Fabulous Footwear Friday

This edition of FFF is for the gentlemen in our lives. There’s no secret of my love for Sperry’s because I featured these cuties awhile back, and I’ve been trying to get my hubby on board with these for at LEAST a year. (So far he’s not budging.) But I recently saw a heard of teenagers that live on my street wearing them and thought, YES, these shoes really ARE back! So I’ll keep on trying…

White Chili

I’m obviously craving soups/stew/chili’s these days, and H-town is now in a deep freeze…so what’s better during a freeze? A hearty chili, but with a twist!

Ingredients

  • 1 pd. chicken breast, cut into 1/2 in. cubes
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1.5 tsp garlic powder
  • 1tbs vegetable oil
  • 2 cans great northern beans, drained
  • 1 can chicken broth
  • 2 cans chopped green chilies
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 8 oz. sour cream
  • 1/2 cup whipping cream

Directions

  1. In a large saucepan, saute the chicken, onion, and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink.
  2. Add the beans, broth, chilies, and seasonings. Bring to a boil.
  3. Reduce heat, simmer uncovered for 30 min.
  4. Remove from heat, stir in sour cream and cream. Serve immediately.

Yummy!

Recipe courtesy of “Taste of Home: Winning Recipes”

Bamboo Love

For whatever reason, I’m finding myself drawn to all things made of bamboo here lately…maybe it’s the colors, maybe it’s the natural material, but whatever the reason, here are a few of my current loves:

  1. CB2, Bamboo Dry Erase
  2. Target, Red Bamboo Vase
  3. Target, Good Cook Bamboo Spatulas
  4. Target, Coiled Bamboo Bowl (They have this in turquoise in the store and I NEED it on my dining room table!)

Baby Activity

When I originally registered for baby Knight, I thought the Bright Start Around We Go activity center would be perfect for when our little one starts getting busy and needing entertainment.  However, I recently started second guessing myself because several of my closest pals are swearing by the jumpers

So friends, should I take my activity center back and get a bouncer? What will the baby like/use more do you think?

Wild Rice Soup

I made this a few weeks ago and it immediately became one of my fave’s…sooooo good and soooo easy!

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup uncooked wild rice
  • 1 tbs vegetable oil
  • 1 quart water
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 celery rib, finely chopped
  • 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 2 cups half-and-half cream
  • 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
  • 1 tsp salt

Directions

  1. In a medium saucepan, combine the rice, oil and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 min.
  2. nMeanwhile, in a Dutch oven, cook the onion, celery and carrot in butter until vegetables are almost tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually add the broth; stir in undrained rice. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened.
  3. Reduce heat; stir in the cream, rosemary and salt. Simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes or until rice is tender.

Stay warm…and enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of “Taste of Home: Winning Recipes”

Hump Day Happy Hour: Jello Shots

We’ve been faithfully posting our “Hump Day Happy Hour” for about…oh…almost 18 months, and in this entire time, why have none of us posted about jello shots!?!?!?!?!

This is for my hubby AND in the spirit of the super bowl this Sunday!

Mix:

  • Large box of Jello
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • 1 cup cold water
  • 1 cup of alcohol (I used grain alcohol to take it back to the college days…)

Refrigerate in little cups until set and Have fun!

Scarred

I’ve been fairly lucky in this pregnancy and haven’t experienced a lot of the normal woes that you hear about. One thing I did not escape? I have the skin of a 14 year-old boy that eats chocolate all day and bathes in a vat of grease!

Well, it’s probably not THAT bad, but it’s does suck. I am also starting to notice that not only do I have these blemishes, but I’m also dealing with some scars, which to me is double suck. So does anyone have any solutions for acne/blemish scars? From my research, I’ve found that the following works, but I want some other people’s opinions before I dive in.

  1. Murad Post-acne Spot Lightenin Gel
  2. Neutrogena Rapid Clear 2-in-1 Fight & Fade Gel
  3. Vitamin E (My waxer recommended using pure Vitamin E.)

Anthropologie Weddings?

I received an email in my inbox last Thursday that made my mouth drop…all it said was, “What if Antropologie did weddings?” I immediately said out loud…YES! The email took me to this website: http://www.bhldn.com/.

So, what I can gather is this line will launch February 14th (awww, the day of l-o-v-e), and I cannot WAIT. I wonder what the price points will be, I wonder what the styles will be, and I wonder how accessible these dresses will be!?!?!?!

What are your immediate thoughts about Anthropologie doing weddings?

Fireplace Logs

We have a gas fireplace that we have been burning real wood in for the past 3 years, but we’re now ready to invest in some gas logs…the only problem, we have zippo clue what to buy or what to look for to buy.

Can someone please tell me a) what are the difference in these logs and b) are the logs all we need or is there something else we need to buy?

Comfy Cozy

I’m lucky enough to have a fantastic job that I love AND I get to work from home! Working from home means, I rarely wear makeup (unless I have a lunch date w/ one of my fabulous Tipsy gals or co-workers) and I rarely wear anything other than lounge wear.

Luckily, me being preggo has not effected this part of my wardrobe because I can still wear ALL of my pre-pregnancy faves (at least as far as the pants go)! Here are some of the staples of my “working from home” wardrobe:

  1. Athleta, Breathe Pant (These come in long sizes so I don’t have to rock “capri” pants when it’s 30 degrees outside.)
  2. Target, Liz Lange Maternity Straight Leg Lounge Pants (Hands down, most comfortable pants EVER.)
  3. Target, Mossimo Plus-size Short Sleeve Basic Tee (I accidentally bought this shirt thinking it was maternity wear, but it turned out to be super-cute. Even if you’re not preggo, just buy the tee in a size smaller than your typical tee. It’s the perfect “slouchy stylish” tee. OH and it’s really long so it will cover your butt when you’re wearing yoga pants!)
  4. Restoration Hardware, Luxury Plush Slippers (Best slippers EVER.)