24th birthday!

hey! i had a birthday last week! the big 2-4! my sweet co-workers got me a cake with 6 candles. they asked what the multipier was (i know, we are nerds), and i told them 4. i think i made them all feel old. but i wasn't trying to rub it in. since zach had been working nights, i came home to spend the afternoon with him before he went into work that night. i thought we could do a laid back bday thing. i ended up cooking and cleaning, and it felt more like zach's bday than mine! we decided a re-do would be in order once things settled down.

like i said, i cooked. check out our yummy linner (lunch/dinner)- thai chicken and pineapple stirfry YUM!

and a breakfast banana split for dessert!

and nora and i did some yoga. she likes to do yoga in her sleep.

grindin'

so. i should have done this post a couple weeks ago, but i've been busy. so here it is. i have to say first that i am traveling on business tonight, and i sit in my hotel room watching my bulldogs host the LSU tigers at Davis Wade Stadium. how awesome in the WHITE OUT???? it's beautiful. trust me. well, it's the start of the 2nd quarter, and i am so proud of how they are playing! i've said it before and i'll say it again- we play best when we are the underDAWGS (excuse the pun, but it is true). and i hope we really stick it to them tonight!

i'm a little nervous that my hotel-mates are going to complain about me. i can't help it- the cowbells sound awesome, and i refuse to turn it down! REFUSE.

ok- so let's go back to the first game of the season. MSU at Memphis! so glad to be at this first game of what is going to be an epic season. EPIC. (i'm kind of into repeating words and capitalizing them for emphasis because i am so pumped for my bulldogs! PUMPED!)

it's true- i get goosebumps when i see OUR STATE colors flying.

Zach had to work. Caryl and Robyn stayed for Korbyn. So here is the gang- mom, alex, sonny, and tom. we had a blast. go dawgs!

appropriate 4th quarter celebratory funnel cake. yes, please. (btw- memphis stadium had awesome concessions!)

and we all remember how this game ended... 59-14. go dawgs!

check out my baby niece!! she is so precious!! got to spend the day after the game with korbyn, her parents, and her grandparents. what a great day!

the rest of the weekend was spent hanging with the memphis gals! oh, how i miss them! loved staying with mary and pretending we were back in college. i did not take any pics bc i'm sure you don't want to see wrapped in a snuggie eating sushi and watching prom. try hard not to be jealous.

short work week, then zach and i headed up to auburn to catch the 2nd msu football game with his parents!

chills. again.

zach got to be at a game! this is pre-sunburn. oh, it was bad.
had to show this throwback pic from 2007. zach and i came to the auburn-msu game when we were juniors... and this is after we had won in overtime! i look the same. zach does not. check out that hair!!!!

on a side note, i'm also really upset that i am not home watching the game with my hubby and my baby kitty. nora came home from her operations tonight. she's a little groggy from the drugs still, but my rug and couch are super happy her claws are gone now. and. she's a bit lighter from having her female organs removed. hey- we didn't even know she was a girl at first.

ok- halftime. we are looking good. REAL GOOD. i think we keep playing better and better each play. ok. i really hope i did not just jinx the game. bc now there is proof. crap. oh well. go dawgs!

losing steam...

well, as you can tell my crafty drive and kitchen experiments have slowed down.

mom was in town this past weekend, and we had the perfect girls' weekend! full of eating, talking, and shopping! i got to take her to my grocery stores around town, and then we went to Jacksonville to get some serious shopping in. i even got an early bday gift which is perfect for the first football game of the season tomorrow! it's the Dooney & Bourke Mini Flap Crossbody in Bordeaux. It's the PERFECT maroon color!

Zach started his pediatric rotation this week. he's enjoying it but his heart still belongs to surgery.

i traveled again for work the beginning of this week, but i'm more than happy to make the quick turnaround... i'm flying to memphis tomorrow!! yay!! i'll get to cheer the bulldogs on as we dominate memphis in the liberty bowl! i'll be sitting with my parents at the game! i'll get to spend friday with my in-laws and my baby niece! i'll be spending the weekend with the one and only, mary renfroe! pumped! (and that doesn't even begin to describe it!)

i'll be back next week with a newspaper basket i'm currently weaving and pics from the weekend!

sewing projects: maroon friday!

i'm so excited for football season, i decided to make a couple tops! this first one is basically like the classic "pillowcase dress" for little girls. i'm very new to sewing clothing and haven't quite mastered fitted styles. but i like a nice draped top! the tie is a satin fabric that had some nice maroon hues in it!

my inspiration for this game day top came from Anthropologie's Diverse Density Tank. the one i made is a little more fitted than this style, but i'm really happy with the way it turned out!

...and while i was taking pictures, we decided to have some fun with Nora, too! zach fashioned this toy for her... it's a duck... on a string... i wish it was a colonel reb... she is pretty ferocious! alright, that's all for today. GO STATE!!!!

jambalaya

LOVE this recipe!! it is soooooooooooooo yummy!! ok- so i picked up some wonderfully fresh and local veggies and got to chopping!

::ingredients::

3c onions, chopped
2 bell peppers, seeded and chopped
2c scallions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1c parsley, chopped
1 Tbs oregano (used an italian blend)
1 tsp thyme
3 bay leaves
2 pinches of cayenne pepper (use more if you like spicy)
1.25c white rice, uncooked
4 plum tomatoes, finely chopped
1 Tbs tomato paste (did not have, so i used tomato sauce and a little corn starch)
3.75c water
1/3c lentils, uncooked
1 tsp sale
2 ears of corn, kernels cut off
20 olives, pitted (did not use these- i hate olives)
S&P

::directions::

heat some oil or chicken stock or butter in large stock pot. add onions, peppers, scallions and saute for 10 min. add garlic and spices and saute for additional 2 min. mix in rice, tomatoes, tomato paste, water, lentils and salt. increase heat and bring to a boil. stir until everything is mixed well, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 25 min. add corn and olives and cook another 5 minutes until lentils and rice are cooked. season with pepper and serve.

oh, boy was it delicious!
zach loves meat, so i added some sausage to his and ate mine vegetarian. i will definitely be making this again! it would be great to take to a tailgate later this fall! (can you tell that i've had collge football on the brain this week?)

microwave applesauce

this turned out to be the perfect snack! i had 4 apples that had been in the fridge over a week. so i decided to make some quick applesauce! i've seen other recipes that involve slowcooking and a lot of time. but this is super quick and perfect if you just want to make a small batch!

peel and cut up apples into tiny pieces. place in a bowl and mix in cinnamon and agave to your liking. microwave about 6 minutes on high until softened. send through your food processer and voila! applesauce!
we enjoyed it as an appetizer before dinner, but i'd love to make a larger batch to snack on throughout the week!
note: 4 small red delicious apples made a little over 1 cup of applesauce.

slow oats

i love making this for breakfast! basically, you just mix 1 part oats (rolled, steel cut, etc), 1 part milk, and 1 part yogurt. you can also add fruit, nuts or granola- skys the limit! got this amazing yogurt from the co-op! so yummy!
Nora was super intrigued by the yogurt!

mix it all together... and put in the fridge until morning

it gets thicker overnight. i wanted to take it to work, so i just transferred it over to a different container.

YUM! Can't wait to try some other combinations!