Book Club Friday

I haven't posted since earlier this week but that's because I've been swamped with work and school but I have managed to start a new book (even if it was only 5 pages before I fell asleep last night).

I decided that since I could tell people now that I was 2/3 of the way done with my MBA, that saying so while reading "Pretty little liars" or "Sookie Stackhouse" books maybe wasn't the best way to represent myself LOL....so as much as I love my CW TV show books and my other vampire novels :)

I decided it was time to read a more grown up book...at least one. So I downloaded Freakonimics for my Kindle.

The book is based on four fundamental ideas:

• 1) Incentives are the cornerstone of modern life.
• 2) Conventional wisdom is often wrong.
• 3) Dramatic effects often have distant, even subtle, causes.
• 4) “Experts” use their informational advantage to serve their own interests.

I'm only like 5 pages into the book but with chapters like,

Chapter 1: What Do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common?

Chapter 2: How is the Ku Klux Klan like a Group of Real-Estate Agents?

Chapter 3: Why Do Drug Dealers Still Live with Their Moms? and many others it's sure to be an interesting, and intellectual book....

I'll be sure to provide my full review when I finish it-What are you reading?

Manual Labor

That's right this past Saturday Rene and I worked our butts off putting in some quality community service. We were painting and scraping the exterior of a house here in Dallas along side other Deloitte employees for their annual Hearts and Hammers event.

Each year Deloitte works with the local Hearts and Hammers group to help fix up the home of a local person who has fallen on hard times. We spent from 9am on Saturday until around 2pm scraping old paint and then re-painting the exterior of the house.

Even though my arms and legs were feeling it by the end of the night on Saturday and even worse on Sunday it was great to be able to donate some time to the community. Even if it meant that I didn't get to sleep in this past weekend :)

Book Club Friday

I'm linking up with Heather at Blonde...Undercover Blonde for my post this Friday and taking part of her Book Club Friday.

Right now I am finishing up reading Dead in the Family: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel (#10).

In this book of the series Sookie is dealing with her cousin needing a place to live after the a brief but deadly Fae war she's also dealing with her healing process after being injured. She also is sceptical when meeting Eric's maker and his "brother". And of course lots of other twists and turns as all the Sookie Stackhouse Novels involve. I will admit I love a little bit of "fantasy" in my day especially since I have to wait until May 2012 for TrueBlood to come back to TV.

If you haven't read any of these books I would highly suggest them!
What are you reading?

No Bake Goodness!

As promised I wanted to share my tasty no-bake dessert that I made this past weekend!

I can't completely take all the credit though, I found it on Pinterest

Ingredients:

1 bag of mini marshmallows
1 bag of Oreos (or you could use golden oreos too)
3 Tablespoons of butter
8x8 pan

Waxed paper

Start by placing the entire package or Oreos in a food processor or bowl and crush into a uniform "crushedness"Next, place your butter in a small bowl and microwave to melt.

Once butter is melted take your mini-mallows and place them in a bowl and microwave for 1-1.5 minutes until they start to melt.

Pour your butter into the marshmallows and then pour your mixture into the crushed cookies and mix!
*it helps to use a buttered or non-stick strayed spoon when mixing*

Pour mixture into a greased or wax-paper lined 8x8 pan and smooth out so that it is evenOnce cool cut into small squares and enjoy!

It's two favorites mixed into one! Rice krispie treats meets Oreos -- Rene enjoyed his with a tall glass of milk!

Grapefest

As I mentioned earlier today, this past Saturday Rene and I went to Grapevine, TX to attend Grapefest. It's a nice relaxing day of walking around and the largest people's choice wine tasting in Texas so that means lots of fun! It was nice to enjoy a little wine and relax away from work and school stuff to say the least. We're getting much better at this whole self photo thing aren't we?

My favorite part of Grapefest (aside from the wine of course) is that you get pick up lots of fun wine themed decorations for the house! We added this one in place of some wall decals by the sink that had started to peel.
My favorite item of the day though I must say is this little piece of art work....

Does this make us one of "those" dog people? I sure hope not-plus who doesn't love an Aussie with a glass of wine right? I mean it looked too much like Stitch to pass up!

Coming Soon

This weekend was a busy one! And that means lots of posts to catch you up to speed! I'll admit though that I haven't had a chance to get the details all posted up quite yet but here's a little sneak preview of what's to come!

A trip to Grapefest this past Saturday for lots of Texas Wines

Some cute new wine inspired decor for the apartment

Cooking up a nice easy white bean and ham stew to stash in the freezer.

A delish fall inspired meal from Food Network magazine

Tasty no-cook Oreo dessert - yum!

*can you tell that I was busy cooking after not being able to all week since Rene was out of town?*

Stay tuned!

Cold Outside--but not "really"

There’s a little chill in the air today in Dallas. I walked outside today planning on throwing on a sundress since it had been in the 90’s still but was surprised to see that it was only about 65 degrees outside—that means fall clothes!!

So I changed out my ballet flats for boots and threw on a belt and cardigan and was ready to go!

**Not having Rene at home to help with pictures is no fun! I have to rely on the self portrait in the mirror-also bathroom lighting is not very flattering at all!**

Everyone should have at least one pair of riding boots or flat boots for the fall! They give your summer dresses a second life!

Here’s hoping this weekend is cooler too since Rene and I plan to go over to Grapevine for Grapefest on Saturday. We haven’t been there for 2 years but the first year it was super hot and still a ton of fun! I am praying for a little bit cooler weather for sure for a relaxing afternoon-we could sure use it!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Even though it's raining this morning (it's a good thing because we need it even if it's just a little) I am still Loving Wednesday!

Why??

1. Because Like a Coupon just gave me a $2 16 oz smoothie at Jamba Juice for lunch! Yummy!

2. I got my cute little personalized necklace in the mail and it's the perfect accessory from Lala Design Studio on Etsy (m<3 r)

3. The new issue of Food Network Magazine arrived yesterday that means new ideas for dinner this weekend!

4. And of course My Husband! And if you read yesterday's post you know why!

Have a wonderful Wednesday! <3

Husband of the Year!

I've got to brag a bit! Rene is A-MAZE-ING!

He ventured out to Target for me while out of town for work and hit a gold mine of untouched Missoni x Target goodies compared to what we have in Dallas!! He pulled pretty much every medium (hopefully they aren't too big, I was afraid small would be too small) and sent me pictures that I got to say "yes" or "no" to I am super excited for Friday!!

What will I be trying on from the personal shopper?


Clockwise from top: Sweater and Dress , Ballet flats, black pumps, retro dress and polo style dress (not pictured)--Love it all!

Total damage...a little more than $300 (whoops) but come on Ebay re-sell value is way more than that! LOL - Like I told Rene I'll only keep the ones I like in person...he suggested I keep them all?! Clearly he doesn't help my spending habits!

Big time brownie points for this Rene!!

Missoni at Target Uber Fail in Planning

Talk about poor planning on Target's part in releasing the much anticipated Missioni for Target line.The adorable collaboration with the Italian fashion house Missoni was meant to be a big release but Target hyped up the product and didn't plan at all for the release leaving many (including me) quite upset.

The website crashed before I even got up this morning and was down all day (I tried at around 5:30am but did eventually get to check out a few things this afternoon)....the stores had people picking up 2 and 3 cart loads at a time...and these people were talking about how they were going to sell it on Ebay for 300% mark ups! It's a bit absurd to pay $200+ for a $29.99 Target pair of ballet flats even if they are super cute!
I attempted to see if luck was on my side at lunch today and sadly I walked out completely empty handed after stopping at 3 different Targets.

PS just in case you find a pair you can send them my way! Because I love them!

All of the DFW area is completely sold out, I did manage to get one piece online, though I have no idea if it will actually fit when I get it...but I am a big fan of the maxi dresses for the fall season so I was willing to take the risk.

It does have a cardigan shell that matches but it was completely sold out just like pretty much everything else online.

I do have Rene making a special trip to Target while he's outside of San Antonio this week to see if since he's in a small town they might have anything left.

The worst part of all this....not even the stores know if they are getting re-stocked or if they are when or what it will be.


Anyone able to snag any of these cute items or no luck like me?

Interesting....

I subscribe to a daily email called Healthy Bitch Daily...today's email was quite interesting about how to improve what you eat and help to decrease your stress levels! I figured it was well worth sharing!! Below is a snip it of the article visit the website for the full article!

Foods that Reduce Stress & Anxiety

Root veggies: yams, radishes, parsnips, beets, carrots and potatoes.
Dark, leafy greens: chard, kale, spinach, arugula and watercress.
Protein: black beans, black sesame seeds, tofu, mung beans and millet.
Berries: blackberries

I do a pretty good job of the berries at least! I always have blackberries for a snack with lunch as for the root veggies we do a much better job of this in the fall, so I guess I'll be stepping it up this year! Blackbeans, spinach and kale are also items that Rene and I use pretty frequently so I guess we are doing pretty well on that but now that I know it helps with reducing stress maybe they will appear in dinners more often!

Spirit Wreath DIY

As promised a quick and simple DIY how to for my cute little “Spirit Wreath”

Materials:

16 to 18 inch Styrofoam wreath form

Approx 12-18 spools of 3 yard 1.5 inch ribbon

Wooden Letters

Hot Glue gun and glue

Paint (colors of choice)

This project is super simple! I started by cutting all of my ribbon into 6-7 inch strips

Then take each strip and wrap around the wreath form and knot.

* Make sure the cat doesn't steal your ribbon--notice how Nala is looking at it*

Continue around the wreath form until the wreath is full.

Make sure that all of the knots are lined up on the same side to create a nice even patter.

Paint your college letters or you could also do this with your house number.

Once the letters/numbers are dry use hot glue to stick on your wreath.

Use one large piece of ribbon to create a loop and hot glue to the back of the wreath form so that you can use it to hang.

Project complete!!

Today We Remember

Today marks the 10th Anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center. Today we remember those who lost their lives that tragic day.

Where were you on 9-11-01?
I sat in my sophomore physics class on September 11, 2001
I remember the teacher always leaving on CNN without the sound while he taught-because what sophomore really watches CNN anyhow right? Just as he was getting ready to start the lesson you saw the photos of the first tower. As we stopped and turned on the sound we watched as the second tower was hit...
I remember going home and watching and learning of Flight 93 crashing in Shanksville just 2 hours and 45 minutes from Grove City, PA. I remember hearing of the attach on the Pentagon.

Today we remember the 10 years following Flight 11 crashing into the North tower at approximately 8:46amEST
Never Forget.

Whoo-hoo!

Way to go Knights!
A great UCF VICTORY tonight!

U-Knight with Red Bandannas

I must say in reading this yesterday in the office I was truly touched by this article about UCF and their upcoming game against Boston College this week. UCF will be honoring a former BU college athlete at this week's game that lost his life in the trade center on 9-11.

Welles R. Crowther lost his life after helping others to saftey during 9-11 and UCF will be honoring his memory at this weekend's game by sporting his "trademark" red bandanna.

To read the full story please click below:

Red bandanna honoring 9-11 hero goes perfectly with UCF's school colors

While I won't be at the game this weekend I'll be sporting my "bandanna" online via Facebook!

Orlando local retailers apparently have a shortage of bandannas in the area now due to the amazing outpour of support for Saturday's game.

I am honored and proud to be a UCF Knight!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

What Am I Loving This Wednesday?

#1. I just got back from a 4 day weekend which means that this is a 3 day work week-super happy about that.

#2. Pumpkin is back! The pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks that is! I got my first one of the “season” this morning a wonderful start to the day if I might say so.

#3. The weather is starting to feel like fall! This morning it was actually a little chilly when I walked out of the apartment – it was in the high 60s a BIG change from the 90 degree weather at 7am from a few weeks ago.

#4 My super cute UCF wreath that I finished last night (mini-how to will follow soon)

#5 My hubby (even if this is the last week we have before complete craziness with his busy season starts)

Time Saving Meal

Since I knew that Rene would be home late tonight I planned on using this afternoon to whip up a quick and easy make ahead meal for later this week. I knew that I would need a break between working on homework and I could kill 2 birds with 1 stone! 1. Get a break from homework and 2. Make dinner for Wednesday (the night I have my live lecture) so that I didn’t eat dinner at 10 at night! Win-win situation there!

So what’s on the menu?

Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos! Yum! I saw a similar recipe online for a cilantro pesto chicken with Asiago cheese but I decided cheese didn’t sound appealing to me so I added in some lime and make tacos instead!

Ingredients:

**Please note: this one is a big eyeball and taste type of recipe!**

1 lb chicken tenders (boneless and skinless) chopped up

1/4 cup chopped onion

2-3 cups of chopped fresh cilantro

2 Tablespoons of diced garlic

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

3 Tablespoons of lime juice (I used a little more to make it more limey)

1/4 cup chicken broth

Kosher salt

Prepare:

Combine all (except chicken and onion) in blender and blend into a saucy liquid

Taste and decide if you need more cilanto, lime or salt for your personal taste!

Pour sauce over the chicken* and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes

*use your judgment on this I had some extra and didn't want too much extra sauce on the chicken

While chicken in marinating add the chopped onion to a hot pan until semi-soft

Add in the chicken mixture and allow to simmer

As the chicken cooks and simmers the sauce will thicken.

To make ahead:

Once cooked transfer to a tupperwear container, or ziplock freezer bag. Allow to cool then toss in the freezer. When you are ready to make it allow to thaw and re-heat on the stove.

Or…eat it right away with flour tortillas, lettuce, and tomatoes and all the other taco toppings!

I’ll be having mine later this week, but I must say I snagged a “sample” piece of chicken and it’s pretty tasty!

Do you know what is even better? I have about a 1/3 cup of the sauce left over so I figure why not make cilantro lime rice for my dinner tonight – perfect!

Time to be a Bridesmaid!

Rene has been in Arizona this weekend (gets home later tonight) so there hasn’t been a whole lot of excitement here in the Blanco home. Lots of homework for me as the fall semester is moving right along! (Can you believe it's September??).

The one plus to September is college football has officially started and UCF won their first game last night! Whoo-hoo!! Though I didn't get to watch I did kept checking ESPN while working on homework (Rene would be so proud). And Final score??

UCF 62 -- Charleston Southern 0

GO KNIGHTS!

Today however I am heading to Garland to the Alfred Angelo store to get fitted for my friend Kimberly’s wedding! She asked me a couple of months ago to be a bridesmaid when this arrived in my mailbox.

Of course I couldn’t say no!

She’s one of the friends from college that I have stayed in touch with the most and I could not be happier that she asked me to be a part of her special day in April in Atlanta, GA!

Surprisingly enough even though I was in a sorority of 180+ girls this will be the first time I will be a bridesmaid! We’re still a rather young group of girls and I was actually only the second person of our close group of friends to be married and it seems like every year since there has been 1 wedding which isn’t a huge number compared to other people I know here in Texas that it seems are going to wedding after wedding each weekend. And while I promised Miss Kimberly I wouldn’t show people the dress I can’t post a picture but it’s defiantly not one of “those” bridesmaids dresses that make you cringe – thank goodness!

Getting Closer to Fab!

As of this morning I got all the front portion of my cube covered in pink and white....

I like having a bit of color now all I need it to get a couple frames rather than having the wedding pictures pinned to the wall...and also change out my calendar and other pieces of the "regular office supplies".

Add to that....today there was some revenge in the office my recruiter David arrived today to a desk covered with glitter

And then next to him Dustin's cube was toilet papered overnight.....

You've gotta love holiday weekends and short work days in our office....I'm thinking though that the cleaning crew might hate us tonight.