fun in the craziness

Have you ever had a day, week, month, just some period of time where you feel like everything has been crazy, and you just need to get out and do something fun? I felt like that on Tuesday.

The last few weeks have been insanely busy, and this week wasn't starting out any different. Then, on Tuesday, I had the day of all days. Tons of work to get done, and trying to figure out how I would find the time for it all. Lunch time rolled around, and I decided I would go grab a drink at QuikTrip, pick up our mail and pay the rent. I pulled up to our apartment office, got the mail, and as I got back to my car, I began to realize I had no keys to get in. As I peeked inside, sure enough. There they were sitting in the cup holder along with my cell phone and purse. What's a girl to do? Thankfully I had keys to get inside my apartment where I began frantically e-mailing my mom to call AAA and my sister to text Kyle. I even downloaded Skype to see if I might be able to call someone from my computer. What a mess!

Then I get am e-mail of rescue. Amazingly, my dad just happened to be less than a mile away from my apartment, and he was on the way to rescue me! So an hour later, the nice old AAA man had unlocked my car and I had my keys back...and my Diet Dr. Pepper.

After all this, I told Kyle we HAD to do something fun that night. After doing a little googling, I had a good little night out planned. Dinner and an Oilers hockey game. One of my favorite parts of our nights out are the car rides together. We turn the music up, and I love hearing Kyle sing the songs on the radio. He would probably never admit it, but he has a great voice, and I love hearing it. As we walked up to the BOK Center for the game, a nice guy outside the arena handed us two tickets...for free! And to make it even better, they were on the 5th row in a fancy box section. We saw three fights during the game (I mean, that's really why you go watch hockey anyway) and took advantage of their $2 night. Oh, and the Oilers won 4-0.

After such a crazy start to the week, it was a perfect night with my guy.

In other news, I have been reading and hearing a lot of raves lately about a brand of cleaning products called Mrs. Myers. I had thought about trying it out, but wasn't sure where to get it other than online. Then, the other day I was picking a few things up at Target, and there it was! Mrs. Myers products in "Iowa Pine." I grabbed a bottle of the countertop cleaner, and I have to say, all the reviews are right. It smells great! I hate that harsh scrubbing bubbles smell, so to be able to clean and have it smell great without lighting a million candles is awesome! Mrs. Myers, you have a new fan.

Busy weekend coming up. We are celebrating Kyle's grandparent's 60th Anniversary! They are the sweetest couple, and it's great to see how much they love each other after all these years. They gave Kyle and I the best advice when we got engaged. They said "always keep each other special." We take their advice to heart, and are looking forward to just as many years together as they have shared.

Have a great weekend!

wednesdays with kyle is back! (hooray!)

Well everyone can relax now, I'm back in action, so you don't have to worry about wondering how you were going to get through your week without Wednesday with me. I learned some new things while I was away from blogging though. First, if you know some one with the flu you should stay away from them and second if you know someone with swine flu you should make them move to another state. I was fortunate enough to enjoy all of the pleasures swine flu has to offer last week. Among these, my favorite were painful body aches, fever, dizziness, extreme fatigue, and my personal favorite uncontrollable diarrhea, all of these really made for a wonderful week. I will say one thing though, my wife is awesome in more ways than one but there is one way which exceeds all others and that is her ability to take care of me when I'm sick. I don't know how she can even stand to be around me when I'm sick, but she took care of me all week and I'm sure she was the main reason for my speedy recovery. My advice to everyone is to get the flu shot cause it's worth not feeling what swine flu has to offer. That's really all I have this Wednesday so until next time... wash your hands a lot.

november?

I honestly can't believe it's November already! That means the start of the holiday season is only DAYS away! On our way home last night, I sneakily put a Christmas CD in to play thinking the Mr. would try to stop that if he knew about it, but instead, he just smiled, knowing it made me happy, and even sang along with me :) I didn't decorate the apartment for fall at all, but I am beyond excited to decorate for Christmas. We decided on a real Christmas tree this year, and found about about a place where you take a hay ride to where the trees are, cut down your own tree, and they have hot chocolate and a gift store! It sounds like it came right out of Whoville.

I need to order stockings, and have been eyeing these from Pottery Barn. I figure the white will last us a while, and match anything. I do love the look of these, even though I usually don't like non-matching stockings...but how cute! I think you need to have more than two people in your family for that to work though. Maybe if we get a puppy :)

Now we just have to decide on decorations. Do I want it to match our apartment, or go classic Christmas colors. Growing up, my family always had a pretty, matching tree with bows, and then we had our fun tree with all Santa ornaments. I always love putting that tree up just to see all the silly ornaments we made as kids, and gave to our parents. More than anything this Christmas, I'm just excited for the Mr. and I to have all of our Christmas firsts, since it's our first married Christmas. Our first tree, first time doing stockings for each other, etc. I'm always incredibly excited for Christmas, but this year there's extra excitement!

So, it may seem a little early, being only November 2, but in my mind the holidays have started. What's your favorite part of this time of year?

And now, in honor of Christmas, here are some OLD pictures I dug up of both Kyle and I. Enjoy :)

fabric-softner sheets

I have to apologize for the lack of "Wednesdays with Kyle" this week. He decided to go and catch the piggy flu, so he's been couch-ridden since Sunday. He is starting to feel better, and the fever is finally gone, thank goodness!!

I always think its interesting to find new uses for old things, especially around the house. So, when I came across this list of "25 Alternative Uses for Fabric-Sofener Sheets" from curbly.com, a DIY design community, and Real Simple's "10 New Uses for Dryer Sheets," I was pretty excited to see what their ideas were.

Here is Real Simple's list. Have you ever tried any of these? I have always just used the sheets for laundry, static cling and getting rid of fly-aways, but several of these are new to me. Let me know if you find any of these to be a major success (or failure!)


1. Freshen smelly shoes. Insert a dryer sheet into the offending pair and let sit overnight.
2. Remove static from clothing, hair, TV screens, and computer monitors. Wipe the surface with a sheet.
3. Clean pet hair from the floor or furniture. Rub a dryer sheet over the spot where Fluffy left her fur.
4. Replace a sachet. Keep a dresser drawer smelling fresh and clean by placing a dryer sheet on the bottom of it.
5. Loosen caked-on food from a pan. Place a fresh sheet in the bottom of a dirty pan, fill with lukewarm tap water, and let sit in the sink overnight. The pan will be easier to clean in the morning.
6. Tackle suitcase and gym-bag odors. Place a dryer sheet in your suitcase or gym bag so your clean clothes won’t take on the odors of the dirty ones.
7. Prevent old books from smelling musty when in storage. Stick a dryer sheet between the pages of your beloved copy of Pride and Prejudice.
8. Wipe up sawdust after working in the garage. Rub a dryer sheet over the fine wood particles.
9. Prevent thread from tangling when sewing. Run a threaded needle through a dryer sheet right before you begin your handiwork.
10. Dust venetian blinds. Close the blinds, then wipe up and down with a dryer sheet.

chicken tetrazzini and halloween treats

Before tonight, the most I knew about Chicken Tetrazzini came from this Maury clip I once saw Joel McHale making fun of on The Soup.



But after tonight, my Chicken Tetrazzini knowledge has expanded, and I can say that I have now baked and eaten Chicken Tetrazzini. I'd say it was good, but certainly not so incredibly delicious it would have the power to steal a man away from his woman, but there are some craaaaazy people out there. I have been searching around online, however, and have found some recipes I think I would like a lot more. Like this one...yum! Here is the recipe I used:

• 1 whole chicken, boiled and de-boned (I bought a cooked rotisserie chicken to save time.)
• 4 oz. mushrooms, chopped
• 10 oz. spaghetti, cooked
• 1/2 lb. Velveeta, cubed
• 1 can Rotel
• 1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
• 1/4 c. Chicken Broth

1. Boil chicken and de-bone
2. Cook spaghetti in remaining broth (Since I didn't have broth from the chicken, I just cooked the spaghetti in chicken broth.)
3. Mix everything together and place in a greased 9" x 13" dish
4. Bake at 325F for 40 minutes or until bubbly

I think the thing I didn't like about this dish was the Rotel, but I'm also not big on spice of any degree. For instance when I go to get Thai, I order with a spice level of ZERO. When I buy hot sauce, it's mild. Chicken wings? Honey Glazed please. You get the picture. So the spice of the Rotel threw off me enjoying the tastiness o the chicken, spaghetti and cheese. I'm definitely not shelving this recipe, and I'll actually eat the leftovers (unlike chicken n' ritz,) but I think next time I'll try a different variation of the recipe.

I definitely feel like I am finding my way around the kitchen more and more every day. And I love the time I spend making dinner for three reasons

1. It's kind of my alone time for the day. Even though I work for myself, and am alone most of the day, my mind is on work during those hours. My time in the evening cooking dinner is my time to think about whatever my I want or need to think about and process.
2. I know that when I'm cooking, even if it doesn't turn out amazingly, the Mr. is going to like it, and be thankful he has me to cook for him. Plus, it's kind of like my special little thing I can do for him every day, and food really is the way to his heart.
3. I learn more and more every time I cook. Whether it's about what certain ingredients do, or what I do and don't like, or even doing things for the first time (i.e. de-boning a chicken.)

To get in the halloween spirit, I made orange rice krispie treats yesterday. They are delish! Make a little Halloween inspired treat for you, your friends, your family or your co-workers! Not only is it fun, but they will love you for it. Here's a website to get you started. Last year, my sister and I made a Halloween cupcake graveyard. They were a blast to make, and yummy too! I'm eying those Daddy Long Legs Cupcakes for this year if I can figure out somewhere to take them!

Beyond what I've been up to in the kitchen, I have to share this link my mom sent my way. How gorgeous is this cottage? The inside reminds me of a cute, little antique store, and I love those vintage settees. After seeing more and more photos from home remodels, I've decided I really am partial to gorgeous white kitchen cabinets with stainless steel appliances. I can't wait to have a cute cottage the Mr. and I can rip to shreds and make our own. Someday, I hope :)

move over martha

So that might take it a little too far, but I made dinner the other night, and I'm pretty sure it's my favorite thing I've made so far. It came out of the same cookbook I've been using all week, and the recipe is Parmesan Chicken topped with a Lemon Vinaigrette salad. I did a little searching, and found the recipe originally came from the Food Network, so you can see all the ingredients and instructions here. I am a presentation girl. Meaning, I'm more likely to buy something because I like the package it comes in, not necessarily because of what is inside the box. I've often been given gifts where I like the box and wrapping just as much as the present. So, I think part of why I loved this recipe is because it looks so fancy when you put it all together. Here's the set-up for making the chicken, after I rolled it out to thin it.

Then I put the chicken in a skillet on med-high heat. The recipe said I could do two pieces at a time, but my skillet is too small for that. I'm starting to see an item being added to my Christmas list. Large skillet, check!

After the chicken was done, I put it in the oven on 200F to keep it warm, and put the salad together. This was super fun for me because I FINALLY got to use this juicer thing my sister insisted I needed. I kind of fought her on it, but ultimately got it. And lookie there! It got put to good use :)

And after all the preparations were done, it made a pretty little dinner for the Mr. and I to chow down on.

See, I told you it was pretty!

Around Tulsa, the leaves have really started showing their fall colors, and it's absolutely beautiful. This has to be one of the prettiest times of the year. So, in honor of the color change, and the cooler weather rolling in, I put together a Fall Scarf round-up! I put together some of my favorite scarves of the season to keep you warm for those fall bonfires, football games and marshmallow roasts. I absolutely love Anthropologie, but their prices usually keep me rom buying anything. I was happy to see they have a few that are reasonably priced (and I threw in a more pricey one, because I'm just really in love with the wrap!)

From left to right, row 1: Anthropolgie Tuxedo Scarf, Anthropologie Dazzling Habitat Scarf, Anthropologie Trio Wrap, Anthropologie Pond Lily Scarf

row 2: Old Navy Floral Print Scarf, Banana Republic Chiffon Trim Scarf, Banana Republic Chiffon Rosette Scarf,

row 3: Forever 21 Ruffled Scarf, Forever 21 Smocked Floral Scarf.

Hope you find a pretty little scarf to keep you warm for the next few months! Have a fabulous weekend. We have Oktoberfest to look forward to. Pictures to come soon!

P.S. I almost forgot! I surprised my hubby with this yesterday morning. He loved it! (And I have to admit that I did too.)

wednesdays with kyle, part 2

Well it's Wednesday so I'm back for more. To be honest not a whole lot has happened since the last time I wrote. Oh wait wait... now that I think about it something did happen, brittany and I were put in charge of her parents two most prized possessions. Their two other children who happened to be named Happy and Holly and who also happen to be dogs, but anyway we babysat the dogs last weekend, and I'm happy to report that other than on small mid night throw up incident everything went well. In other news my wife is, in my opinion, the best wife a guy could ever have. She has worked all day everyday this week and has some how found the time and energy to make a fantastic dinner for us to eat together every night. I honestly don't know how she does it but it is so great. I'm used to my single guy days when I lived on tacos, pizzas and ramen noodles. Brittany has been doing things with food that I didn't even know you could but it is so good and I love it. Well that's about all I have so until next week...