Saturday, November 19, 2011

five friday faves RETURNS!

hip hip HOORAY!  it's time to get inspired again with one of the posts that i've ALWAYS looked forward to writing - five friday faves!


this is probably a bit of an odd thing to be inspired by, but hear me out before you write me off as a complete nut job!  ;)  {you wouldn't do that, would you?!?}  SO, our insurance policy is getting ready to change at the beginning of the year {SEE, i told you!  odd.}  and we're enrolling in a new program through kyle's work.  basically, it's a points program and really all you need to know is that you get "rewarded" with insurance benefits when you get in shape.  doing small things like recording our steps each day, recording when we work out and getting our BMI checked every year can help us earn points.  which is AWESOME!  and i fully admit that we are among the lucky to even have health insurance, so i'm more than happy to do a few small things!


so, that was a really long story to tell you that i've been focusing on getting health and especially targeting WHAT WE EAT.  it's no secret that my husband is a fan of hamburgers.  and i'm a HUGE fan of chipotle.  and that's fine.  in moderation, of course!  but, it was time to do something about our unhealthy diet.  food inc. changed my thinking when i first watched it two years ago {a bit, anyway.  i mean, i live in kansas.  in the country.  i see where my beef comes from every day.  that cow right out there.  see him?}  but i'm not stupid, i know mcdonald's doesn't come get a cow from across the way to butcher and serve up to wichitan's.

one thing i kept stumbling upon while researching healthy food and recipes was a concept called clean eating.  {and no, clean eating does NOT mean washing your food first.  i checked.}  the basic concept is that you eat WHOLE and unprocessed foods.  whole oats, whole grain bread, unprocessed sugar, grass fed beef, etc.  and i've found some wonderful sites that "clean up" food and provide some awesome recipes!  this weeks FFF's is a compilation of some that we've tried and a few i'm looking forward to trying and they've been BOTH catie and kyle approved!  that's saying something.  i'm picky and he's a meat and potatoes dude, it's hard to please us both, trust me.



this chocolate oatmeal sounds AHMAHZING!


strawberries are my very favorite fruit!


this site is one of my favorites! she has some awesome recipes! this was my latest trial and they were AWESOME! loved them.


i made this fried rice, but omitted the pork and added a lot more veggies. i was told to leave the sprouts out next time. kyle is not a fan. :)



and these turkey asian meatballs were fabulous. they will for sure be making an appearance in my kitchen again!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

it's beginning to look a lot like


can you BELIEVE it!  in less than two months, CHRISTMAS will be here!

are you that ultra planner that already has their christmas shopping done?  or are you a black friday shopper?  or are you, like a certain man that i *cough cough* know pretty well, and do your shopping the morning before you open presents!  ;)

if holiday printables happen to be on your list this year.  {and really, they should be if they aren't...}  you're in luck!  i've just listed some new holiday printables in my shop!





and for $2.50, they are easy on the pocketbook, too!

but i'll let you in on a little secret....i LOVE black friday shopping!!  we're going to kansas city with my mom and brother (he lives there) to go black friday shopping as soon as we are done chowing down on some turkey!  let's celebrate with a special coupon code - BLKFRIDAY good for 15% off anything in my shop!  the code is good until november 26th!  that's two weeks!


Thursday, November 10, 2011

inspiration workshop with gussy sews: dining room!

This week's prompt is {DINING ROOM}:
The holidays are here! I can hardly believe it. Halloween has come and gone. And now it's time to prep our homes. No matter what holiday you celebrate, whether it be Thanksgiving, Christmas -- maybe you create a mash-up?, many of them take place in the DINING ROOM. Which is why I thought DINING ROOM would be a wonderful prompt for {almost} mid-November. What does your DINING ROOM look like? What does your dream DINING ROOM look like? Is there an accessory or piece of furniture you have or have been eyeing for your DINING ROOM? Is it china or a silverware set? A distressed hutch or an interesting table set? Centerpiece or curtains? Maybe it's a favorite restaurant's DINING ROOM {tee hehe}.


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this week's prompt was perfect timing for our household...we're in the midst of ripping up the dining room carpet and picking out new flooring!  actually, it's the dining room, kitchen and entry way...for some reference, here's what we're working with:


there is fairly new engineered hardwood in the kitchen.  it IS still available for sale, but it's super expensive.


this lovely patterned carpet in the dining room.  please note that it matches the wall paper in the kitchen. 


and yet another type of hardwood in the entry.  it's not the original, but it also doesn't match what's in the kitchen.  sigh.

i just ordered a few samples online of what i've been rolling around in my head...which one is your favorite?


hand scraped alder in a warm red finish


hand scraped bamboo in an espresso finish


strand woven bamboo in a dark red finish (looks like brazilian cherry)


distressed birch in a warm brown finish


this gorgeous cork

i have no idea how to choose.  ironic when i do this all day for a living, but when it's something that i'm choosing for my own house, i'm too chicken to just pick one.  i think i'm worried i'll end up hating whatever it is later and just blaming myself.

SO MUCH PRESSURE!



Gussy Sews Inspiration Workshop!