kickball & cupcakes

Posted on 5.15.2013 by sarah

For the past two years now, every Wednesday night the hubs and I would venture to downtown Dallas to play a friendly game of kickball with a team built of coworkers, spouses, and significant others. The teammate camaraderie has blossomed into amazing friendships.

Unfortunately, with the bambino’s arrival fast approaching (less than 3 months away!!), the hubs and other team members were a little leery of my ability to tone-down my competitive spirit for these later months. Plus, the ability to hide the bump was getting ever more difficult. That being said, we ending our career in the kickball arena with two championships, two undefeated season, second place a couple of more times and a load of unforgettable memories. Sorry these team photos are so blurry, they were taken with our phones.

After our last game… (We lost in the championship game to some crappy calls, FYI) the hubs and I were presented with some amazing loot for the newest member of the Alcoballics Team 2034. They were ever so generous with a couple of autographed kickballs (above) and sports apparel for the wee-one. The husband and I were overjoyed at the generosity of these folks. Seriously, so sweet and unexpected.

If that wasn’t enough, they bought cupcakes!

So, I introduced them to the world of eating cupcakes, Sarah style. I don’t remember who taught me how to eat cupcakes this way, but it makes me laugh every time people notice. They noted I should make a post about “changing their own world of cupcake eating forever!” So here you go, Dan! :)

Basically unwrap the wrapper on the bottom of your cupcake and break off the cake part about half way… like this

Then just place that bottom on the top! Bite in and enjoy! World changing? I hope so!

The frosting to cake ratio is distributed so much better, and you don’t get frosting all over your fingers! Bonus! Enjoy!

P.S. I eat my bananas from the wrong end, too!

wi baby shower

Posted on 5.13.2013 by sarah

Holy cow, I’m sorry; I’ve been a bad blogger lately. A couple of weekends ago, I was ever so blessed with yet another baby shower. This time it was in my hometown in Wisconsin, hosted by my sweet sister-in-law, Julie!

We had the event at City Grill, this cute venue downtown which actually catered our wedding! Full circle? I think so!

The shower was wonderful and beautiful! I was elated at all who attended and so happy to all be together again!
After a fabulous lunch, we had cake! This cake is from a local baker Sweet Nothings that we’ve used in the family for a while. She does amazing cakes, and the inside is a raspberry filling to die for! I definitely recommend her cakes for the inside, as well as the outside!

After cake, I had a little helper (my niece, Ellie) help with all the presents I had to open! She was such a wonderful lady for the job!

It was one of those weekends I just didn’t want to end. From being able to see friends and family from near and far, to just feeling so blessed that our baby boy is welcomed by so many; it makes my heart happy. A big thank you to everyone, especially my sister-in-law Julie and my Dad for making this such a wonderful event and a memorable experience.

stl baby shower

Posted on 4.22.2013 by sarah

This past weekend was spent with extended family in St. Louis. My mother-in-law and sisters-in-law put on a wonderful baby shower for me and our baby boy!

They had everything displayed so nicely, but silly me only got a few pictures of the party. I was obsessed with this tablescape of a big “B” (for baby or boy) and the rhino my sister-in-law found at Target!

They served a delicious meal of chicken sandwich, pasta, and salad with gender specific cupcakes and cake balls for dessert! Aren’t they cute?!

It was an intimate event with lots of laughs and conversation. I was lucky enough to catch up with family and old friends during my visit! It made me miss my time in St. Louis with them, and as always, wish for more time to visit!

I was overjoyed with all the wonderful items baby boy got during the process! He is so blessed and loved already! I just hope everyone there truly knew just how happy and amazed I was at all the thoughtful people in the room. I seriously almost teared up a couple times just thinking about the generosity of these ladies’ time and effort. It was so much fun to have everyone involved. Even my sweet nieces helped out by passing out the gifts. They were such great helpers.

There were a couple gifts that were already trying to influence our baby boy’s future sports teams! I love them! I can’t wait to take them to Lambeau Field and Busch Stadium someday!

We also played a couple games; it couldn’t be called a shower without it! My friend Sarah is also pregnant and she’s waiting to find out the gender at birth! We were trying to figure it out earlier than that with a string test! The pencil will circle for girls and maneuver in a straight line for a boy. I was convinced it was a boy, but after seeing the test… I can’t be quite sure! Ha ha!

All-in-all it was a pleasant trip to St. Louis. The only trouble was finding enough room in our vehicle for all the baby boy’s new stuff! We had to leave the radio flyer in the grandparents’ garage but will pick it up on our next trip up! Thank you to all near and far that participated in this special day!

**A special thanks to my sisters-in-law and mother-in-law for such a special event! I know they worked hard to make it perfect and it was!

i want a subaru

Posted on 4.19.2013 by sarah

The marketing team at Subaru has won my heart with this commercial.

Only in my version, we have blondies (dogs & baby). My version: a yellow lab that has been with me before my husband, a baby boy in the back seat as a blondie, too, and of course, a pug laying next to him. Makes me smile every time.

Happy Friday, Friends.

windows!!

Posted on 3.27.2013 by sarah

We did one of the biggest impact additions to our house to-date! I have to thank my husband for pushing this decision. I wasn’t convinced we needed them. Windows that is. I thought we could live with towels around our windows, the inability to open most of them, and a huge crack in the nursery window. Yes, I’m serious! We have plantation shutters in most of them that doesn’t show a thing, so who cares if you can’t open them? Plus, windows can get pretty, pretty pricey.

With that, we had a home consultation with a couple of companies, talked to neighbors, friends, and family to hear their input and finally pulled the trigger. I was still hesitant with this decision, but we moved forward.

Because we aren’t sure if we’re going to live in this house forever, we didn’t go with the highest-of-high end windows but also didn’t pick the dirt cheap ones either. We went with Home Depot’s higher end brand Simonton windows which have a life-time warranty. Even if our baby boy’s aim isn’t as good as his father’s or papa’s, we won’t have to pay for a broken window. Pretty nice.

We also decided to put panels in the windows that matched our backdoor. I was a complete wreck about this decision, because it added to the cost ($100+/each), and I couldn’t uninstall the windows if I didn’t like them. But I knew any panels were better than none, and it add to a classic rich look that people like, and I love. Plus, it’s a nod to my love for Frank Lloyd Wright and his prairie style.

I don’t know if it shows up on these photo (mostly from my phone) but trust me they look beautiful in person. I love being able to turn the thermostat down and open up the whole home on these wonderful spring nights. I thank my husband for pushing this desicion.

They are beautiful, and we could not be more pleased with the service and look of our windows!

dill pickle chip crusted salmon

Posted on 3.01.2013 by sarah

A few weeks ago, I Facebooked about my love for Dill Pickle Chips north of the Mason-Dixon Line, and guess what appeared at my door step! Yep, a whole lot of Dill Pickle chip goodness!

Our Aunt Nancy read my facebook status and made a trip to her local store to pick them up and ship them down to Texas! It was one of those amazing surprises! If that wasn’t enough, she also added in a couple craft items that she created! We already have them displayed and will love them for years to come!

I brought the Dill Pickle Chips to work to share (only one bag) with my co-workers. They loved them as much as I did and mentioned they tasted much like salt and vinegar chips with dill. That got me thinking about a recipe I would make all too often with my roommate Jessica (well, she lived above me but she might as well have been my roommate) in PA school. She wasn’t a fan of fish, and this was the first dish I could get her to try to move into the world of eating fish. It’s a recipe modified from Young & Hungry by Dave Lieberman.

Recipe

Ingredients

16 oz salmon
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 bag of kettle-cooked potato chips (or dill pickle chips)
Zest of 1/2 lime
1/8 cup chopped fresh dill (I didn’t use this time, my chips were already dilled!)
Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Lay the salmon, skin side down, in the center of the baking sheet. Season it lightly with salt and pepper.

Crush the potato chips, lime zest, and dill together in a bowl until the chips resemble coarse crumbs. Mix in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until incorporated.

Coat the salmon with a thin, even layer of potato chip crumbs. Pat them on the fish gently so they stay put.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the chip coating is nicely browned.

This recipe serves 4 -5 people. If it’s just the hubs and I eating, I usually start with a smaller piece of fish. Enjoy!

resolution 2013

Posted on 1.23.2013 by sarah

Source

My resolutions this year are simple ones. No climbing Mount Everest on this list, just strengthening and adding some elements of health and function into my world. I know it’s already 1.23.2013, so as long as I start prior to 2.1.2013, I’ll be happy! P.S. I don’t know what it is about 2013, but I’m loving it!

Walk the dogs AM and PM – since moving into our house, sometimes opening up the back door sounds like a better plan than getting dressed for the elements and walking our boys. But I and the dogs are both disappointed in this decision. We both get less exercise, and the boys really enjoy it.
Workout – The husband started a new job and his new work schedule leaves me time after work to go running outside AND shower before he walks into the door! So, I need to pack my workout gear or wear it to work, so I have no excuses not to head directly to the gym after work! My hope is to do this 2-3x/week. The other days I have tennis or kickball.
Make meals – Planning is the hardest part of making meals. I love to cook when I have the supplies. 4x/week, make our meals at home.
Focus on the future, put away the past – I’m a dweller. Would’ve. Could’ve. Should’ve. I need to embrace the now! Because it goes by so fast.
Pay off debt (cc and student loans) – I took on working a couple Fridays a month to have more income to help pay off any debt we might have and to buy a couple new pieces of furniture!
Wash my face at night – This may seem easy to most. But I’m dead tired when I go to bed, and I’m lucky if I take out my contacts. That needs to change, I’m not a teenager anymore and need to make that a routine!
Go to church – Like a good workout, it feels great every time I leave church. We have, count them, four. Four different services to choose from each Sunday. 8:30,9:45,11:00, and 5:30. We must find one that will work with our schedules.
8:20 am – get to work. Last year my resolution was to get to work by 8:15, and I can count on two hands when that happened. So, 8:20 it is. I can totally do that!
Continue 33 before my 33! It’s such a fun process and my ultimate resolution/buckle list!

YHL Bloggers

Posted on 1.18.2013 by sarah

On my goodness, Oh my goodness! I met these two bloggers a couple months ago now and still can’t believe it. I know, I know, super dorky of me, but this is my love! Decor and design! They do decor and design – we could be friends. They are the couple who established Young House Love an inspiring blog that helps with all things home and family. They influenced some of my decisions in our home renovations. Painting my fireplace, using Benjamin Moore’s rockport gray HC-105, painting my bathroom with stripes and the overall desire to pay for things as I go. Sherry and John are thrifty shoppers.

They were in Dallas signing their new book about home improvement at West Elm, and luckily for me, I was in town, too! So, I had to meet them. I spent a couple of hours in line but worth the wait… plus, it was winding through West Elm, which wasn’t a bad Saturday afternoon. Here’s the line…

Sherry was as bubbly as she sounds on her blog; even after signing hundreds of books in front of me, she was still as chipper as ever. John was sweet too and liked my iPhone case! Ha. I was speechless and totally dork-ed out on saying anything cool (doesn’t that always happen)! I had all this great material before I was at the front of the line and totally lost it. All I got out was – you two have been such an inspiration. I’ve painted my bathroom, fireplace, and have my own love for Rockport gray. I’m sure it actually sounds like.. hi. you too, inspiration. I like paint and bathrooms… I guess it could have been worse! :) Here they are in all their glory, I still think I photoshopped myself in and didn’t actually meet them!

They have been an amazing resource. And I’m sure when I have wee-ones, I’ll check back to their family section to see what they suggest.

I suggest this yhl blog to any home improvement peeps that want beautiful home goods on a budget. They make me feel happy that Paul and I have saved up for most of our things in our house. Happy reading and DIY-ing!

christmas 2012

Posted on 1.11.2013 by sarah

Holy Cow 2013, hold on! I still have a couple things (two more posts, to be exact) to talk about in 2012! :)

If someone would have said going into the medical field you might not be able to take off during the holidays, I might have reconsidered. Seriously. It’s the sacrifices I have to make and I’m glad my family and spouse understand. This year we only made it to St. Louis instead of our usual Christmas festivities in both Missouri and Wisconsin. In lieu of work, we were able to squeeze a couple of days in St. Louis with our family. We spent the weekend enjoying each other’s company, ate way too much, and laughed often. On Saturday morning, everyone got up to start the Christmas excitement of opening presents and climbing on presents.

The excitement of all the kiddos was so much fun to watch. It really never gets old!

Even our dogs got some love and presents!

After all the festivities, everyone went their separate ways. We drove back earlier than expected because of the weather forecast and spent Christmas day in Texas with our boys. I captured a couple more pictures of our festive house. We even got a little snow on Christmas day! White Christmas!! Yay!

I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday season with your friends and family! Happy 2013, friends.

gratitude finale

Posted on 1.09.2013 by sarah

Always-something-to-be-thankful-for1-240x300

Favorite food – Yellow Curry Chicken
Smile – Funny/Semi-drunk smile. A great unexpected day with the husband I won’t soon forget.
Happiness – My first love, Boston “Bones”, and the hubs.
Leaves – Frosted Sugar Cookie Leaves! My most favorite cookies ever.
Morning Sky – Dallas Sky
Books – Tina Fey’s Bossypants is one of my favorites!
Something Funny – Pugs are always funny!
Favorite Color – Benjamin Moore Rockport Gray
Inspiring Person/People – Young House Love Bloggers!! So cool to meet them!
Nature –Dog Park trail
Something Old – Bing Crosby Merry Christmas Album.
Hands – My nephew’s hands (and a dimple).
Written Words – Funny words about ordering your steak well done.
Movement – Window seat.
Technology – iPad & iPhone, what? …taken by another iPhone.
Animals – My beast Boston or Bones.
Memories – Visitors.
Something New – I made a pouf! Post to follow!
Best Friend – My lady and my man. I like her A LOT despite the weird face. Promise.
Seasonal – Our real Christmas tree.
Where I Sleep
Clothing – Work scrubs
In Your Closet
Gratitude – My cup is so full
Artwork – Etsy watercolor print
Transportation – GMC Envoy. ‘merica
Daily Routine
Nighttime – Watching TV with my boys.
Light
Self Portrait