My 30 for 30 Picks

Seeing as I signed up for the challenge, I figured I should work on a list of items. If I had time, I would totally take pictures of everything like Kendi did, but instead a list will suffice.

I will be taking pictures daily with my friend and coworker who is doing the challenge with me. I'll post the pictures on Friday on my blog. We finished up our lists this morning. Here's mine:

Skirts
1. Black Pencil Skirt (Forever 21)
2. Black Flowy Skirt (Gap)
3. Gray Pencil Skirt (Old Navy)
4. Purple Two Tone Skirt (Old Navy)
5. Denim Skirt (Old Navy)

Dresses
6. Black Dress (Gap)
7. Gray Dress (Target)
8. Blue Dress (Target)

Jackets
9. Black Blazer (WISH)
10. Blue Military Jacket (WISH)

Shoes
11. Brown Boots (Target)
12. Black Heels (Urban Outfitters)
13. Gray Booties (Target)
14. Black Wedges (Target)
15. Red Heels (some boutique in New Orleans)

Pants
16. Black Pants (Limited)

Sweaters
17. Mustard Cardigan (Target)
18. Light Gray Cardigan (Gap)
19. Black Cardigan (Kolhs)
20. Blue Sweater (Forever 21)
21. Navy Cardigan (Old Navy)
22. Purple Cowl Neck Sweater (Kohls)

Tops
23. Black and White Ruffle Button Down (Gap)
24. Multi Colored Plaid Button Down (Target)
25. Animal Print Tie Shirt (WISH)
26. Black Turtleneck (Target)
27. Blue Long Sleeve (Target)
28. Gray/Pink Polka Dot (Old Navy)
29. Tan Ribbed Long Sleeve (Gap)
30. Gray/White Stripe Tee (Old Navy)

It's not too late to join us. It starts tomorrow!

Wish me luck!

Salsa Recipe

I am really loving the Pioneer Woman right now. I was against it for a while because everyone was really into her. But as it turns out, she is completely worth all the hype surrounding her recipes. She has this salsa recipe that is delicious.

Click here for the Pioneer Woman's blog about the salsa, complete with pretty pictures. But here's the recipe too:

Ingredients:
1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes with juice
2 cans (10 oz) Rotel tomatoes (one Original, one mild)
1/4 cups chopped onions
1 clove garlic, minced
1 whole jalapeno, quartered and slice thin
1/4 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 cups cilantro
1/2 whole lime juice

Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in food processor or blender. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you like. Pioneer Woman goes 10-15 pulses, but I think I did about 20. Test with tortilla chip. Refrigerate salsa for at least one hour. Then serve!

*I ended up adding a lot more garlic (in powder form) and a good bit more lime juice.

Also, check out this recipe for burritos. They were seriously yummy!!

Enjoy!!

Five Things Friday

So, a lot of people do this on their blog...so I thought I'd join. These are my 5 favorite things this week:

1. This guy
Look at how he looks at me. That's love!

2. Sabra Spinach and Artichoke Hummus
Can't. Get. Enough.

3. Tazo Orange Blossom Tea

A friend gave this to me for my birthday and I'm obsessed. And with the allergy/cold I'm working on right now, it's so soothing.

4. American Idol

I have never watched it before, but I wanted to see how the judges were this year. I like Steven Tyler so I tuned in. And I'm hooked.

5. Blogs
I've never been one to read blogs each day, but I've found a few that are relevant to me and are fun to keep up with. Especially these:
Kendi Everyday
Pretty Life Anonymous
The Pioneer Woman
My friends, Kimmie, Liss, and Morgan
Jones Design Company

So there you go! What are yours?

You gotta try this!

I did it. I decided I'm going to do the 30 for 30 Challenge on KendiEveryday's blog and I signed up. I'm going to do it. I just read her latest blog post about remixing your closet and I can do that. So, I'm in. Who's with me?!

Also, I have a few REALLY awesome blog giveaways to tell you about:

1. Pitter Patter Art
I love Pitter Patter Art. She sells things to make money for adoption. She is doing a giveaway on her blog from a company that sells jewelry and such to support women in other countries. You gotta check it out! The necklace she is giving away is gorgeous. I hope I win it! {I did not win :( }

2. Pretty Life Anonymous
I have been following these blog for a few days and I have to say, I really like it. It's another one of those fashion blogs. Am I shallow? Maybe. I'm working on it, ok? Anyway, they are doing a giveaway of this dreamy ruffle scarf. I really want to win it too! {I did not win :( }

3. The Knotty Bride
I just saw this because I follow Lulu's on Twitter. The Knotty Bride is giving away a $100 shopping spree on Lulu's. And let me tell you, I REALLY want to win this one too. {I did not win}

4. Jones Design Company
A friend of mine shared this site with me and I love the asthetic of her design. Check out the site and sign up for the giveway. You will not be sorry. And of course, I really want to win this as well!

So even though you'll be my competition, you should totally go check out all these blogs and register to win their giveaways. And if you win, I charge commission. :)

Belated Birthday

I had a birthday last week and I enjoyed it immensely. I really like it when my birthday falls actually on Martin Luther King Jr Day because I get the day off!

The birthday fun began the Friday before when I showed up to work. I got called into the next office over for a really random reason and when I returned to my desk there was a huge vase of flowers sitting there from Ethan. I should have taken a picture of them, but let me try to describe them. They were orange tiger lilies, yellow daisies, white lilies and bells of Ireland. They were (and still are) gorgeous! We spent the weekend at DNow at church which was really, really fun.

Then on Monday, we slept in. I stayed in my pajamas almost all day, answering the phone and checking my facebook, which makes you feel VERY special on your birthday. I love that people who would never take the time to call you write on your wall to tell you happy birthday. I mean that in a good way, not negative like it kind of sounds. Then Ethan took me to get sushi at my favorite place, Wasabi. I could eat a "hot and sexy" roll every day of the week and never get tired of it. Then we went to Starbucks and got my free drink. We came home and watched "The Other Guys" and went to bed early because we had to work the next morning, where they had brownies and funfetti cake.

I know it may not sound like much to you, but it was seriously fun!

Just a quick picture of my and Ethan, since he made the day so wonderful! I'm glad I married him. Good decision.

If I could go anywhere today...

I'd go to New Orleans!

It is cold and dreary here in Fort Worth today and I would love just to get away for the weekend. Alas, only in my dreams!

BUT...if I did get to go, this is what I would do.

I would eat lunch here:

I love Johnny's. Ethan and I ate there a lot on our honeymoon. They have a TON of options. It's really tiny so you're crammed in there with other people. The food is so worth it though.

Then, I'd eat dinner here:

Cafe Adelaide is amazing! It's the restaraunt in the Loews Hotel:

I've never stayed at Loews, but it looks beautiful. The food at Cafe Adelaide is delicious and very different. I recommend the Ahi Tuna on crab sticky rice or the Shrimp and Rosemary Grits. Yum.

Then I would have dessert here:

And I would eat this:

And drink a lot of Cafe au Lait (decaf!). I like Cafe du Monde at night the best, but I'll never turn down a beignet!

But, I would still want to eat red beans and rice at Acme:

So I would have to spend the night!

Here, at the Quarter House (where we stayed on our honeymoon):

Or here, at the Country Inn and Suites, where we stayed for my sister's wedding. The hotel is really cool inside:

OR...I could stay here, at the Ambassador Hotel. It's an old coffee and sugar warehouse and the rooms are huge:

In between all the eating, I would wander around shopping at my favorite, WISH, and of course, LUSH:

And anywhere in between. There are so many cool art galleries, shoe stores, boutiques, antique shops, and if I'm with Ethan, book stores, and of course the French Market.

At some point we would find a place to listen to a LOT of jazz!

So, that's it. That's what I would do today if I could!

30 for 30

I follow this blog, Kendi Everyday. She is a normal girl, living a very normal life. She blogs daily about her outfit. If you are needing some inspiration and help "remixing" what you've got in your closet already, this is the blog for you. What she does on her blog really helped me get out of my fashion rut working in an office each day. Creepster alert: I want to be friends with Kendi. But I'll settle with just checking her blog every day.

Anyway, she's got this thing that she does called the 30 for 30 challenge. You have to take 30 pieces from your wardrobe and remix those 30 pieces into 30 different outfits for 30 days. You can join her in this challenge and I'm thinking about doing it. It starts in February and I have to decide within the next week. Maybe this will be a good exercise for me? We'll see.

In other news, you should totally check out her blog. You'll love it.