October: 30 Day Photography Challenge!

Two posts in one day, wow - I'm going to outdo myself this week :)


Thanks to Jenna at That Wife, I found out about a 30 day photography challenge that is being led by Our Wired Lives.  I decided to participate, and am hoping that this will motivate me to dedicate some more time to blogging as well as photography. 


I know I won't be the most accomplished or professional person participating, but I'm excited to take myself outside of my comfort level and see what I'm capable of! I'm hoping that with all of the ladies participating, I'll be able to get some great feedback and really bring myself to another level.

My little Nikon <3 Here goes nothing!

Check out the more than 60 bloggers participating - all of whom are listed here.  I think this whole project will be super beneficial for someone else too, who would like to learn to take better photos for Etsy this year :) And what better way to improve your photography than to learn some new techniques, right?!

Bachelorette Fun - July & August

I'm way behind on this, but with two back to back bachelorette/bridal shower weekends and then back to back wedding weekends, it was a summer full of love for us without a doubt! 


The first bride to celebrate was Holly, one of Kevin's college roommates! Three of Holly's bridesmaids were also Kevin's college roommates, so I love all of these girls so much and had a wonderful time celebrating together! 

Her bridal shower was a surprise, and was in Mechanicsburg.  Then, we headed off to Baltimore's Inner Harbor for the bachelorette party. 

The second weekend of bridal bliss was for my college roommate, Carol Ann.  Two of these girls were new to me, but true to form, we all had a wonderful time together at her bridal shower in Harrisburg and bachelorette party in Camp Hill and Harrisburg.  

This bachelorette party involved a trip to a lingerie store, which was quite an enlightening experience! 

I love both of these girls so much, and was very happy to celebrate with both of them! 

Slacker: Barilla

I know I'm super late posting this, but I won the Barilla giveaway from Jessica a few weeks ago, and received a great box in the mail! Just the sauce in the box would have been enough, but there were coupons for FREE boxes of pasta, and FREE jars of sauce as well.  Although, I have to admit that the apron may have been the most practical item, since I'm a bit of a messy cook! 

One of our favorite recipes here for a quick 30 minute dinner is fake chicken parm.  It involves a little tupperware and some upper body strength, but the chicken bakes in just about 30 mins, add some pasta and a salad, and you're good to go! 


I apologize for this gross looking chicken - I didn't realize how slimy it looked until it was HUGE on the blog.  

Once you pound the chicken to about 1/2 - 3/4 of an inch, it's time to bread it.  I usually end up breading my hand too, so I've started using a small pair of tongs as they're easier to clean.  

The breading goes flour, egg, then bread crumbs.  I use panko crumbs with parmesan cheese, and italian seasoning to help the chicken crisp up and allow the breading to have some flavor! 

I boiled the noodles and just topped them with the Barilla sauce, no extras needed! It was a great dinner, although there were a few too many dishes for Kevin's liking :) This is one we'll for sure do again - especially as we approach winter! 

*Ignore the piece in the back, I cut it in half because it was XXLarge chicken*

What's your favorite meal that's homey and delicious, without taking all day to make? 

Smiles :)

I needed a bit of a pick-me-up this morning, and decided I would post several of the things that make me smile.  Here's hoping they make you smile too.  I'm not really including any background behind them, but they're the first few things I thought of when a co-worker told me to think of something that made my day better. And they were right, thinking of these things did make my day a little better.

World's greatest best friend

Thanks to Silver Pencils

Hope you're all having a great weekend <3

College Student Must Have

I got an email from Vera Bradley a few weeks ago with THE CUTEST laundry bags featured in it for less than $60!! I mean, check these out and tell me you don't want one.  I'm thinking this is the best gift for a girl going off to college?  It's super cute, so you wouldn't mind it sitting in your closet, or even next to your dresser.  I'm also thinking this would be a great not-ugly way to store our air mattress, with it's pump, sheets, and blanket all in one place for the loft, or when we take it with us to travel.  Heck, this might even end up on my Christmas list for this year!

Laundry Bag by Vera Bradley

hard...

I'm a relatively tough kid, right?  I've always thought that I could handle anything life threw my way.  I've toughed it out mentally, physically, privately, and professionally.  But 2011, is kicking my ass.   Emotionally, I'd love to crawl into bed and stay there until things turn around, but that's just not possible.  So I'm trying to figure out how to move on, move forward, and move through the day to day.

For now, I'm going to focus on my loving family, great husband, amazing friends, and tough as hell soldier who will be back in the USA in 28 days.  For now, I'm going to lean on those closest to me and hope that everyone can forgive the tears, anger, and emotional rollercoaster.

Here goes nothing...