Recipe Sharing: White Sangria

I’m not normally a sangria fan…I prefer vodka. With a Sugar Free Redbull, or Crystal Light, Or Sprite, Or Straight. Whatever.

However, a few weeks ago, I stopped by my mom’s house and she had just made white sangria. It. Was. Fantastic. And STRONG. And very pretty too (all the colors, you know…)


So, here is my mom’s recipe for white sangria that you should make TODAY. (Or you could perhaps wait for the holiday weekend…I guess that would be more appropriate.):
Makes a pitcher of sangria

• 3 Bottles of dry white wine such as Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardanay (Just use cheap wine – Trader Joe’s)
• Simple Syrup (add to taste, the recipe below requires less to get sweetness)
• Fruit ( Strawberries, Pineapple, orange slices, apple slices, Star Fruit, Kiwi)
• Fresh Mint Leaves

Making your own simple syrup is also more economical than buying it at the store. You can make as small or as large a batch as you wish and store it in the refrigerator in a well sealed bottle for around 6 months.


Rich Simple Syrup - With this variation you can use less syrup than a cocktail calls for.


Cook Time: 5 minutes; Total Time: 5 minutes


Ingredients:
2 parts sugar
1 part water
Crushed Mint Leaves

Preparation:

1. Bring the water to a boil.
2. Dissolve the sugar into the boiling water then add Mint, stirring constantly.
3. Once the sugar is dissolved completely, remove the pan from the heat. (Note: Do not allow the syrup to boil for too long or the syrup will be too thick.)
4. Strain Mint off.
5. Allow to cool completely and thicken, then pour into your wine/fruit mixture.

ENJOY! (Responsibly, that is...:))

Doggie Birthday!

Monday marked our dogs', Beauregard and Brother's, 3rd birthday! Can't believe how quickly they are growing up...:)

Funny part is - their birthday was Monday but Shane and I forgot. We talked about it Friday, Saturday and Sunday - BUT forgot about it on Monday. So we decided to celebrate on Tuesday...

They got these new toys...also known as Moo-Moo and Dragon:

Our dogs don't typically get stuffed animals because they will promptly destroy them. However, these toys are Go Dog toys and have something called Chew Guard Technology...I wasn't sure about these until the sales person said that her two Pit Bulls had these same toys and had had them for over a year. I purchased them and am proud to report that almost 24 hours later - these toys are still intact. With all of their limbs, wings, eyes, etc. I think we may be fans!

 Brother, Shane and Beau...look at Beau - he is so obsessed with his dad.

 This was 20 minutes after the stuffed animal presentation...he was bored. I think he knew that we really missed his big day.

 But this guy was thoroughly entertained. He prefers to see the brighter side of the situation.  

 And we finished the night off with some Frosty Paws! And, yes, we I did sing Happy Birthday as we put down their bowls.

And, in case you are indeed still  reading, I figured I'd share some birthday stuffed animal video footage...is it clear how much we love our dogs?

Aaaannnnd....

We're back. I've been gone a month and I know you missed me.

So, what's been going on? Here is an update on our life over the past month...in no particicular order:

Our friends, Mike and Mandy, got married! It was so beautiful, so fun, so emotional...but only for me apparently. Mandy was cool as a cucumber but I couldn't get myself together...I cried with pretty much everyone who spoke to me. I hate when I do that.

Check out the beautiful bride:

And here are all the bridesmaids...and the bride. She's the one in shorts.

We also hosted another bachelorette party for Mandy the weekend before...it was fun. And crazy. Per usual. We started the night off with pole dancing - and you are for sure high if you think I'm posting pictures of that. But after that we put back on our suburban girl clothes and went to a bar that typically targets the 40-50 crowd...it was awesome.

 Stobbe, Mandy (she's the one in the wig.) and me

 The group...apparently I thought that I needed to squeeze in.

 This guy bought champagne. Perfect.

 And the last picture of the night - HA!

In non-Mandy and Mike related news, here are some highlights:

• I have dyhidrodic eczema on my hands. It has been there since college and I thought that it was warts. Thanks a lot Web MD.
• We bought a deck box for the deck. Clever name. And then got the deck stained. We always do things backwards.
• Our dryer broke. AGAIN. Would I recommend that you purchase a Frigidaire? Um, check this out.

And that pretty much sums it up! Hope that everyone has a great weekend! 

Weekend Recap - The Bachelorette Party!

As I mentioned, last weekend (well, Wednesday to Sunday) was my friend, Mandy's, bachelorette party in Orlando. We all had a great time and I will add that we fit SO MUCH into our three full days:

• Thursday - a full day at Islands of Adventures. For those who may be contemplating going here, check out the 'Single Riders' line...it will cut your wait time by 75%.

• Thursday night: Dancing the night away at some place that was labeled 'Dance Hall.' Apparently they weren't concerned with creativity when naming the joint. There were all of seven people here and we were pretty much the only ones on the dance floor. I won't even elaborate on how sweaty we I was at the end of the night.

Gotta' love the self timer...and we are all four in this picture although it looks like Mandy's back is connected to Michelle's butt...LOL!

• Friday: Pool day and bachelorette night!

• Saturday: Shopping and a movie (Scream 4 - and with it being the fourth installment, you know it was bad...I fell asleep). Also, Orlando has awesome outlet malls...proof? I snagged this puppy (in brown) for 25% of the ticket price:

• Sunday: Our flight home...complete with unruly kids and handheld game devices NOT on mute.

Some things we did learn on this adventure, however, are:

• That you are not allowed to drink your own alcohol on a plane. So, when you receive your non-alcoholic drink from the flight attendant, don't set up a makeshift bar (displaying your air plane liquor bottles with pride) on your tray table while you mix your drink. That is against federal regulations and you will be reprimanded.
• Disney employees are watching you while you are on the rides...they can even talk to you over the loud speaker and completely freak you out.
• Pita Pit. Enough said.

We all had a great time and are looking forward to the wedding in only a few short weeks!

It's Party Time!

Leaving today for Mandy's bachelorette party weekend! See ya on the flip side!

A Review of Latisse and Buy One Get One Free!

I’ve been using Latisse since December and am a huge fan. Here’s why:

• Because it works…seriously – my lashes are not only a lot longer but much darker.
• Because I haven’t experienced side effects. Not sure even what those are.
• Because it is easy to apply – put some drops on a brush and apply to your lash line before bed. Done.

I don’t have any before and after pictures, because I didn’t really think that far ahead BUT here is a pic of my lashes now:

Trust me when I say that they weren’t like this before.

Buy One Get One Free!

I went to the Latisse website to grab an image (because my last few blogs have been picture-less and that upsets me) but saw something even better…a buy one get one free offer! All you have to do is the following:

• Visit http://www.latisse.com/ 
• Sign up for LashPerks (you will see the box at the bottom left side of the screen)
• Enter some information and you will get a voucher for a free pack of Latisse! Granted, this involves buying Latisse, having a doctor sign a form, mailing said form and waiting for your free pack to arrive…not bad.

All forms must be completed by June 30, 2011.

Happy lash growing everyone!

The ABC's of Me

Thanks, Danielle's Dish and Fictiously Delicious. :)

{a} age; 27
{b} bed size; King
{c} chore you hate; mopping
{d} dogs; 2: Beauregard and Brother – boxer/lab (maybe pit?) mixes
{e} essential start to your day; coffee and breakfast
{f} favorite color; black
{g} gold or silver; both!
{h} height; 5’3”
{i} instruments you play; none
{j} job title; Associate Manager, Communications
{k} kids; Not yet…but I want 5
{l} live; in Smyrna and love it.
{m} mom’s name; Wanda aka Wandawg
{n} nicknames; Babe, Stace
{o} overnight hospital stays; Nope
{p} pet peeve; When people smack their food, the sound of nails being clipped, heavy breathing…and I could go on and on…
{q} quote from a movie; “I’m not gonna call him Dad.” “Brennan, you’re 39 years old, I wouldn’t expect you to call him Dad.” “Well, I’m not going to – EVER! Even if there’s a fire!” – Step Brothers
{r} right- or left-handed; Right
{s} siblings; 2 younger brothers – Chris and Patrick
{t} time you wake up; No earlier than 7 a.m. (unless I’m trying to catch a flight to go on vacation) and never later than 1 p.m. That’s right, I’m a 27 year old who still sleeps past noon…sometimes.
{u} underwear; nope. :)
{v} vegetables you dislike; spinach
{w} what makes you run late; my personality? Or poor time management skills…I’m late for everything
{x} x-rays you’ve had; the ones at the dentist and some on my feet (to look at my delicious bunions…gross.)
{y} yummy food you make; baked ziti and chili
{z} zoo – favorite animal; do they have dogs there?

Mine All Mine…

As of today, I am the proud of owner of the most domesticated item on the market…a steam mop. And I am pretty darn excited about it too!

Say hello to the Eureka 313A Hard-Surface Floor Steamer



I don’t know about ya’ll but I normally don’t shop for something online until I really want it. And then I just can’t handle shipping time so I call every store within a 20 mile radius to see if they have it…and if they do, can they hold it?…for how long?…where are you EXACTLY?...I’m on my way.

So, I stumbled across a review for my new steam mop over at All Things G&D and knew immediately that I must have it. She linked to Amazon and from there I was searching Bed, Bath & Beyond, Target, Walmart, and many others to see where I could get one TONIGHT. I MUST STEAM MY FLOORS TONIGHT.

Sold out at all of those stores. So I relented and ordered it online through Amazon. Overnight shipping was $35 and although it was tempting, I didn’t do it. But, wait, what’s that? A free trial to Amazon Prime (a program with a $79 annual fee that comes with membership perks) that provides me with two-day free shipping? Yep, I’m in…and I’ll get it on Saturday! EEEEEE!

P.S. I immediately flagged May 7 on my calendar to cancel this membership. I’m an e-consumers dream, I know.

I get my steam mop on Saturday and I can’t wait to steam and sanitize some shiz.

Things To Do in the Next Two Years

I was perusing ‘My Documents’ on my computer, which is often packed full of nothing but half thoughts like a grocery list that only says ‘milk,’ or a house to do list that says ‘bedroom’, and came across the following list. Which of these things are not like the other?

101 Things to Do in 1, 001 Days (2.74 Years)

1. Paint the front door black.
2. Get married.
3. Have a baby. 
4. Grow grass in the back yard.
5.  

The best part is that there is an empty spot for a fifth item. Oh, I make myself laugh.

Trusting Your GPS

I had to be in Buckhead yesterday at a web studio to help one of our VPs with a live webcast. I’ve done this before…at this same place. I’ve been there like six times. Well, yesterday I got lost. I know – how do you go somewhere six times and get lost on the SEVENTH time? Well, that would be because I’m a logistical ra-tard. Compound THIS with the fact that I am ALWAYS late…not a good thing.

But yesterday was a little different, I left my house SO early it was nuts. I was actually brought a book with me because I thought I’d be sitting in the parking lot for a while. God, that sounds dumb now that I type it…but it does highlight the fact that I am always late because I hate waiting. I don’t mind that you have to wait though.

Anyway, back to the story, I grab my GPS out of the glovebox, just to be safe because I’m all over it today!, and look at my recent addresses. I see Maple Street and that sounds about right so I click that…I should be there in 10 minutes tops. As my GPS starts to scream that is it ‘CALCULATING ROUTE’…’CALCULATING ROUTE’…I see that my trip time is like 45 minutes. WTF? But what do I do? I follow it. I follow it all the way to Hapeville.

Oh, what’s that? You want a visual of how moronic I am? By all means…please direct your attention to below.

Pink dot – starting point. Orange dot – destination. Blue dot – embarrassing.

You want to know the worst part? I was all the way in Hapeville before I stopped and thought to myself ‘Where am I? I don’t even see the city. I wonder if that was the wrong address in the GPS.’

Bottom line, it took me OVER AN HOUR to go 15 minutes. So I think it would be safe to say that I trust my GPS…like completely trust it with my life…my career…my dignity. I might even let it babysit my first born.

The Most Important Thing I Have to Say

Is that I have 1.5 days to accomplish my March goals. What's outstanding?

1. Write and mail all wedding thank you notes
2. Print 6 of our favorite wedding photos
3. Buy/make curtains for dining/living room
4. Read two books

Yeeahhhh...I can totally knock that out by tomorrow.

**Please consider this my goal update for March and my goal setting post for April. If I don't knock this out in April, I'm never sharing my goals again. Ever.

Happy St. Paddy's Day & Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy St. Paddy's Day all! And Happy Birthday to my dad, Jimmie - love you!

That is all for today.

No. I Don't Like It.

I don't like salmon. I have officially, scientifically, without a doubt determined that.

I love the way it looks...I mean, come on, that looks delicious!

But the second it hits my lips, immediate gag reflexes kick in. Overdramatic grabbing my neck gag reflexes. Thinking about it 20 minutes later - still gagging. Thinking about the slimy, gross skin that used to be on it...what if I ate some skin? OMG - OMG - OMG. Gag me with a spoon.

This is totally random, I know, but I haven't uploaded my pics from the shower and I'm just too lazy to do it right now.

Tootles.

I’m Dieting

I typically do not weigh myself…I only judge myself by the way my clothes fit. And, with my bubbling personality, people don’t really pay attention to my weight…they are too busy laughing at my jokes. Right, Shane? Kidding.

Anyway, I have vowed to always try to be a size 6 - although there may be times where they are falling off of me (this would probably happen 2 times in my entire life…max) or I may be busting out of them…regardless, they are a size 6.

Well, over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed that my pants were a little tighter and I was just feeling very non-confident with the way I looked. So, on Monday, I got in gear and started a diet. Not a fad diet or anything where I starve myself (although the first few days were rough as my body was REALLY concerned as to why I wasn’t consuming 2,500 calories) but it is straight up chicken, fish, turkey, veggies, egg whites, brown rice, lettuce and water. Every Saturday is a cheat day – and THAT is when I go back to consuming 2,500 calories…and it is glorious.

Today is the fourth day and I have lost 5 pounds. It may be water weight, although I swear my ass is smaller, but I’ll take it! I’d also like to comment that it is somewhat nice to know, for real, what it feels like to be hungry. As mentioned, I typically eat for sport, so it’s nice to get back to eating for survival.

My goal? 15 pounds (10 more to go). Wish me luck!

February Goals - How Did We Do?

How did we do on the February goals? Not bad but not 100%...

February:

• Complete and submit income taxes - DONE!
• Write and mail all wedding thank you notes - Um, not at all...didn't even crack them open...I'm horrible.
• Select and print 6 of our favorite wedding pictures - Well, I selected them but never printed them...I'll print in March.
• Work out at least 4 days each week - DONE! I can't believe it but I actually accomplished this during weeks 2, 3 and 4 of February!
• Read two books - Nope. I'm still reading my book club book and haven't even started 'Still Missing.'

So, looking ahead to March - here is what we're shooting for:

• Write and mail all wedding thank you notes
• Print 6 of our favorite wedding photos
• Buy/make curtains for dining/living room
• Work out at least 4 days each week
• Read two books
• Help throw a fun and successful wedding shower for our friends, Mike and Mandy - Stay tuned for photos of this event next week!

Here's to a successful and productive March!

Using the New Chalkboard

Here is a shot of our chalkboard in action!

Now, let me explain:

• I took this picture at 4:30 a.m. - feel me?
• 'The Wilsons - Est. 2010' - we are the Wilsons and we were married (established) in 2010. der.
• I have no idea what the drawing is - it looks like legs or golf clubs...no doubt intended to be something unsavory. Artist: Mike Kirn
• 'Happy Birthday Linds!' - another toughie...it was our friend Lindsay's birthday and that was our special message to her.
• 'Lean Cuisine Fett. Alfredo' - that is what we were eating at 4:30 a.m. SOMEONE hadn't been to the grocery in a while...ESPECIALLY if we were eating Lean Cuisines!
• 'Adopt a Bulldog' - Shane and I went to PetSmart on Saturday to get dog food for Beau and Brother and they were doing adoptions outside the store. They had a six month old English Bulldog for adoption and he was adorable! Shane seriously thought, for at least 3.6 seconds, that we were going to adopt him...but then I reminded him that we already had two dogs, live in a shoebox and can barely take care of the four of us. We don't need another mouth to feed up in 'her. So, he sent a picture along to our friend, Jason, in hopes that he would adopt it and could just bring it over every once in a while. Thus...this was on the to do list.
• 'Dirty Girl' - Rob Dyrdek's (aka Bobby Light) song. Hilarious. It was playing...at 4:30 a.m.
• 'Leg Day 2-19' - Shane and I went to the gym on Saturday and did legs. We were pretty sore on Saturday, which is why I jotted it down, but seriously COULD NOT WALK on Sunday and Saturday. So painful.
• The last drawing is also another Mike Kirn original...it's a leg - and a very unproportional one at that. I drew on the shoe and laces. Your welcome.

But we know the chalkboard paint works now! And we love it!

February Goal Accomplished

Although it was a bit depressing, we have finished and sent in our income taxes. Here are the highlights:

• Being married is not beneficial - from a tax perspective. Uncle Sam apparently hates marriage.
• I have always used Turbo Tax to do my taxes and get so excited when I see my green numbers flitter (upward, preferably). That did not happen this time. I only saw one upward flitter.
• We had to start repaying our '$7500 Homebuyer Tax Credit' that Obama 'gave' us when we purchased our house in 2008. Oh wait! It wasn't a tax credit and it wasn't given to me! What they meant to say was 'Enjoy this interest free loan for the next two years. And thank you for paying it back for the next 15 years.' Seriously? I'm not going to get political here but Obama is stoopy. I miss you George W.
• And, lastly, I wish I was still at an age where $1800 meant that I WAS FREAKING RICH.

That's all.

Have a great weekend!

The New Kitchen Chalkboard

As I mentioned yesterday, we decided to try our hand at chalkboard paint...and I was very impressed with the brand we used - Rustoleum Chalk Board Paint!

Here is the before:

 And here is the after (that looks like I just painted with black paint):

So, I give this product a 5/5. It was super easy to roll/brush on, it didn't really smell that bad (although it was different than a 'paint' smell) and it covered my white cabinet after only two coats. I would highly recommend taping your surface before you get started...and I normally NEVER recommend taping.

However, I can't write on this for three days while the chemicals and blah blah blah settle and it forms a real chalkboard. But I'm looking forward to jotting all kinds of little notes here...such as "Shane - remember to win the lottery." or "The Wilsons Rule." or something in Italian, because that just seems like something you would write on chalkboard stuff.

I'll post a pic of some of our musings after Saturday!

Trying Our Hand...

At using this...

Stay tuned...

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I am one of the few (or at least that’s how I feel) that enjoys Valentine’s Day. I like getting flowers (although I don’t get them NEARLY enough :)), getting dressed up, braving the crowds and going to dinner, ordering off the ‘limited menu’ and sitting elbow to elbow with the couple next to you. There, I said it.

However, I also realize that the holiday (made up or not) is also about recognizing the one you love. And I’m going to do so, here and now, and give you the top five reasons that my husband is my ultimate Valentine:

1. Because you enjoy spending time with me (and trust me, not a lot of people can say that same thing) even if we are just laying on the couch having ‘snuggle day,’ cleaning the house, shopping, or whatever…we always make it fun. 
2. Oh, and I love that you love to shop with me – clothes, shoes, house stuff, beads – you are there, you’re engaged and you don’t complain. (Unless it is a Saturday during football season.) 
3. Because you make me laugh. Even when I’m pissed at you for not washing out your bowl or putting away the PlayStation because ‘you have to finish the season’ – you still find a way to talk me off the ledge and make me smile. 
4. Because I see how much you love our boys, Beau and Brother, and can only imagine the love you will have for our children. 
5. Because we don’t give up. We have been through some doozies together and we always know that, no matter what, we’ll get through it together and be stronger because of it. And we never doubt this.

There are, of course, many more, too many to list, but I’ll stop here. I love you, Shane! You are my special Valentine!

Hope everyone else has a great Valentine’s Day!