sweet, solo saturday night

Don't you just love alone time?

Last night was my night alone. Hubby was out-of-town at a friend's wedding party, and since I am still working the night shift {yes, even on Saturday nights} I got the whole night to myself (well, until it was 11pm and time to go to work - drat!)

I love my husband dearly, and I also have a blast hanging out with friends...

...but I luuuurve my {alone time.}

Since babies are looming on our marital horizon, I have to take advantage of alone time. Not so sure I will get much of it when there are kiddos around! I'm sure all you mamas out there are nodding right now thinking, "Tru dat, G" or whatever language you speak in your head.

Here is how I spent my sweet solo hours:

1. Went grocery shopping. Surprised? Well, this was not the rushed, unorganized kind I do after work on a Monday. First, I sat in my kitchen, planned the dinners I would cook this week, and thoughtfully wrote out my grocery list. Then I went to our new, beautiful, swanky grocery store (can grocery stores be swanky?), went to the in-store Starbucks {I consider this swanky}, got my mild hazelnut misto, and strolled at leisure through the aisles. No rush, just taking everything in. Actually reading labels. This is how I like to shop.

2. When I got home I knew I wouldn't feel content about my evening until I did a project, so...I organized my massive pile of recipes I've ripped out of magazines that have been haphazardly shoved in random cookbooks!

I know this seems lame {nerd alert} but it made me feel soooooo goooood to get all these random recipe clippings organized into categories, hole-punched, and place neatly in a binder.

3. Settled in on the couch, indulged in a "meal" of veggies, Triscuits, and {delicious} roasted garlic hummus, while flipping through two magazines I splurged on {Martha Stewart Living and House Beautiful - to inspire!} and watching a chick flick I grabbed from Redbox.

Perfect night all to moi.

So my question is:

What do you {or would you} do with an entire evening by yourself?

I would love to know! Leave a comment below...

:o)

PS: When in Rome=worth renting - very funny, very cute romantic comedy. I was weak - from laughter and Josh Duhamel. ;)

{take a moment}

We have {so much} planned for this weekend...it is kind of exhausting just to think about it! Dinner out with friends, a wedding celebration, our annual King's Island date {bring on the fear and adrenaline rushes!} However, I am determined not to let the weekend fly by in an instant...but slow it down and enjoy every moment.

{roadside wildflowers in minnesota}

Even though your weekend may be packed with events, take a moment to just relax and enjoy something beautiful. Even if it just reading the paper and sipping your coffee on Sunday morning. Which is lovely in and of itself.

:o)

porch light redo: {green to gorgeous}

I love green. Grass. Eyes. Salad. Grapes.

But not light fixtures. Please no.

However, our lovely little fixer-upper came with two outdoor light fixtures that are a hideously ugly green color that has caused me to shield my eyes every time I have walked up the front walk.

Okay, they are not THAT bad.

They did go really cute with our hideous green plastic screen door...

Well, the green door is gone now, as well as that pretty sky blue step. Praise Jesus.
But we still had the lovely green fixtures:

I have been wanting to buy shiny new, more modern fixtures for the longest time, but have been too cheap waiting for just the right moment. {picture me in the outdoor lighting aisle at Lowe's, staring up in wonder as the motion sensors blink on....off...on...off...}

Sigh. Not in the budget.

Then recently my good friend Beth blogged about her recent fantastic spray paint experience on her blog Between Three Sisters {check it out - she and her 2 sisters (hence the name) blog about DIY home projects, fantastic recipes, and more! }

Check out Beth's link {HERE} to learn her simple how-to on re-doing your own outdoor lighting with a can of wonderful spraypaint.

Today I decided to try it myself! I picked up a can of dark bronze metallic spray paint for around $7 (they have all different shades of metal) at Lowe's. I followed Beth's instructions and was surprised at how easy {and cheap!} this re-do was.

Removed the bolts and screws.

Laid the paint-splattered, dismantled green parts out on newspaper. All set to spray paint!

Beth was a lot neater than me in taping paper around the base of fixture -- but it all worked out!

Then I just spraypainted to my little heart's content. Two coats.

I love the result!

From gaudy green, to a much more classy dark bronze look. Without spending at least $80 on a set of new lights. If you haven't yet discovered the joys of spray painting things to make them "new" all I can say is: just do it once...you will be hooked! :)

Thank you for the inspiration, Beth!

Now it's time to get out the fall decor...and perhaps make a few new things?

JOY!

{oj and hugs}

{tofufortwo}

The past three days I have felt, well, like crap.

Achy, feverish, zero energy {like walking, zombie-like, from my computer to the bed took a lot of effort} and no appetite. Which was scary, because if I am not hungry or at least thinking about food there is definitely something gone awry.

I don't like taking medicine, unless it is the natural kind. Or I am dying. So I tried pumping my system full of vitamins and lots and lots and LOTS of orange juice.

Also, I have been working the night shift for the past week, with no day off. The only thing about the night shift that kind of stinks is, well, it is at night. I've decided it is not natural to be awake at night. I'm not a bat, after all. So perhaps this had something to do with my immune system being out of whack. (Coffee and Red Bull all night for 7 days straight can't be good, right?)

Finally, today around 7am two of the fabulous ladies that work 1st shift came in with their typical big smiles and great attitudes. {I don't know what makes them so happy but I LOVE them for it!}

I must have looked pretty dang awful because they said, "You need a hug."

These sweet, older ladies give me a hug every day, but this morning I tried to warn them: "I have germs...you may not want to hug me today." They looked at me like I was crazy and said: "That is exactly why you need a hug!" And they both gave me the biggest, nicest hugs ever.

You know what? It's been a couple hours, and I am actually feeling much better!

Must've been the hugs.

{bodyelectrictoday}

and the OJ...

{nutritious}

...but probably mostly the hugs!

Oh, and my {fantastic, amazing, patient} husband letting me spend the past two days sleeping on the couch, flailing and kicking him in my sleep while he watched football.

His hugs are pretty good, too. :o)

So now I am better, and my craziness industriousness can resume as normal.

Happy Monday and many ((HUGS)) to all of you!!!

(They really do help.)

:o)

thrifty find: {aluminum garden tubs}

Sometimes things are good just how they are.

I bought two of these aluminum garden buckets the other day at my local mini-flea market for a fabulous 2 bucks each, and I had big plans. HUGE plans. To make them even better!

I fully intended to prime them, paint them, and use them as fall planters for my front porch.

Then, I realized that for right now, I love them just how they are. A little rust here and there. A missing handle on one.

Gives a bucket character, ya know? :)

So I used them to set the stage for my recent anniversary dinner. The shiny aluminum color looks great with a huge bouquet of wildflowers,

outside...

...or inside.

Or even as an ice bucket for a bottle of bubbly!

They definitely work as rustic, outdoor entertaining accessories...so I may keep them in their original glory for just a little while longer. Later -- who knows? The possibilities for these shiny, sassy little vessels are endless!

Plus, right now I am a little sick, and inhaling spray paint fumes proooooobably not my best choice.

Just sayin'.

{Hope you are happy and healthy this beautiful Saturday!}

cooking up romance!

As of yesterday, hubby and I have been married {three amazing years} - hurrah!

When we first met at 20-years-old, I did not cook.

Kitchens literally scared me.

After we had dated several years...I still did not cook. Unless you count rice. Lots and lots of rice.

But when we got married, at long last, at age 26....nope, still could not boil my way out of a pot.

Growing up, my mom had never shown me the womanly ways of a kitchen. She was famous for wanting to do it all herself, so whenever she was cooking she preferred us to: "Go play outside!" Now I love my mother dearly, and there were some really amazing things I gained from all that free time out exploring the world outdoors, but it also left me with zero kitchen confidence. This is what I did instead of learning to be domestic:

So three years ago, when I became the lady of my own house, I decided enough was enough. I was going to cook if it killed me. If we had to eat a year straight of burnt suppers, I would learn to cook, darnit! What was the point of having a beautiful kitchen if you don't use it?

{I love my kitchen}

So I started small. Grilling chicken. Baking salmon. Very simply. Slowly adding spices. Chopping veggies {I only chopped off part of my pinkie finger once. Small price to pay.}

Then I looked to the experts to expand my recipe base. Rachel Ray was the obvious choice: 30 minute meals? Sounds easy! Well, they still seem to take me an hour, but progress is progress, right? :o)

In no time at all I had fallen in love with cooking. I'm still no expert by any means, but I love being in the kitchen: the smells, the sounds, staging the plate and hearing the {most of the time} fantastic reviews of my handsome husband. He is pretty honest, which is helpful and finally doesn't cause me to burst into tears!

So to celebrate our beautiful 3 year landmark of love, and my transformation from kitchen 'fraidy cat, to never-make-the-same-meal-twice diva with a spatula, I decided to make an anniversary dinner!

I am not including recipes here {email me if you want details} but would rather just share my journey of creating the evening...

First I set the stage for our outdoor dinner, by adding some throw pillows and fresh flowers. Most of this bouquet was given to me by Paul when he got home from work - I just added some freshly cut lime-green hydrangeas...

{See those aluminum garden pails? I will post more on those later.}

The salad we started with is of my own creation: strawberries with goat cheese and basil. In my opinion, goat cheese is the most fantastic cheese there is. {Kind of an aphrodisiac, too. Just sayin'.} The dressing was really easy: just olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and dried basil whisked together.

{Salads are strangely my favorite thing to make}

The main dish was seafood, of course. We both adore fish of any kind, so I went with a simple dish of what I like to call drunken shrimp and scallops {aka shrimp and scallops sauteed in a wok with veggies and white wine} Mmmmm...

Add a little bubbly, some freshly-baked {I mean warmed in the oven} rosemary-olive oil bread, and you have yourself a sweet, simple, romantic meal.

Oh, and dessert was...Oreos and milk! {I still do not bake.}

PS: I love learning new recipes {especially healthy and simple ones!} so if you have one you think even a novice cook like me could handle, please share, ladies!

Bon apetit!

{bad spider ju-ju}

The other day I opened up the rickety old window in the laundry room at the back of our house, expecting to see a beautiful fall day.

I raised the bamboo shade {hiding the old window's ugliness} and was aghast at all the spiderwebs. So I thought to myself, "Self, you need to clean this window." So I opened up said window and immediately a huge spider literally jumped at me! I shrieked as it landed on the floor, batted away by my karate-chopping hands, and crawled towards the corner of the room at lightning speed.

I heard my hubby's calm voice from the living room: "What is it?" He did not seem particularly alarmed. Apparently my shrieking is commonplace in our house.

"Sp-sp-sp-spider. Biiiiiig spider. Come kill it."

I don't have much love for insects. I know, I know, the whole circle of life thing. I get it. As long as they are outside I am perfectly comfortable with insects. Inside my house is a whole other ballgame. The death penalty is liberally given out to trespassers of the creepy-crawly kind. So hubby killed it. Bad idea. Karmically speaking.

This brings me to my bad spider ju-ju. I now have a huge spider in my garden that will not leave. I have garden-hosed this sucker down five times, yet my yellow coreopsis plant is where he wants to live! He spins his web over, and over, and over...

Finally I gave up trying to hose him. His will is stronger than mine. I decided we could cohabitate in the garden together. Here is my little spider friend:

I kind of feel nauseous even looking at these pictures. Also like there might be something crawling on me.

As long as he stays in his little space of the garden we will get along just fine. Right???

The moral of this story is: killing insects rather than kindly releasing them out into the wild may come back and bite you. Not literally. Right?

Yeeeeeesh.