{p,h,f,r} Pinch of this, Dash of that

Linking up with the lovely ladies at Like Mother, Like Daughter for some contentment!  (Like the alliteration there?  Thought so!)

{Pretty}

 Our honeymoon and wedding albums came in the mail and I was reminiscing, so I thought I'd share.  Isn't it pretty?  I'd love to go back someday, now that we've seen most of the island and done the exploring, just to relax, sip margaritas on the beach, and read a book.  Heavenly.

{Happy}

Did you know that butterflies get drunk from rotting fruit?  Well, they do.  These guys were quite relaxed and happy, and didn't bat a wing when I stuck my camera right up in their buggy little faces.  They were pretty happy...

But not as happy as this spunky little thing!  Not exactly up to American food cleanliness standards but awfully cute all the same.  Something tells me he was pretty "happy" too; this was only one of many drinks that afternoon for the DLF.

{Funny}

This video is great!  I would absolutely LOVE to get a costume like this for halloween, or just to stand on the street corner and scare people.  My husband wanted to get it and sneak up on his boss in the office.  He thought his knowledgeable-but-not-emotive boss might like to open his office door to find a dinosaur roaring at him.  Might be funny...just a little!

I wanted to get a costume like this and hide down a mall bathroom hallway - those creepy ones with the twists and turns - and scare people.  But since that would probably lead to my arrest and subsequent 15 minutes of fame on Fox News' weird story section, we'll bag it.

{Real}

Real pirates!  We got boarded and everything; barely escaped with our lives.  Fooled you, I know.  And you thought this was just another honeymoon picture of a tour boat because Kate wants to be at the beach right now.  Pshaw!

My blender does not like me

Just a few quick things for today, as dinner turned into a bit more of a production than I intended!

Here's the pretty carnation that the Knights of Columbus were giving out to the mothers after mass.  Mom gave me hers (she was down visiting - much needed and so great!), so I have it in my cute little Ikea pitcher.  The pitcher is not included in the picture because it looks so gloomy and I don't have time to edit it.  But you can enjoy the flower.  You're welcome!

Since I spent two weeks worth of grocery money last week, partially because I bought $21 of honey, I decided to try to stretch what I had in the cupboard through this week to make up for it.  Oh, the honey was an accident.  It said $8.95 and it was a BIG container, AND it was local!  Turns out it was $8.95......per pound.  Yeeahhh.  

So, what do I do when I am stretching food?  I go Mexican.  Mexican food is cheap and easy.  Enchiladas was on the menu with leftover pot roast meat, but unfortunately I had no enchilada sauce.  Lucky me, I found a recipe, and was just about to blend the sauce together into a delicious smoothness, when...

This was only a corner.  It expanded much further than you can see here, and looked disturbingly like I had projectile you-know-whated all over.  Lovely and appetizing.  Sorry...bathroom humor genes!  

Ouch.  Hard to see there, but that pink spot is a burn from the nasty blender.  Ignore the little hairs - I was cold since I had to take my sweater off since it too was covered in enchilada sauce.

Old Faithful to the rescue.  Love my little Hamilton Beach :)  Easy, quick, and clean!

Time to go microwave some peas for the veggie.  Judge away; at least the microwave is reliable and won't explode on me.

Feel free to share blender stories below and join the club of fun!  And happy belated mothers day to any moms reading!

Clothing woes, tips, and tricks

I'm deathly afraid of flashing the entire church and downtown community by having my skirt fly up and expose my very exposed backside as I walk out of Mass.  If I am wearing anything shorter than a maxi, this scenario is going through my head.

So, I bought these:

And ooooh baby do they fly in that Texas breeze! 

What's the cure?  Leggings and shorts underneath work but they don't look great on yours truly without heels which are equally awkward since the husband is my exact height.  He couldn't care less; I do. 

Second silly clothing fix: buy a maxi skirt too big and too lazy to alter it?  Stick a thin belt underneath the fold down wait and fold it over the belt. Voila!

Some other random ones I've heard:

- A pin worn in the bottom of a skirt will keep the static at bay. 

- If you're a thrift shopper, you need to go to the same store on a regular basis so you learn when they get new materials in and figure out the turnover pattern. Supposedly. I'm a thredup fan; that's as close to thrifting as I get. (The skirts above are all courtesy of thredup.)

- Dillard's bra sales are the best place to find inexpensive bras in odd sizes. 

- Dickey's workwear makes pants for grown men that have knee patches and actually look nice. Just in case your husband gets down and dirty like the little kid that's hiding inside us all. Don't deny it. 

- If you spray hairspray along the line of your panties (like swim bottoms or whatever) they won't ride up. Try at your own risk. 

(http://cdn.mos.totalfilm.com/images/m/miss-congeniality-645-75.jpg)

Go Gracie Lou! 

Any tips to add to the list? Any anecdotes from trying said tips?? Any ideas to help me not flash innocent minds at church? Tell all pretty please!

Oh yeah, and how was your Easter? Nice? Any goofy family stories to share? 

P.S. Here's a link to ThredUp for $10 off your first order.  I get $10 credit if you click it but I promise that isn't my only reason for posting. Their clothes really are worth it, and if you order through the app, at least for now, you get free returns. Happy shopping!  

Confessions; Why have kids?

What would I be like if I lived my entire life only thinking about me?  Now there, oh readers, is a very frightening thought.  I need children.  Desperately.  And no, I'm not talking about "baby fever" although I do have that particular ailment rather horrifically right now.

(Wednesday's pizza. Recipe later for the wonderful readers (wink wink))

Confession...I have a  "baby things" bookmark hidden under some other random and uninspiring folder to disguise the evidence.  And I'm not even pregnant.

So I think about this all the time.  I loooooove that moment when I fall into bed, roll over, and know that nothing but serious illness or catastrophe will bother me til morning. Really. I'm addicted to it. 

BBQ and onion, a favorite with my favorite carnivore.

Same thing with being able to wake up in the morning, stumble into the bathroom, get dressed, and go to the gym without having to talk or really do anything for anyone else (the Husband's capable of dressing himself, in case you wondered). 

I'm that selfish. And I'm only 25.  This is why I've decided that I need a housefull of children. Usually, that selfish urge can be squashed for someone else's sake. So, my theory is, if i have young children for a long enough time, maybe it will go away! Wishful thinking right. But it might help. It will help. I refuse to be a bad mother. 

This is why I need kids.  If I were to live alone, I'd be 1) fat, because no one else would help me eat the desserts I'd make, 2) poor, because I'd have too many horses, and 3) sad.  Because no little people would scream in my grocery cart, wake me up in the night, or give those hugs that only kids can.

And...there is that little matter of the fact that I just adore children.  Always have.  Always wanted them.  But that's boring - the other reasons are far more interesting, in my not-so-humble opinion.

Please don't look too closely at anything other than the pizzas...please!

Enough baby fever rambling!  To the point, there are a lot of reasons why people have kids, and now you know some of mine.  What made you want to have kids?  If you had/plan to have a lot why?  If only a couple, why?  The husband and I are going back and forth on this, so I throw it out to the webosphere - why should people have children?*

*disclaimer - I'm aware of the religious reasons; I want to know those silly, deep down, reasons why you wanted kids.  This is your chance to be anonymous and spill your secrets for a good cause.  I won't tell.  Pinky promise.

Top: BBQ & Onion; Bottom: White Mozzerella

And the pizza recipe is here!  Who doesn't love pizza?  This kind, which isn't half as heavy or fatty as the store-bought kind is my favorite, and I could happily eat it at least every couple days, to the detriment of my waistline.  Mmmmmmmmm. 

Best pizza ingredients, or really just best ingredients in general!

I wing this, so I don't have measurements perfect, but it's hard to go too wrong on a pizza.

For the crust, which makes two, courtesy of The Pioneer Woman:

• 1 teaspoon Active Dry Or Instant Yeast
• 4 cups All-purpose Flour
• Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water.In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour.  Throw in a dash or two of garlic powder, if you like that.  Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined.  Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and either let rise (about 2 hrs) or store in the fridge until you need it.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Stretch pizza out onto a cookie sheet. Don't grease the sheet or you'll never get the dough to stay put.  Once it looks good, brush the edges of the crust with olive oil.  This will make them pretty and crispy.  Prick the crust all over with a fork, except on the edges.
• Here's where you improvise.  Add any and all toppings that you want.  For BBQ, I use a layer of Stubbs BBQ sauce, garlic chicken pieces, onions, and a layer of mozzerella.  The spices pictured above are mostly for the white pizza.  I use a light brush of olive oil all over the crust, then drizzle the spice mixture on it, shake on some garlic salt, and cover with mozzerella (or whatever cheese I have handy).
• Bake for about 10-15 minutes until everything is bubbly and the crust is lightly browned.  Enjoy your much healthier alternative to "normal" pizza and doubly enjoy getting to eat more than a slice - guilt free!  Yay for that! 
• Comment below and tell me your favorite pizza toppings; I'm always on the hunt for the perfect pizza recipe, and someday, it will be found and my husband will actually declare mine better than Dominos.  But I won't hold my breath for that.  Silly men!