Beautiful Beverages

I love when things look beautiful.  I love details.  I notice things that most other people don't.  

A few years back, Kyle and I were at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas and got a drink at the Chandelier Bar.  I noticed right away that the drink I ordered looked amazing.   It was the ice cubes.  They were perfect.  Perfect cube shape, sparklingly clear.  I was so impressed that I googled the Cosmo's ice cubes and found out that they use a special machine that is extremely costly to get those perfect cubes.  

I found these ice cube trays at Bed, Bath, and Beyond so I have the right shape now.  I would love them to be perfectly clear and I tried a technique I found on Pinterest that involved boiling filtered water twice but it did nothing.  I will keep searching for a way to make them perfect but for now I love these new ice cube trays :)

Beer? In a Margarita??

Yep that's right.  Beer is the secret ingredient that makes these margies great :)

In a pitcher, mix:

• 1 can of limeade
• 1 12 oz beer
• 6 oz of 7up
• 6 oz of water
• juice of one lime
• 12 oz of tequila
• lots of ice

I change the amounts of each ingredient depending on taste.  Sometimes I'm in the mood for more sweet and sometimes more tart so work with the ingredients until you get the desired taste :)

My Doppelganger??

Is Erin Andrews my doppelganger?  I have been hearing this a lot lately. 

Her...

Me...

It must be the hair.  What do you think?

He's Crafty

We finally have our patio up and running.  Kyle got the pallets from work and did all of the heavy lifting, sanding, and hammering.  I made the cushions and helped spray paint.  We make a pretty good team when it comes to DIY and crafting :)

What I'm Reading

Well I haven't left my house for the last 2 days while reading the first two books of The Hunger Games series.  I'm obsessed.  I am running out to get the 3rd book tomorrow because I'm dying to know how this all wraps up. 

Polkadots!

{I did my fingers with Sally Hansen nail polish strips}

{I did my toes by dotting paint on with a tooth pick}

Handy Tip

Use a tortilla warmer to keep pancakes warm while you cook them so the whole family can eat at the same time.

Home Tour

I turned our old coffee table into a bench seat by the front door of our new place.  The cubbies underneath are perfect for shoes and I hung some pictures and a chalk board with hooks for the dog leash, keys, hats, etc that are usually laying around the house.  The only problem was that because it's a coffee table not a bench, I couldn't find a cushion for it.  I decided to make one but because I can't sew (next on my list of things to learn) I had to get creative.  I bought foam and fabric from Joann's.  I wrapped the foam up like a present and pinned the under side with safety pins.  It didn't quite look finished so I added tufts.  I don't know the official way of doing this but I just doubled up some string and with a large needle I poked right through the middle of the cushion and then tied it in a tight knot on the under side.  For not knowing what I was doing, I have to say they turned out pretty well.  Imagine what I will be able to do when I learn to sew :)

 The day we moved into our new place, we ordered Chinese.  This was the fortune we got and kept it because we thought it was fate :)

 Cody seems to enjoy sitting up here :)

 Our house is always a work in process but for now we are pretty comfortable here.  Here's a peek into our living room.

Babe on a Budget

These days I'm on a pretty tight budget and it's going to get even tighter in the upcoming months when Kyle goes into his fire academy and can not work for 10 weeks.  That being said there are some luxuries in my life that I just refuse to give up.  One of those luxuries has been my Moroccan Oil.  I have long hair and if you want long hair, you have to take care of it.  But lately I've been thinking, there has to be some product out there with the same or similar ingredients for a lot cheaper.  Moroccan Oil has been on the market for a while now so plenty of companies must be copying it.  Considering that a 3.4 oz bottle costs $40-$50, depending on where you buy it, it was definitely worth looking around.  

Today, I was at Rite Aid and noticed a bottle of Argan Oil (main ingredient of Moroccan Oil) being advertised on a display by the front door.  I picked up the bottle, Googled Moroccan Oil ingredients and compared them.  It was basically the same but for $20(a significant savings).  As I browsed the store and held onto the bottle I picked up I decided to check the hair aisle just in case there were other brands.   Low and behold, what do I find... Renpure Originals Argan Oil.  Almost the exact same ingredients, not tested on animals, made in America, a family company, the bottle is larger (3.75oz), it even smells the same as Moroccan Oil. What more could I ask for????  How about a price tag of $5.99 !!!

5 Things That Made My Week!

Well it's the end of the week and here are some things that made me happy this week...

•  Some handmade personalized wedding gifts we received this week.  Love, love, love them!

• Looking forward to tonight's Tim McGraw & Kenny Chesney concert with my hubby.

• The arrival of "THE PET CONVINCER".  We have been waiting and waiting for this thing to come in the mail.  It is supposed to be the most effective and humane dog training tool on the market. Just a little blast of air and it's high pitched sound is enough to correct a bad behavior instantly.  I have been using it whenever I can and it seems to work.  I also take it on walks in case I need to use it to scare away a coyote. 

• This little(big) guy.  Look at that face!

• And this adorable guy.  Love him!!!

Bacon-Beer Brussels Sprouts

I got this recipe from here and I made it last night.  They were sooo good.  

The recipe called for 2lbs of brussels sprouts which is way too much for just us so I cut it in half.  

• 1lb of brussels sprouts, cut the large ones in half
• 6oz of bacon, chopped
• 1/2 of a Shallot, sliced
• 1/2 of a 12oz bottle of beer, now that I'm thinking about it I poured the whole bottle in and it turned out just fine.
• salt
• pepper
• a pinch of crushed red pepper

Cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy and then add the shallots and cook until soft.  Then add the brussels sprouts and brown the outside for a few minutes.  Then add the beer, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper and let it cook down into a glaze, stirring occasionally.

Kitchen Makeover

We are renters so there's only so much we can do to our home, not to mention we don't have a whole lot of money so we are slightly limited.  That being said, we wanted our new apartment to be a place that feels homey and comfortable.  We plan on being here for a while.

I used Pinterest for some inspiration on what to do with our kitchen.  Here are some images that influenced our final design.

I'm still kind of terrible at this whole blogging thing so I didn't get a before picture of the kitchen but here is how it turned out.

{Sign from etsy.com}

{Target Jars & Martha Stewart for Staples Labels}

{Rug from Shades of Light shadesoflight.com}

{Towel was a wedding gift but I think it is from Anthropologie}