Anniversary Weekend: Part I

We kicked off our first anniversary celebration with dinner and drinks at one of our favorite restaurants in S.Austin: Habana.

Papa Rellena:

So. Good.  I could probably just have eaten a meal of these and nothing else.  They are balls of mashed potato with seasoned ground beef in the center and deep fried.  With a little salsa, they are delicious.
X and I tried to make them a long time ago when we were first dating.  It was difficult and messy- I prefer someone else to do the dirty work so I can just enjoy them :D

I ordered the chuletas fritas with arroz con grandules and black beans (fried pork chops, rice w/ chickpeas):

Their servings are so large they can easily be split between two people, which never ends up happening with us.  (We have different tastes in food, I guess).

X ordered the fricase de pollo (chicken stew), which I failed to take a picture of.

And finally, when we arrived home.  We enjoyed this:

The top tier of our wedding cake was devoured about six months ago.  We were running out of space in our freezer, so it had to be eaten, right?!  I emailed our wedding cake baker so ask her if she could make us a smaller anniversary cake, and of course, she said yes. So Friday afternoon, I drove to her new store front to pick it up!  I LOVE THIS CAKE.

Anniversary Weekend: Part I

Jeggings (and the next best thing)

Last Friday, I was at my local shopping mall when I discovered that Loft (!!!) had recently opened a new location.  I recently stumbled across their online shop and I love their clothing and fit.  They also happened to be having a 30% off sale so I browsed through all the pretty clothing and came across these:

Denim Leggings (aka Jeggings).  I'll admit, these TERRIFY me, but I was oh-so-close to picking up a pair and trying them on.  They appear look so good on models when paired with a pair of knee-high boots.  Me and my calves tend to not fit into boots, much less with a layer of jeans added in; thus, leggings and jeggings (shudder) seemed to be the only solution to this matter.

Until I saw these on the shelf just above them:

Skinny? Yes.  Skin Tight?  Not quite.  I tried on a pair of petite and regular and for some reason the regular fit so much better everywhere (except in the length, of course).  However, I can stuff them into wear them with these:

Boots that a) fit around both my calves and jeans (!!!) b) are the most comfortable shoes ever.

... and they fit perfectly.  I was so excited, I wore them all weekend.

*Neither Loft, nor Piperlime, nor Nine West has paid me any $$$ or given me any freebies for this post.  I love the products both so much that I just wanted to share my joy with you!

Jeggings (and the next best thing)

Day One, Year Two

Yesterday, my husband and I celebrated one year of marriage.  I can't believe how quickly it went by. It seems like only yesterday we were dancing, eating, and celebrating with our friends and family.  It's been a wonderful year and I'm excited to spend fifty more with him.

*photo by ALCollective

Recaps of our wonderful wedding can be found here.

Day One, Year Two

If I had $1,000,000

Okay maybe not.  But I do have a gift card that I recently won from the Happyhour with a Housewife's blog, and I'm trying to decide how to spend it.

Shoes are always a great buy in my book:



I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about these:

 And I have a new affection for belts:

You I can never have too many cardigans:

Looks like a shopping trip is in order.

*all images found here

If I had $1,000,000

Recipe: Italian Stew

I first discovered this stew last fall at Upper Crust Bakery in north Austin.  It's only served seasonally in the late fall and winter, but it's so good.  So when they stopped serving it, I tried to make it at home.  The basic ingredients:

• mushrooms
• fresh oregano
• red potatoes (3-4)
• red diced tomatoes (canned)
• sausage (one link)
• salt & pepper as needed

Remove eyes (or peel) and slice potatoes into quarters.  Bring one pot of water to a boil and add potatoes.  Boil until potatoes are soft.  Drain water and set aside.

Slice up one sausage link into small pieces.  Heat skillet and brown sausage.

Once sausage is browned, remove from pain and set aside.  (I place them on a paper towel-lined plate to drain any excess grease).

Check to see if potatoes have cooled.  If they have, slice cooked potatoes into small pieces and set aside.

Open can of diced tomatoes and bring to simmer on stove.  Dice one stem of oregano and add to tomatoes.

Add potatoes, mushrooms, and sausage.  Simmer for 10-15 mins.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Italian Stew

Making a House a Home: Part II

To save some $$ (and to feed my inner crafter), I've decided to make throw pillows for our sofas.  I've started/finished a few using this fabric:

Alexander Henry- House in Grey via Hawthorne Threads

It's a greyish/brown color- very neutral- and I really love the simplicity of the print. 

Also, I bought a rug (!!!).  I drove all over Austin last weekend of search of something, and almost came home with nothing.  It's not what I had really hoped for, but it's a quick (temporary) fix and it was cheap.  The downside(s) are that 1) it's not wool (you can read this informative post on wool rugs) and 2) it's neutral.  So, I'm hoping to now add color to the room through the use of throw pillows and accents on our coffee/end tables.

I looooove these.

Eisman Design via Daily Candy

I think I'm going to stay away from patterns, but I like the idea of pillow embelishments like these:

Apartment Therapy



I could easily sew (not crochet) some flowers for our living room pillows that could be removable/changed out.

Making a House a Home: Part II

Bookends

I know the concept of the Kindle, Nook, iPad, et.al. is a great idea (less clutter, all reads in one place), but...

1. I love book cases 
2. I love physical books, especially these.   

Eventually, I'm sure I'll cave into technology and purchase an electronic reader.  Until then I'll dream of my imaginary library filled with bookcases, lined with books and bookends like these:

west elm

barnes and noble

Jolly Time One



Peg and Awl

Adriondack Metal

Velocity Art and Design

Ballard Designs

The Bookend Store

Bookends

Ghost Costume Ideas

This year, we're going to a costume party for Halloween (yay!).  Not just any costume party though, it will be a murder-mystery costume party.  If you haven't been to one of these, they are so. much. fun.  We attended our first party of this nature a few months ago for our two of our good friends' birthdays.  That party happened to be western themed, and although our costumes were thrown together at the last minute, it was still a lot of fun!  This time, however, I will be prepared.

The themed party works like this:  prior to the event, you receive information regarding the character that you will portray so that you can dress accordingly.  Mine happens to be a ghost.  On the email I received , it suggested creating a costume out of a sheet, like this:

 source

Borrrr-rrring.


I'm thinking something more like this:

source

Or maybe like this (Helena Ravenclaw):

source

source

Either way, I think a few "musts" of my costume are:

• white tights & gloves
• vintage/worn attire, preferably a dress
• white face paint (although, as pale as I am, I may not need it :P)

Let the search begin!  Anyone else wearing a Halloween costume or attending any parties?

Ghost Costume Ideas

I Judge Books by Their Covers

I also select wine by the beauty of it's bottle.

I hope it tastes as good as it looks.

Hope you enjoy a relaxing weekend!  Happy Friday!

I Judge Books by Their Covers

In our next house..

at least one wall will be painted like this:

Can you believe they were all created by stencils*?  I think these are a great alternative to wall paper (to which my husband strongly objects.. I don't blame him- it's pretty, but a pain to put up/take down) and wall decals.  I love that they are reusable.  They also seem relatively easy to use and they definitely add beauty to a space.

Check out this before & after using stencils:

Lemon Tree Creations via The Busy Budgeting Mama

*Cutting Edge Stencils has no clue who I am and does not pay me to blog about them.  I just think their stuff is really cool :)

In our next house..