wednesday...feels like a friday

good morning friends!

today feels like a friday mainly because it's our last full day of work this week - yessssss.

tomorrow mid-day we're heading up to connecticut for my cousin's wedding, which is an event all in and of itself, except we've also managed to schedule...some morning golf, hopefully a quick trip into hartford, a rendezvous with another cousin and their cute family in NY, a fun night in DC with an old friend and a little sister, some seriously good food {duh}.  oh yeah, we like to pack it in.

anyhoo- i hope your week is moving right along...or staying put...however you like it to be, that's my wish for you.

and finally, a shout out this morning to our sweet niece ESTHER!

this babydoll is one year old today...seems like forever ago when i snapped this shot...

also {we were just sent a video to prove it} this little lady is walking as of today or late last night!

yay esther!  {but really, don't you think you're growing up a little bit too fast?  let's talk this over sometime}

to do.

as inspired by ali, i've decided to be intentional & hopefully maintain some accountability for some tasks which have spent a little too much time on the back burner recently.

here's my mini-to-do...hopefully most of this can be accomplished this weekend...we shall see! (:

- find supplies and complete a DIY for our kitchen {this will require a yard sale date...who's interested!?}

- finish cleaning out our closet.  we have moths.  gross.  and our room looks like a disaster area while i've been cleaning things out. 

- get a haircut.  trim, actually.  but i need it.  badly.

-cook something delicious.

totally doable right??  time to hop on it!

happy friday, friends! 

random snap from croatia...plitvice national park

always makes me calm and happy to remember this place

one of nature's beauties for sure

do something scary.

tonight i did something scary.

i spoke to our waiter.  i know, right?  no, wait for it.  so we went to a new mexi place after work, and after feeling really stupid for not making conversation earlier in the evening i started things up. in spanish.  i don't usually do that, despite jordan's constant prodding "why don't you say something to them?  you know how to talk to them and they obviously speak spanish..." nevermind the fact that i've been speaking spanish for almost 22 years.  yes. crazy.  i can't tell you why, but i guess for some reason i am shy about it?  who knows. 

i do know however that i've been trying almost daily to work up the courage to be more outgoing about making conversation en espanol.  i worry though: what if i mess up...what if i can't understand what they're saying...what if they think i'm a joke.  

so really at no special moment, i just started up.  the look on our waiter's {jesus} face was amazing: what is this little white girl trying to do here?...  but i kept it up.  asked about the restaurant, the name {green parrots}, how he came to be here {his sister married the owner's son}...and we just chatted.  it was casual, it was comfortable, and it was fun.  and it was also a big step.  after jesus left the table, jordan gave me a little nudge and smirked. 

i did it.  i didn't even really realize i had done it until it was over.  and i'm really happy about it.  also, i think i might have to keep an eye on myself that i don't let my newfound confidence become super annoying.  it's a fine line, i'm aware.

but for now, this is my something scary for today.  so take it for what it's worth, and go do something that scares you.  who knows: you might be all the better for it.

what we've been eating lately...

here are a few things making our house smell good these days...

 cheese pizza with bell peppers and basil

bruschetta, one of our faves

 

seriously, all you need to put this together is what you see below, plus basil and olive oil.

chop some tomatoes {sometimes we add a red bell pepper}, red onion, garlic if you like {not necessary}, add some s&p.  toast thin slices of baguette brushed with olive oil, spread some goat cheese on the toastettes and top with your tomatoes.  you can pop this back in the oven for a sec if you'd like, but it's just as good at room temp.  serve with basil and a drizzle of olive oil.

as always, happy eating!

weekend

hey there!

i won't lie to you: this was a long short-week.  i'm so glad it's the weekend.  we have family in town, a good dinner in the works, and we're hopefully looking at a few beach-worthy hours tomorrow morning.  cross your fingers. 

anyhoo- right now i'm focusing on tonight {although my focus is slightly off, thank you mr. martini}...spending a little time on pinterest, soaking up the reality that i don't have to be up at 5:30 tomorrow morning, and generally enjoying myself.   it's not always fancy, but it's life.

hope you're up to something fun...and if so, tell me about it.  i love suggestions.

happy weekend, folks.

 

a little peek into our livingroom

playing with the effects on our camera (: