goodbye and good riddance
December 31, 2013 • life
Ok, so 2013 wasn't all bad. I mean, it was the year I started re•solve!
But, we all know things haven't been at their best for me since June-ish. I think there's a pretty clear difference between the first and second half of the year even though both have sprinklings of good or bad tossed in:
But, we all know things haven't been at their best for me since June-ish. I think there's a pretty clear difference between the first and second half of the year even though both have sprinklings of good or bad tossed in:
January:
- re•solve was launched!
- I made my first vegetarian recipe and never looked back.
- I posted another recipe which has been my #1 post of all time ever since!
February:
- The Ravens won the Super Bowl!
- Sean and I hit the 8 years together mark!
- I posted a recipe that is a party and blog favorite everywhere.
March:
- I discovered the Newlywed Game and became a regular linker-upper!
- I also joined in on the blog fun that is Cara Box.
- I told you why I chose to go Vegetarian.
April:
- I participated in my first giveaway with the lovely Mariel!
- I finally tried the new goodness that is Mezeh
- After wondering if I was a sucky blogger, Holly boosted my ego by nominating me for the Liebster Award!
May:
- Sad that I couldn't make it to AT Days this year, I told you all about it!
- My brother AND my sister graduated college!
- I met Aleshea via Cara Box and we became a bloggy power team...or something like that.
June:
- re•solve got a facelift thanks to Britt
- I went into surgery...that doesn't seem to have worked.
- Sean & I celebrated our third wedding anniversary!
- We said goodbye to the Newlywed Game.
July:
- Sean & I celebrated his birthday in WV
- I began the story of how Sean & I met
- Passionfruit announced fees so I did my own thing.
- Life got crazy with Jury Duty & other tasks.
August:
- My job and I parted ways.
- I learned to can!
- My dramatic adventures with Influenster commenced.
September:
- I recapped our wedding
- I got a relational rant off my chest
- I educated everyone on the awesomeness of Arbonne!
October:
- I learned to shoot & had some other fun!
- Sean & I competed in the Acts of Kindness challenge (and took 2nd place!)
- Influenster decided to love my hate and send me more stuff.
November:
- We mourned and rejoiced as Ben went to be with the Lord
- We were bummed when life interrupted our plans for a much needed vacation
- I actually got a tolerable box from Influenster!
- I shared how I really feel about football.
December:
- Aleshea and I brought you #12dc
- The Newlywed Game had a Christmas encore!
- Some wonderful people in our lives helped ease some of the stress from November.
- Sad that I couldn't make it to AT Days this year, I told you all about it!
- My brother AND my sister graduated college!
- I met Aleshea via Cara Box and we became a bloggy power team...or something like that.
- Sean & I celebrated his birthday in WV
- I began the story of how Sean & I met
- Passionfruit announced fees so I did my own thing.
- Life got crazy with Jury Duty & other tasks.
- My job and I parted ways.
- I learned to can!
- My dramatic adventures with Influenster commenced.
- I recapped our wedding
- I got a relational rant off my chest
- I educated everyone on the awesomeness of Arbonne!
- I learned to shoot & had some other fun!
- Sean & I competed in the Acts of Kindness challenge (and took 2nd place!)
- Influenster decided to love my hate and send me more stuff.
- We mourned and rejoiced as Ben went to be with the Lord
- We were bummed when life interrupted our plans for a much needed vacation
- I actually got a tolerable box from Influenster!
- I shared how I really feel about football.
- Aleshea and I brought you #12dc
- The Newlywed Game had a Christmas encore!
- Some wonderful people in our lives helped ease some of the stress from November.
about that photo dump
December 27, 2013 • holiday, link up
Here you go! I fail at time management lately.
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| Someone suggested replacing the fuses on our tree...After running all over to find some and putting them in...2/3 of our tree is still unlit. |
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| The coolest ornament from this exchange. |
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| Singing Christmas Eve Service |
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| That veggie fritatta I posted? Here it is before going into the oven. It was devoured by everyone before I could take a pic of it fully done. No leftovers! |
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| All that remained at the end of the festivities. I was uber stressed Christmas Day and got no before pics. |
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| Really stressed. Didn't have a chance to put my contacts in or even get dressed. Aren't I lovely? |
cranberries galore!
• food, holiday, link up
Day eleven of twelve
I love cranberries! So festive, so delicious. I've fallen more in love with them as I've gotten older.
I remember I hated cranberry juice as a kid, but when the holidays neared and the Cranberry Canada Dry hit stores...I would get so excited! It still makes my heart happy to see it hit the shelves, but now that I'm older, I've found other ways to incorporate cranberry into my beverages. I've even realized how easy it is to incorporate fresh cranberries instead of relying on a bottle of Ocean Spray. Score!
I'm still looking for a cranberry drink recipe to declare as my favorite. Here are some I've pinned and will hopefully try this Christmas:
I love cranberries! So festive, so delicious. I've fallen more in love with them as I've gotten older.
I remember I hated cranberry juice as a kid, but when the holidays neared and the Cranberry Canada Dry hit stores...I would get so excited! It still makes my heart happy to see it hit the shelves, but now that I'm older, I've found other ways to incorporate cranberry into my beverages. I've even realized how easy it is to incorporate fresh cranberries instead of relying on a bottle of Ocean Spray. Score!
I'm still looking for a cranberry drink recipe to declare as my favorite. Here are some I've pinned and will hopefully try this Christmas:
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| Scarlett O'Hara via |
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| Cranberry Mojito via |
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| Cocktail via (I tried the virgin form of this for Thanksgiving. Not bad!) |
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| Cranberry Mimosa via |
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| Crock Pot Cranberry Cider via |
rings of Christmas past
December 19, 2013 • holiday, link up
Day ten of twelve
I hate to admit that my specific Christmas memories are few and far between.
I remember our specific traditions. I remember how my mom always paid such close attention to us growing up and knew just what we wanted. I remember then and now that she has put her all into making each Christmas special for us.
I remember Sean entering the picture and sharing our Christmases. It's crazy to think this will be our 9th Christmas together! I'm remembering that on more than one Christmas, he put a ring on it! Yep. If memory serves me correctly, a ring has been involved 1/3 of our Christmases!
Here's a recap:
Sean and I had been together about ten months that Christmas and I was thrilled that he paid attention and got me a claddagh ring.
I also remember a friend of mine who got excited, thinking it was an engagement ring...her face fell when she saw it, and she said "oh. it's just a ring." I was so mad! Y'all, the claddagh is not just a ring. If you don't know the story of this lovely piece, read it here.
Anyway, I sent her the story and her tune changed real quick. She even proceeded to realize she wanted one too. Yep, her boyfriend got her one later.
I hate to admit that my specific Christmas memories are few and far between.
I remember our specific traditions. I remember how my mom always paid such close attention to us growing up and knew just what we wanted. I remember then and now that she has put her all into making each Christmas special for us.
I remember Sean entering the picture and sharing our Christmases. It's crazy to think this will be our 9th Christmas together! I'm remembering that on more than one Christmas, he put a ring on it! Yep. If memory serves me correctly, a ring has been involved 1/3 of our Christmases!
Here's a recap:
Christmas 2005: The Claddagh
Sean and I had been together about ten months that Christmas and I was thrilled that he paid attention and got me a claddagh ring.
I also remember a friend of mine who got excited, thinking it was an engagement ring...her face fell when she saw it, and she said "oh. it's just a ring." I was so mad! Y'all, the claddagh is not just a ring. If you don't know the story of this lovely piece, read it here.
Anyway, I sent her the story and her tune changed real quick. She even proceeded to realize she wanted one too. Yep, her boyfriend got her one later.
Christmas 2008: The Bling
While this technically wasn't a Christmas present, to me it was. Christmases 2006&7 I wanted nothing more than to be engaged. It just couldn't happen. So when we got engaged December 5, that was gift enough for me right there. A lovely radiant-cut diamond and a fiance. He got me several other gifts that year that he certainly didn't have to, but that one was the best.
Christmas 2011: The Pearl
Confession: the older you get and the longer you're together, the harder it is to come up with gift ideas.
We were in Sam's club when I spotted this ring and mentioned it was pretty (Backstory: I used to hate pearls. It wasn't until Sean introduced me to the pick your pearl at Epcot's Japan that I started to warm up to them). When Sean got a Christmas bonus from work, he snuck back to the store and picked it up for me. Aww.
Christmas: When Sean & I disagree
December 18, 2013 • holiday, link up
Day nine of twelve
Today is all about traditions. We all have them this time of year, no matter what size. For instance, it isn't formally declared anywhere, but I've certainly made watching Love Actually an annual Christmas tradition; I have to watch it at least once each December!
Growing up, our traditions were as follows:
Today is all about traditions. We all have them this time of year, no matter what size. For instance, it isn't formally declared anywhere, but I've certainly made watching Love Actually an annual Christmas tradition; I have to watch it at least once each December!
Growing up, our traditions were as follows:
- Put the tree up on 12/10, my mom's birthday...but then my brother was born 12/15, so she gave tree day to him!
- Go to my aunt's house Christmas day.
- Go to Christmas Eve service at church.
- After service, come home and go to said tree- everyone opens one gift!
Here's what they look like since marrying Sean (and maybe slightly before):
- Put tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving (or as soon as we can if we travel that holiday)
- Go to his aunt's house (and see all our families, whew!) Christmas day.
- Go to Christmas Eve service at church.
- After service, come home and argue about the last tradition on my first list.
That's right, Sean and I actually have something we disagree on. The Christmas Eve Tradition absolutely appalls him! Every year I stubbornly beg him and he stubbornly refuses. Agh.
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| via |
One gift? No. A less important gift? No. Stockings then? No freaking way!
We've been arguing on this one for years - even before we got married!
Finally, two years ago, I found what I thought could be a decent compromise:
A stupid present.
Sean and his dad have their own tradition of putting retarded, useless things in each other's stockings: shower gels in silly shapes, things found with inappropriate sounding names, a can of spam, fake blood....
(I totally asked Sean for more examples of gifts and when he texted his dad, he found out his younger siblings have joined in on the trend, buying Justin Bieber notepads and hooker-ish fake nails. Ha!)
Anyway, as you can see, we are nerds. We like to laugh over silly/stupid things. So, I proposed we each open one present from each other - a stupid one! He's still not completely sold ("we could open those on Christmas day too..."), but for the last two years, it's worked out quite well.
Now - give me some ideas for something dumb to give him this year!?
Veggie Fritatta: Christmas Edition
December 17, 2013 • food, holiday, link up, recipe
Day eight of twelve
This year Sean and I are hosting my family on Christmas day and made an unconventional (for us) decision to have them over earlier in the day for brunch. This serves two purposes:
1. We see my family first then have time in the evening to spend with his.
2. We don't stress about dinner prep and what is or isn't vegetarian.
It was a last minute decision but one that I'm excited about. Fruits, breads, eggs, tea, juice...mmmm. Nothing beats a hearty morning spread.
I have to admit that my breakfast most mornings is an Arbonne protein shake and a piece of fruit (mmm!). But, when I do cook, one of my favorite recipes has become a simple one: the fritatta. And it just so happens that with the veggies I most often have on hand, it looks a little Christmas-y by default: red and green everywhere!
This is super easy, and like most of my recipes, super customizable. Use this to get inspired and make yours with whatever suits your taste!
Vegetarian Fritatta
This year Sean and I are hosting my family on Christmas day and made an unconventional (for us) decision to have them over earlier in the day for brunch. This serves two purposes:
1. We see my family first then have time in the evening to spend with his.
2. We don't stress about dinner prep and what is or isn't vegetarian.
It was a last minute decision but one that I'm excited about. Fruits, breads, eggs, tea, juice...mmmm. Nothing beats a hearty morning spread.
I have to admit that my breakfast most mornings is an Arbonne protein shake and a piece of fruit (mmm!). But, when I do cook, one of my favorite recipes has become a simple one: the fritatta. And it just so happens that with the veggies I most often have on hand, it looks a little Christmas-y by default: red and green everywhere!
This is super easy, and like most of my recipes, super customizable. Use this to get inspired and make yours with whatever suits your taste!
Vegetarian Fritatta
by
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Ingredients (Serves 4-6)
- 12 eggs
- 2 bell peppers, 1 red, 1 green, chopped
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 1 cup chopped broccoli
- 1-2 roma tomatoes, seeded, juiced, and chopped
- milk
- salt/pepper
- olive oil
- grated cheese (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F and grease a 9x13 baking dish with olive oil
Steam or saute vegetables while whisking eggs with desired amount of salt/pepper/milk
Mix vegetables (an cheese, if desired) into egg mixture and pour into baking dish
Bake 45-60 minutes or until top is set
Cut into squares and serve
Powered by Recipage
by
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Ingredients (Serves 4-6)
- 12 eggs
- 2 bell peppers, 1 red, 1 green, chopped
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 1 cup chopped broccoli
- 1-2 roma tomatoes, seeded, juiced, and chopped
- milk
- salt/pepper
- olive oil
- grated cheese (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F and grease a 9x13 baking dish with olive oil
Steam or saute vegetables while whisking eggs with desired amount of salt/pepper/milk
Mix vegetables (an cheese, if desired) into egg mixture and pour into baking dish
Bake 45-60 minutes or until top is set
Cut into squares and serve
Powered by Recipage
candy cane man
December 16, 2013 • holiday, link up
Day seven of twelve
Sean: Did you see that candy cane man only has his huskies out so far this year?
Me: No. I haven't driven that way recently. But he left his angel up all year this year.
Sean: Really?
We don't know who candy cane man is. We don't even know if he's a man. We do know that this particular neighbor has a plethora of tacky Christmas lawn decor including these giant candy canes he hangs from his (her?)(not pine) tree. Of course, he added the rest of his decor, so feast your eyes.
It's outdoor decor day! I'm in an apartment so my decor is limited to a fresh wreath on the door. So exciting!
One day, we'll have a house, and we will have much more fun in the decor department, inspired by my list of do's and don'ts from my neck of the woods:
DO Keep it simple:
Clean, warm, and festive. Also won't kill the electric bill. Works for me.
DON'T Think LED's can replace classic white lights:
Yes, I'm all about green, crunchy, efficient...but look at the first pic then look here. Bleh. The Christmas "glow" is gone and replaced with a glaring, almost clinical look. No, thanks.
If you must have lawn ornaments, DO keep them to a minimum:
Again, nice and clean. I'm not a fan of most lawn decorations, but this one is simple and nothing about this screams "overkill!" Nicely done.
That being said, for the love of God, DON'T go insane with the lawn decor:
I mean, do you really think this looks good? Really? That's bright enough to keep your neighbors from sleeping at night and all those inflatable things look so sad during the day when they lie deflated on your lawn. Chill out.
DO Share your tree:
Trees are lovely and should be shared. I love driving by a house where their beauty is showcased in the window for all to see.
DON'T Share your lights if they don't match:
Sean: Did you see that candy cane man only has his huskies out so far this year?
Me: No. I haven't driven that way recently. But he left his angel up all year this year.
Sean: Really?
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| Doesn't work for me. |
We don't know who candy cane man is. We don't even know if he's a man. We do know that this particular neighbor has a plethora of tacky Christmas lawn decor including these giant candy canes he hangs from his (her?)(not pine) tree. Of course, he added the rest of his decor, so feast your eyes.
It's outdoor decor day! I'm in an apartment so my decor is limited to a fresh wreath on the door. So exciting!
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| Yes. The door is brown and ugly. I promise the bow was much perkier before. |
One day, we'll have a house, and we will have much more fun in the decor department, inspired by my list of do's and don'ts from my neck of the woods:
DO Keep it simple:
Clean, warm, and festive. Also won't kill the electric bill. Works for me.
DON'T Think LED's can replace classic white lights:
Yes, I'm all about green, crunchy, efficient...but look at the first pic then look here. Bleh. The Christmas "glow" is gone and replaced with a glaring, almost clinical look. No, thanks.
If you must have lawn ornaments, DO keep them to a minimum:
Again, nice and clean. I'm not a fan of most lawn decorations, but this one is simple and nothing about this screams "overkill!" Nicely done.
That being said, for the love of God, DON'T go insane with the lawn decor:
I mean, do you really think this looks good? Really? That's bright enough to keep your neighbors from sleeping at night and all those inflatable things look so sad during the day when they lie deflated on your lawn. Chill out.
DO Share your tree:
Trees are lovely and should be shared. I love driving by a house where their beauty is showcased in the window for all to see.
DON'T Share your lights if they don't match:
I see this all. the. time. Generally the person ran out of one strand and started with another. It's tacky. But in this case, the mismatch is on purpose. Those multi/white lights swap sides every second. But I hate it! It's not even symmetrical. Yuck.
DO Take advantage of your door, especially if it's red:
Sean and I drove around enjoying the lights and taking pics one evening, and on multiple occasions, one of us would comment "ooh, that's a nice door!" (another example being the first "do" in this post). If your door is already red, yay, your battle is already half-won. Slap a wreath on that baby and you look magazine-quality festive!
DON'T fake the bows:
The real ones look a lot nicer, I promise. They'll save you money on lights and electricity, too.
DO Remember the reason for the season:
'Nuff said.
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