Today is that Day

Do you ever have those days where you put on certain clothes to make a really great combination? Well, today was that day for me! :)

Since we no longer have casual Friday's (no jeans- boo), I tried to select something a bit casual but nice in case tonight becomes date night. I'm so happy with what I chose! I decided on a monochromatic look, with a statement necklace (as influenced by Fab Finds under $50.)

So, today's outfit is gray pants, white cami, light gray top, black boots, and a pearl necklace with a ribbon tie. It was a great investment from a flea market. (Want one? Check out ebay's offerings!)

Enjoy! :)

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Wish List Trade Off

You know that I have been craving a riddling rack forever. However, they tend to be on the expensive side. :(

Aren't they gorgeous!












Anyway, while I was out this weekend at a local flea mall, I saw this wine rack and thought he would make a nice addition to my house.











I can see it with a glass top to hold baskets of pretty linens, the upper and middle shelf with wines, and the bottom shelf full of sparkling water.















Enjoy! :)

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Goal Update

This month is proving to be somewhat productive in the goal category.

Holiday/Seasonal:
1. Remove the Christmas items and organize them. - This was actually completed near the beginning of this month. :) I'm not really one to let my Christmas decor hang around longer than necessary. I even bought specialty boxes for the items, so next year won't be such a hassle.

Personal Development:
1. Start the book 'The Zoo Keeper's Wife.'- I started the book, but soon lost interest. Bummer.
2. Make a new recipe and blog it. - The recipe was meatloaf and you can see it here.
3. Take more pictures to keep precious memories. This is a work in progress. I took the camera when I went to visit my parents over the weekend, but didn't really use it. Instead, I used the iPhone. Yeah for gadgets!

Clean/Organization/Decorate:
1. Finish painting the desk.
2. Move the twin bed into the guest room.
3. Replace Christmas wreath with spring wreath.
Summing all of these up with "haven't started." I need to break out the spray paint for the desk, actually bring the bed to the guest room, and take down the Christmas wreath. Golly golly. I really do have time to do this on the weekends, but am not sure why it's not done. Sigh.

Professional Development:
1. Apply for at least 3 jobs.- Applications have been sent for at least 3 jobs. Mostly with the government. I guess we'll see.
2. Update resume. - I try to do this as often as possible. I would also recommend others do it (hint.hint.).

Financial Times:
1. List at least 3 items on ebay. - I actually listed about 6 items. Every little bit helps.
2. Continue to use coupons and seek out good deals. - This too is on-going. Perhaps I should post about my favorite coupon and financial web sites.
3. Put television in bedroom on a power strip and turn completely off when not in use. I went into a store the other day intending to buy one of these, but forgot and came out with other goodies. Typical me.

Healthy Me:
1. Exercise at least once a week (need to start somewhere). This is not going well. At. All. I really don't have any motivation. Once I'm at the gym, I'm fine, but it's the "drag my lazy rear there" part that gets me. I will say that my eating habits have improved. Instead of eating out three times a week for lunch, I'm taking yogurt, carrots, and salads. I guess that's something.

How are your goals?

Enjoy! :)

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Four Eyes

I did a little pre-planning this year and decided to put extra money in my flexible spending account for new glasses. Since both my prescription and frame preference have changed (ahem), I thought it was time.

My current glasses are nice, but they are rimless, and because I am a little on the blind side, the lenses are thick. Think bottle caps.

So, off to the store I went. It wasn't easy. I tried on so many pairs, that I began to think my face wasn't made for glasses. But after the third store, I finally found a winner.









I wanted something a little square to off-set my Because I have a round face, I need something rectangular, to make my face look longer.

They should be ready for pick-up at the end of this week! Yeah!

:) Enjoy

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Money Crashers 2010 New Year Giveaway Bash

Start the New Year off right!

In addition to all of the financial resources here, this year we want to take it a step further and give you the opportunity to win some amazing free stuff that will give you a head start with your finances in 2010. Enter the Money Crashers 2010 New Year Giveaway Bash! We’ve partnered with various finance companies and bloggers to put together over $6,200 in sweet prizes – including $1,770 in cash, $930 in gift cards, the entire line of Apple iPod mp3 players, 2 Amazon Kindles, a whole bunch of popular finance books, and much much more.

So how does the Giveaway work? We have the exact details outlined lower on this page, but in a nutshell, all you have to do is perform certain actions to gain entries into the contest (i.e. follow us on Twitter, subscribe to our RSS feed, join our Facebook group, etc). The more you do, the better your chances of winning. Then on February 3, we’ll randomly select the winners for each individual prize. Additionally, the top 3 participants with the most entries at the end will get $100 each from Money Crashers. There will be over 100 winners, so you have a great chance of winning something! Now take a look at these awesome prizes and start building up your entries for the Giveaway!

Check it out here!

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New Recipe- Meatloaf

It was my first time, ever, making meatloaf, and it turned out really well! I paired it with macaroni and cheese, and it was a hit!

Meatloaf

Ingredients:
* ground beef
* ground turkey
* 1.5 tbsp of pesto
* 1 tsp garlic
* 2 cup ketchup
* 2 cup dried onion
* 2 cup crackers (crushed)
* 2 eggs
* 2 tbsp butter
* set aside 2 cups ketchup

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix pesto, garlic, onion, ketchup, crackers, egg, and butter. Add beef and turkey
3. Place beef mixture in loaf pan (I actually used a square glass pan).
4. Top with 2 cups of the set aside ketchup
5. Bake for 1 hour.

Serve with your favorite side!

Enjoy! :)

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Hibernation Weekend

We had some of the white stuff Wednesday night and Thursday night, and will be seeing more of it this weekend.











So it's the perfect time to hibernate with a few Redbox movies.













How are you going to spend the weekend?

Enjoy! :)

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After Christmas Chaos

It wouldn't be Christmas without a little after Christmas chaos! You know the kind- wrapping paper everywhere, Christmas tree branches scattered about, and lights in bunches.

So this year I decided to make next year a little easier. Off to Home Depot I went, and purchased this guy, in green. After a bit of thinking, I actually bought 2 of the 54 gallon totes.


Let me tell you a little secret, I love organization and storage. So you can imagine how excited I was about this purchase. To be able to find everything for next year's holidays is priceless. Really.

When I got home, I couldn't wait to get started.











The large tree in the living room went first. Most of it fitted into one of the large bins. Yeehaw!! Next Christmas is going to be a breeze!















The smaller trees, stockings, and various other items went next. Before putting them into the storage bins, I placed them in one location to make the packing easier.

Now I need to find a place for them in the garage. Yippee!

How is your storage and organization going?

Enjoy :)

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Meal Plan Tuesday

I really need to keep up with this on a weekly basis or I'm afraid me and the boy will be eating cereal. And who really likes cereal when the temperature is 21 degrees! Yikes!

The options for this week are:
1. Beef taco's with Spanish rice
2. Steak with veggies
3. Meatloaf with mashed potatoes
4. Cheese tortellini with a pesto & tomato sauce and breadsticks.

I've decided not to bake this week because we still have a ton of goodies to make us fat and happy!

Enjoy :)

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Bathroom Renovation

During my nice long holiday vacation (thank you university!) I've been watching alot of HGTV. Of course this inspired me to work on the bathroom.

So, for the last week or so, I've been slaving away on the bathroom.

First, I decided upon a light fixture. The bronze finish was a must for me, because of the warm feel it would add to my now white-on-white blah bathroom.











Next came paint colors. I ultimately went with a warm neutral beige. It has just enough color to be a color, but is also very versatile with all colors and patterns (hint).







Window coverings came next. Although the window has white blinds, it needed a little character. I choose a black and white toile print to make the neutral wall color pop.
















Now, for some finishing touches, including some black accents such as,

















Whats next? New faucets and framed mirror! Yeah!

Enjoy! :)

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