Summer Food :)

I love summer. 

It just makes me happy! 

It's something about it being warmer, and brighter, and overall just more cheerful! 

Summer makes me want to relax outside, with a good dinner and a fabulous glass of wine and do NOTHING. I truly love and live for summer. 

Something about summer makes me want to eat healthier, live healthier, and think healthier!

On monday night Snookums and I decided we were gonna have our own mini summer veggie festival!!

We had all kinds of goodies!

Corn on the cob

Asparagus

Artichoke

zucchini 

summer squash

green bell pepper 

It all turned out so delicious :) 

We just did regular corn on the cob with butter, salt and pepper.. I mean really, is there any other way to have it?

 fried asparagus.. OMG I could eat these ALL day! 

And my personal favorite, brown sugar summer squash. 

I'd never done anything with a whole artichoke until now- but I actually liked it! 

I just boiled it in water, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper, and made a tangy dip to go with it :)

Finished product... (After already digging in.. oops!)

I love cooking :) And Snookums likes it too! 

Our first Valentine's Day together, we just cooked a big meal instead of going out!

Just another thing that makes us a good match I guess... :)

I'm thinking its about time I start getting a little more experimental with my cooking. Don't get me wrong. Girl can cook. I just do mostly comfort type foods, and I stick to simple meats. 

Sooo... we'll see if I can change it up and do something different?

Does anyone have any favorite blogs about food/cooking/recipes???

Oldschool- Alphabet BIO

OK. 

DON'T JUDGE ME..

I'm gonna go old-school here because I can't sleep and do an 

ALPHABET BIOGRAPHY!

A. Age: 24. Jeez. I can't believe it??

B. Bed: Queen size, with lots and lots of pillows and a down comforter. And what Snookums lovingly refers to as a "granny blanket"

C. Chore you dislike: I really HATE hanging up my clothes. I'm not sure why this is? Laundry doesn't bother me, and folding it doesn't bother me anymore either? I don't mind dishes so much anymore. I used to DESPISE doing dishes.

D. Dogs: I've had 2 wonderful dogs previously. My first dog ever was an English Bulldog named Bubba who used to eat my bean bag chairs, and my shadow Bo, an Australian Shepherd. I now have MY BABY, who I am extremely obsessed with, if you haven't noticed from my blog. 

Skeeter. A pomeranian-chihuahua mix. (also known as a POM-CHOO)

I think he is the cutest thing in the world.

E. Essential start of your day: It literally takes me over an hour to actually wake up. There has to be coffee or a Red Bull (sugar free) or a good hour and a half on the couch before I'm actually ready to do anything. 

UNLESS- it means a trip to my favorite pizza place Pazzo's for Sunday $1.50 cheese slices. I will pop straight outta bed for those slices of cheese pizza dipped in ranch. 

(sadly I won't be having my Pazzo's for awhile bc I don't live in Lexington anymore!)

F. Favorite color: Turquoise/Blue. I have a certain color that I am mildly obsessed with, and if you know me personally you know exactly what color I'm talking about because I have it EVERYWHERE.

G. Gold or silver: This one is hard. I say it depends. I like GOLD better. My engagement ring is white gold...But I LOVE A MIX. (a' la David Yurman)

H. Height: 5'-9" on a good day. I swear I am getting shorter though.

I. Instruments you play: None. :( If I could pick one to play it would be acoustic guitar. But it would be pretty awesome to be a hot drummer chick.

J. Job title: Used to be manager of a store, interior designer. 

Now it's more along the lines of "princess".

Kidding. 

K. Kids: None yet. Thank God. Only little Skeeter. He may as well be our kid.

L. Live: Used to live (and go to college in) Lexington, Kentucky. I miss it sooo much! But I'm currently in the middle of a new adventure with Snookums in Oklahoma! 

M. Mom's name: Momma Moo. Debra. Debbie. Debster Doo

N. Nicknames: Hmm.. where to start...

Moon Dogg, Moon Doggie, Monique, Monituh, Tuh, Teedley Tuh, Cooney, Conica, Spooney Mooney, Moon Pie, Honey, Pop-tart, Princess, Moo, Moon, Punkin, Doodlebug, and of course lil moo. 

Really- I could go on forever. And there are seriously people who call me by each one of those names. 

O. Overnight hospital stays: Nope! Only time I was in the hospital for longer than a couple hours was to get my tonsils out! 

P. Pet peeves: When people don't listen to me. I hate being interrupted, and I HATE being made to feel un-important. 

I also have a serious pet peeve with people assuming that you have no idea about something bc of age or because you're a girl. 

(got that alllllll the time when I was running a framing/design store in Lex. NOT COOL.)

Q. Quote from a movie: "You complete me." haha this one is hard. I am currently watching Jerry McGuire.. thats a pretty good one!

Actually one of my favorite movies of all time is "Virgin Suicides"

"What we have here is a dreamer. Someone completely out of touch with reality."

"You're a stone fox."

"She was the still point of  the turning world, man."

"We knew the girls were really women in disguise, that they understood love, and ever death, and that our job was merely to create the noise that seemed to fascinate them."

O.k. Nuff of that... sorry!! 

R. Righty or lefty: RIGHTY

S. Siblings: Brudder.. Jimmy :)

T. Time you wake up: My internal clock is set to 10 a.m. But there are many times I sleep past that bc I am a night owl and up late!

U. Underwear: Haha. Yes?

V. Vegetables you don't like: Radishes. And I will even eat those sometimes.. There aren't really many veggies I don't like? My parent's did good! 

W. What makes you run late: EVERYTHING. 

X. X-rays you've had: hmmmm. Broke my arm once. And I used to have serious migraines.

Y. Yummy food you make: Ummm.. everything? haha No really- I think I make some pretty tasty cupcakes, and a SERIOUS key lime pie.

Z. Zen: My zen would probably be a cute backyard, or outdoor festival area, good friends around, a tasty beverage, and no-where to be the next day. :) 

My good deed for the day.

Today I saved a turtle.

No, really, I did. 

Snookums called me outside to see the "armadillo" across the street...

"Look honey! You wanna see a real armadillo??"

I go outside to see a TURTLE sitting under a tree across the road from our complex..

"That is a turtle."

"No, I think it is an armadillo."

So, a minute or two goes by.. the animal in question begins moving away from the tree and towards the sidewalk.. 

(I will give Snookums a little credit here, the TURTLE was the same color as the grass, so he was hard to make out, and we are on the second floor of our apartment complex at dusk trying to decipher what kind of animal this thing actually is)

Anyway- the turtle takes its sweet time walking to the sidewalk, and we stood there and waited until finally he stepped one of his little turtle feet out onto the sidewalk. 

"Well, what do ya know, it is a turtle!"
Right. A TURTLE.

By this time, we've wasted a good 7 minutes or so, waiting to see what it was, and it had started to get much darker..

The adventurous turtle decides that right now, as its getting dark outside would be the BEST time to cross the road. 

DUH turtle. No one can see you in the dark. 

He struts his way over to the edge of the road and literally THUDS off the sidewalk. 

"OHHHHHHH" we both yell. 

Poor turtle.

The turtle gathers itself and TAKES OFF

I really have never seen a turtle move so fast! 

As he makes it to the middle of the road, a car turns on its lights and were both like 

Ahh the turtle is gonna get smashed! 

And the little guy stops. Right in the middle of the road..

The car pulls out into the street.. I SCREAM 

the car misses the turtle. 

And it's then and there that I decide I have to go save that turtle!

So- I run downstairs and go out the apartment gate, into the road to save the guy. 

(sometimes I don't have the best judgement. I'm out in the middle of the road, in the dark, in my pajamas and flip flops trying to save a turtle.)

I tap him, and he starts moving. 

I keep tapping him until he makes it to the other side of the road.. and then we run into a problem.. 

He can't get up the edge of the sidewalk! 

Although I do love my animals, when it comes to a turtle, or a snake. or a lizard, or anything of that sort, I don't really want to touch them.. 

"I don't know what to do??? He's stuck. He can't make it up on the sidewalk!"

"Pick him up!"

So, I try to put just the teeniest bit of my index fingers under each side of his belly and start to pick him up. 

The second all of him is off the ground he SNAPS at me, and then PEES all over the place!! 

I dropped him super fast, and he tucks his head in his shell. 

"HE PEED!!! HE PEED!!"

Snookums then suggests taking both my shoes and putting them under him to make a lift.

I don't like the idea of getting turtle pee on my flip flops so I decide I will give it one more try.

I gave myself a little pep talk, scooped that sucker up, and placed him on the sidewalk. 

SUCCESS. 

My good deed for the day has been done. 

Shortly after saving the turtle a lady came over with her toddler, and said, "HEY are you keepin that turtle? We'll take him!"

I told her of his snappy ways, and she and her little one ultimately passed on keepin the roaming turtle as a pet. 

Poor guy. 

Hope he's safe wherever he is out there. 

My Week- Captured by Iphone- 6/12-6/18

My Week- Captured by Iphone- 6/12 - 6/18

Sunday 6/12

Went goodie shopping :)

Have you ever been to Tuesday Morning?

Holy Moly they have some gooooood stuff!

We got all kinds of good stuff for the guest and master bath..

Monday 6/13

Made the most delicious burgers EVER.

(and baked potato salad. If you haven't tried it, you're missing out)

Tuesday

6/14

Lazy day with Skeet Man

Present from Snookums

(It's the little things in life)

Wednesday

6/15

Figured out what in the world to do with my apothecary jars

(I have a serious affinity to anything glass such as mason jars, containers, vases, etc. )

(It's a problem really)

Had a serious lookin' storm brewing out in front of the house!

But the other side of the house looked a little more calm.. 

very weird weather we have here in Oklahoma

Thursday 

6/16

Caught Skeeter with his new Beaver... 

He's always nestled up in the pillows when I wake up in the morning..

Friday

6/17

Hard day at the pool deserves a treat.

Saturday 

6/17

Skeeter and I took it easy until Snookum's came home from training

Dinner with Snookums at a local steakhouse.

Had to order the "Big ol' Redneck Tea"

(Totally doing this at the wedding P.S... for real)

:)

My Week- Captured by Iphone- 6/5-6/11

6/5 

Finished the living room

6/6

Finished the kitchen

6/7

Couchtime

6/8

Skeeter finds a new hangout 

6/9

Exploring

6/10 

Boys napping

6/11

Skeeter gets a beaver 

My week- Captured by Iphone- 5/29-6/4

5/29

One of my best friends got married

5/30

Flying back to Oklahoma

5/31

Recovery day with Skeeter

6/1

OREO cupcakes

6/2

Cards and Projects

6/4 

Pool day with Snookums

The BIG move! (part 1.)

Our big move actually started the day we got engaged, Thursday May 19. We went to pick up the Uhaul from the sketchiest place ever in Lex. Snookums and myself figured out early on that this could be quite the driving adventure considering he had never driven a truck that size, or had never hauled anything on a trailer before. 

Due to these facts, we decided that walkie talkies would come in handy. 

(they ended up being the best thing about the whole trip!)

So we loaded up, and drove over to Uhaul, and pulled out of that place without scratching, denting, or mowing over anything! Success!!

The first bit while following Snookums in the truck was quite a harrowing experience. I kept imagining him running into other cars, or getting stuck somewhere he couldn’t get out of! But- Snookums proved me wrong and did a fabulous job!!

(hahaha look at that concentration!)

Getting the truck pulled onto my small street and parked, however, was a bit more of a job. It was a 17 foot truck, so there was no parking this thing on the street! We had to actually pull it up into the yard, and then un-attach the trailer, and physically move it up into the yard so it wouldn’t be sticking out in the street.

(Snookums phoned a friend on this one- the thing weighed over a ton, and there was no way in hell I was 

going to be able to help him move it!)

(stupid trailer sticking out in the street that we had to unhook and move ourselves. NO FUN.)

Then, later that evening once the truck was parked and the trailer was moved, we made our way out to Hall’s on the River, and proceeded to get ENGAGED! Hooray.. (As mentioned in last post!)

Friday. May 20^th.

That morning we woke up super early (for us) and tried to get most of the packing finished. Both of our parents were coming up to help us load up, and to see us after the engagement the night before!

(In Momma Moo’s words, she had to see the ring on my hand to believe it.)

(pictures of my last pretty morning waking up in the cutest apartment EVER.. sad face)

(little skeeter had no idea what he was in for.)

Snookums thought it was necessary for him to start loading while I finished packing up inside. This all went well for awhile, he told me he would be rearranging the stuff that was already in the truck, and that we should go get some breakfast soon! I continued to pack, thinking that he would come up and get me when he was hungry. 30 minutes went by and no snookums. I decided I should probably check on his progress.

(you know how guys are)

 I made my way downstairs, only to find Snookums ASLEEP on the furniture pads in the back of the open truck. Too cute.

I went to get breakfast and came back, and he was still asleep. I finally honked my horn and woke him up. 

(it could only be cute for so long)

It was really weird to be leaving my pretty little house. I had been there for quite awhile and really grown fond of it, and its charming back yard. 

There were tons and tons of memories made there with great friends and roommates. It is kind of sad now to think I won’t be back. It’s like the end of an era. 

I had the best times with three different roommates. (not including dogs!)

We had all kinds of dinners, parties, new year's celebrations, Christmas celebrations, birthday parties, Snookum's big birthday cookout, and football tailgate mornings. 

It really was a great time, and I am so thankful for all the memories that were made there :) 

Overall the day went by fairly fast!

Our families arrived, and oohed and ahhhed over the ring, and got our stuff packed up so fast I couldn’t believe we were done!

(Skeeter kept thinking he or one of his stuffed babies was going to get left behind.)

Once everything was all packed up to go, we all left the house for the last time, and went for lunch.

(empty apartment! :( so sad!)

(My last shot of ol' Grosvenor)

Snookums and The Silent Assassin (my dad) rode together to lunch so that “he could give him some driving pointers”.

(the whole trip Snookums would make some crazy turn with the truck and be like- “The silent Assassin taught me that.”)

Snookums and I had talked about being prepared when the Moms started crying over us leaving. But really, they held it together pretty well!!

It was definitely sad, but exciting at the same time.

(Moo family)

(Snookum's family- soon to be officially including myself and Skeeter!)

That evening we stayed in Louisville at Snookum’s Mom’s house. I actually went out on 4^th street for a great friend’s bachelorette party. 

Which turned out lovely, because I not only got to be there with her on my last night in Kentucky for her bachelorette party, but I also got to let her announce to our mutual friends, and some of my very best friends and previous roommates that I had just got engaged!

(my girl has some killer hair!)

(The ladies out on 4th street!)

(hahahaha)

It was priceless to get to tell all my close friends before anyone else found out. That doesn’t happen too often. Of course once everyone there knew, people started finding out and I got a bagillion phone calls and texts! :)

I had a fabulous time at the bachelorette party, and couldn’t have planned a better two days as my last nights in kentucky!

The next morning is where the real trip began…