know the kind where you blubber and gasp for air.

That kind of bawling.

The kicker?  This bill was from service I received 7 months ago!!

To some people who have constant hospital bills this might not seem like much and I might seem like a total whiner.  But to the average healthy Joe Schmoe who gets a flu once a year and maybe allergies, this is ridiculous.  And it totally sucks for the girl who is in the process of buying a home and wondering:

"Where the heck does all of my money go?"

Well let me tell you. 

It's going toward healthcare where expenses are increasing drastically from people who can't pay their bills or afford insurance.

With $3,000 (and growing) I could afford:

• A bigger house down payment
• Lots of clothes for Fall.  Boots anyone?  Tons of boots.
• A princess castle for Polly
• An epic new computer
• Investment opportunities
• Braces/Prettier Teeth (don't even get me started)
• Flying back home 12 times
• Ski tickets to Whistler, and then some
• 300 Puppies

...I'll stop now

My baking bff

I have a ton of little recipes I have been wanting to post.  I always take pictures when I'm cooking my favorite meals, but never actually get around to writing the blog post.

Talk about lazy, right?

Cake by Santanna

Well tonight I took all of my pictures and sat down at my computer and WHAT DID I DO???

.... I went on Facebook.

But you see, there's a happy ending for all of us.

Whenever I am cooking my little recipes or making my boyfriend dinner, I think:

"Damn, I'm a GOOD COOK!  But still probably not as good as Santanna."

Santanna has been my best friend since the second grade.  And Santanna is a master chef.  ... actually, she's a pastry chef.  But I'm sure she can be a master pastry chef, right?  At the young age of 25, Santanna has been a chef for years and has proven her talent in the industry.

**Click here to read a bloggy post about her**


Anywho, so I log onto facebook and see that Santanna was co-hosting a video for some Madeleine cookies. 

Watch this video and tell me:
1. Doesn't this make you want to make these cookies?!?
2. Is your kitchen ever this clean when baking?  I know my kitchen is disaster-zone-central after baking anything
3. Isn't my best friend a gem?  Whatta catch :-)

My "About Me"

I have added a page to my bloggy (Link Here) with my About Me! 

I realized I needed to update it a bit since I no longer live in Reno and things have changed since I last wrote it.

Enjoy!


 

 

 

Source

Source

Source

Source

Source

He's a keeper

I'm not sure how I got so lucky, but I sure have a keeper.

 

Boyfriend came home last Sunday with roses and a Sunday newspaper.

 

It was a "just because" occasion.

 

He sure knows how to touch my heart :-)

Berry Huntin!

One thing I've been wanting to do since I've moved to Portland is go berry picking!!

You see, blackberry bushes grow wild here.  Apparently they're also a "weed" in the sense that they grow uncontrollably and are a pain to remove.  So last summer when I visited Aaron, we saw blakcberry bushes on the side of the road and I decided I wanted NOTHING MORE than to pick berries!

Aaron and I went to Thousand Acres Dog Park with the pups to take them for a little walk and let them play in the river.  During our walk, we found berries!

... and ate them.  I don't care if they're dirty.  I want blackberries, darnit.

On our way home, Aaron noticed a sign that said "U-Pick - OPEN"

STOP THE CAR!!!!!!!!!

...we're berry huntin' :-)

So we picked berries!  We filled an entire coffee can with the best tasting blueberries EVER!

I feel satisfied :-)

Trader Joey

In Reno, I shopped at Walmart.  And Winco.  But mostly Walmart.

After moving to Portland, I had a hard time adjusting to the lack of Walmarts-on-every-corner.

Instead, there's a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's on every corner (at least where we live).  We tried Fred Meyer, but lordy that place is pricey... and under construction.



Source

So boyfriend and I typically shop at Trader Joe's for some things, and Winco for the rest.  I never shopped at Trader Joe's before because it was too pricey, but boyfriend and I have been discovering some little gems that are decently priced and super yummy!

1.  Pomegranate and Blueberry Cereal - this stuff is AMAZING.  If you don't know, I can't eat mushy foods.  Call me picky, I'll take it.  But I don't do mushy.  Mashed Potatoes, Yogurt, Pudding, gag me.  Can't do it.  So one thing I HATE is when your cereal gets soggy.

This cereal never gets soggy/mushy.  The blueberries are real.  The clusters add a touch of sweet.  I can't get enough of this cereal! 

2.  Hummus Salad Dressing - I found this little gem when I was at my mom's house in July.  Which also means it's  GLUTEN FREE.  So unique - I've never seen anything like this anywhere else! 

3.  Trader Joe's Black Beans - Boyfriend and I eat black beans with everything.  The Trader Joe's brand black beans are supepr firm (NOT MUSHY).  The best part is they don't come in that thick-gunky-black-bean-residue stuff, which means you don't have to rinse them first!  Lovelove!

4.  Carne Asada - THIS IS SO YUM YUM!  It took 25-ish minutes to cook.  Threw it on some corn tortillas with chopped onion and cilantro.  Added some lime and INSTANT YUM YUM!  This is a keeper and well worth the $7-$8. 



I could go on and on about the little gems we get from TJs (don't even get me STARTED on the Rosemary cheese!) - but these are some of the hidden hotties that I'm unable to find at other stores.  Lovelovelove!

Anyone have any other Trader Joe's hot items?!