BLUE CASTLE WISHES

Nail of the day

2012-01-04T15:22:00.000-07:00

This is Stop Stocking Me (get it? it's Christmassy!) from Sephora by OPI. It's a lovely, metallic purple with subtle gold shimmer. I love it!

natural light, two coats

Bananas Foster!

2012-01-02T11:08:00.000-07:00

First I'm going to tell you that one of my New Year's resolutions is to go without sugar for a month...

...and then I'm going to tell you about the dessert I made on the last day before my resolution started, Bananas Foster! For those of you who don't know what Bananas Foster is, it's pretty much just bananas cooked in a caramel sauce...and then flambéed and served over ice cream! (ice cream optional, but c'mon who are we kidding?)

I used Alton Brown's recipe...kind of. I didn't use the spices or the banana liqueur or the orange zest...just because I didn't have half of those and the other half I don't like.

melt butter in a skillet

add brown sugar and stir it all up to start the caramel sauce

cut your bananas into four, once length-wise then in half

place them all on top of the caramel in the skillet, cook for one minute...

then turn once and cook for another minute

take just the bananas out of the pan and set aside

now it's time to add the rum...

and light it on fire!

it's fun!

it only takes a minute for the alcohol to burn up

then stir it all up and that's your sauce

Add bananas to ice cream and spoon sauce over all!
I totally forgot to take a picture of the finished dessert until we had already started eating and everything was pretty melty. After talking to my dad about the speed of the melting he told me I probably should have let the sauce cool down just a little bit before putting in on the ice cream. But it was still delicious of course! And it was all pretty quick and easy :)

Nail of the day: Take 2

2011-12-29T12:13:00.000-07:00

I am still wearing my Go with the Flow-er, but I put glitter and sparkles on top...Rainbow Connection from the OPI Muppets Collection. It is described as "a clear base loaded with multi-colored, multi-sized hex glitter nail polish color." Ain't it purdy?

natural lights, three (or four?) coats of Rainbow Connection

inside!

Nail of the day

2011-12-27T12:21:00.002-07:00

This pretty polish was a Christmas present from my parents! It's called Go with the Flow-er from Sephora by OPI. Thanks Mom and Dad!

It is described as an "opaque bright tulip pink with hot pink medium glitter."

natural light, two coats

inside it looks much more orangey!

DIY Picture Tiles

2011-12-26T17:15:00.001-07:00

I got this idea from Crunchy Betty! As soon as I saw them and how easy and inexpensive they looked to make, I knew I wanted to try.

Katie and I decided to make some as Christmas gifts for our parents and then also for our younger brother, Michael and our new sister-in-law, Lauren. We had some photos of us as kids, and then some photos from Michael and Lauren's wedding.

We got everything we needed one Saturday afternoon and it took us like ten mintues to do eight tiles.

What we used:

slate tiles from Lowe's, they were 37 cents each

Mod Podge

a paint brush

scissors

our photos printed on regular paper

We made our photos 4x4 inches before we printed them and used the 3.8" square tiles

After we cut the photos out we "painted" Mod Podge onto the back of the photo

Then placed it square on the tile

Then Katie trimmed off the part that was hanging off (we couldn't decide if it would be better to have the paper flush with the tile or to wrap it over the edges, so we a little of both)

Then we just "painted" more Mod Podge over the photo on the tile

The Mod Podge dries clear and they all turned out better than expected!

These picture tiles can be hung with picture hangers or you can make smaller ones into magnets (this size would probably be too heavy) or Crunchy Betty said to put some kind of waterproofing on it and turn them into coasters.

A few days later we made tiles out of these photos for Michael and Lauren:

Don't tell anyone, but I was told that brother cried upon receiving these :)

December Birchbox

2011-12-22T15:10:00.000-07:00

Here is my December Birchbox, a subscription service where you pay $10 a month and get beauty samples. It's fun!

This month I got:

Jouer Moisturizing Lip Gloss in Birchbox Pink which I looooove and I actually might buy the full size when I run out.

Benefit The POREfessional, a silicone-based pore refiner. It's pretty good but probably not best for aging skin...which apparently I have now!

Harvey Prince Ageless fragrance - not really a fan

Orofluido Elixir, a leave in hair smoother thingie that I used once and it was pretty nice

Showstoppers® Designer Fashion Tape - this is supposed to keep your boobies from falling out of your hoochie dress so I don't think I need this one

EBOOST Orange Natural Energy Booster - um, thanks? I liked this just as much as the coasters I got last month.

super duper pretty nail of the day!

2011-12-19T16:22:00.001-07:00

Holy schmoly I saw this in Walgreens the other day and grabbed it immediately. It's essie's pure pearlfection, a "multi dimensional top coat," part of the luxeffect line. It's really just a pearly topcoat to make the color on your nails extra super duper pretty, but I wanted to wear it alone. It just makes my nails shiny and pearly and pretty and I'm totally gaga over this polish!

DIY Christmas ornaments

2011-12-13T12:02:00.001-07:00

Sister and I got this idea from the Martha Stewart holiday craft book.
Take regular Christmassy cookie cutters, line them with pretty paper, add some ribbon and voila! Fun and easy...and pretty (even if they do turn out a bit wonky like mine did).

What you'll need:
cookie cutters
pretty paper (we used scrap book paper but you can use a strong wrapping paper)
some kind of good adhesive (we used a hot glue gun)
pretty ribbon
beads

Trace around your cookie cutter onto your pretty paper

Then cut it out

Put some glue on the cookie cutter and place your cut out paper on it

Then seal the edges

I just poked a pen through my paper to make a hole for the ribbon

Then string your ribbon through...using a bead to keep it more secure

Christmassy nails!

2011-12-08T21:33:00.003-07:00

I'm so excited tha I got two more OPI Muppets collection colors, Fresh Frog of Bel Air and Gettin' Miss Piggy With It! These both have a clear base with tiny red or green glitter, tiny silver glitter, then bigger hexagonal sparkles. I put down Designer...de Better! first so it wouldn't just be my boring nail underneath. Perfect for my Christmas nails!

one goat of designer de better then like three or four coats of the other

My Christmas playlist

2011-12-06T13:49:00.000-07:00

I LOVE the Christmas season. It's so magical! I love the music that's just everywhere, I love the movies (especially made-for-tv ones), I love the extra baking I get to do, I love the decorations and the glow from my Christmas tree, I love my Christmassy scented candles, I love everything about Christmas! My friend, Amy, blogged about her Christmas playlist a few weeks ago so I thought I'd do the same thing. Here are my top ten favorite Christmas songs:

1. Songs from Handel’s Messiah especially Hallelujah, For Unto Us a Child Is Born, Every Valley Shall Be Exalted, And the Glory of the Lord

2. O Holy Night – Josh Groban tied with Bing Crosby tied with Celine Dion

3. (There’s No Place like) Home for the Holidays – Perry Como

4. Sleigh Ride – Johnny Mathis

5. It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Llike Christmas – Bing Crosby tied with Perry Como

6. I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas – Gayla Peevey

7. It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year – Andy Williams

8. The Christmas Waltz – The Carpenters

9. We Need A Little Christmas – Percy Faith Orchestra

10. Holly Jolly christmas – Burl Ives

It'll nearly be like a picture print by Currier and Ives...

I can't believe I did it!

2011-12-01T06:22:00.001-07:00

I have conquered NaBloPoMo!! I posted every day for the month of November...30 posts in a row! It was touch a go there for a while but I succeeded!

I'm still going to try to blog regularly but will enjoy not feeling a moment of panic when it's 10pm and shoooooot I haven't blogged today.

In other news, it's snowing today and I want to share a piece of information about myself and winter: I had never heard the term "black ice" until I was about 20 years old, in college living in Missouri. One winter day one of my friends told me to watch out for black ice.

"What the heck is black ice?" I asked.

"It's ice you can't see"

"You mean clear ice? Otherwise known as...ice?"

"I guess so"

Anyway, I still hear it today in Colorado and I still think it's so stupid.

Also, have some sunsetty clouds and a mountain

the end

Habitat for Humanity

2011-11-30T09:02:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Katie and I volunteered for the second time for Habitat for Humanity with a group of women from the hospital I work at. We did it back in July and had so much fun...we had hammers, tool belts, hard hats...we used nails and put up walls! It was an amazing day. So we decided to volunteer again. This time, believe me, was not as much fun.

Dirt.

We worked with dirt.

This is how the front yard looked...dry and really hard with big chunks of earth.

So it was our job to smooth out the yard...I was breaking up dirt chunks with a shovel for 3 1/2 hours.

here is katie digging

and digging

AND DIGGING!!

at least she can smile about it (you can see pikes peak off in the distance)

And this is what the yard looked like after...all smoothed out and with mulch spread over

here we are posing with the rest of our team WHO GOT TO BUILD A FENCE!

This is the house we worked on over the summer, we put up those walls!

that's us, Women Build!

Ozark Chili

2011-11-29T10:07:00.000-07:00

I have no idea why my parents call this Ozark Chili, is it a thing? I've never heard of it except in the Schulz household. It when you take your leftover chili and make it a little yummier.

heat up your leftover chili

pile corn chips on a plate

scoop your chili over the chips

sprinkle on cheese

and heat it in the microwave

I would normally put diced onions on it but last night I used green onions. Don't forget the milk!

Nail of the day

2011-11-28T16:17:00.000-07:00

Today I am wearing another polish that I borrowed from my sister, Essie's Little Brown Dress, "a beguiling black coffee." I thought it would be the perfect late fall/end of November color before I go all Christmas crazy and wear sparkly greens and reds.

i really should clean up my application before taking photos...

Why I can't wait to have kids with Stephanie

2011-11-28T07:06:00.000-07:00

Guest blogger: Mark J Bullard

The reason I was initially attracted to Stephanie, and continue to grow more happy every day in our relationship, is in her incredible sense of caring, kindness, and happiness. My life was so dark in the years before I met her, and I feel like today I can take more joy out of life than ever before, thanks to her personality rubbing off on me.

Stephanie has the ability to fill me up with her passion for life, simple pleasures, and just being content in the moment. It's an amazing talent, especially considering the world we live in today, where people in general would rather be filled up by other emotions and things, or in the sadder cases, make their vessels smaller, set their expectations lower, and live in a joyless world.

But I digress,

Stephanie and I are going to have children together, and I can't wait. I used to be anxious about the idea of having children. What kind of world would I bring them into? What kind of future can they have? I don't have those questions or doubts anymore.

I know that my lovely wife will dedicate herself to bringing healthy children into our family, raising them well, and releasing wonderful people into the world who will take with them her ability to fill others with joy and propagate it into society. She will stop at nothing less than raising good, intelligent, kindhearted people who will strive to make the world a better place.

I'm excited to watch it happen, and be a part of it. I feel like I'm more than I am with Stephanie than without, and our family will be more still, like a chorus of resonating voices that thunders louder than it has any right to be.

It doesn't matter that we have disparate beliefs on certain things, the end result will still be the same, and I can't wait for it to happen.

Creme "Brulee"

2011-11-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

I had never had creme brulee in my life until this summer. I was in Vegas, tried it on a whim, and then had it three times that week. I thought it would be gross and eggy like a hot custard my dad likes but it's really just smooth and creamy. Last week I bought a kitchen torch and little fluted ramekins and decided to make my own creme brulee!

Alton Brown taught me how to make this recipe one and it's pretty easy. Here are the steps I took:

start by heating some cream on the stove

then take some egg yolks

and mix them with sugar

after the cream has boiled and rested for a little, pour the hot cream into the eggs/sugar a little at a time whisking well

pour the mixture into ramekins, set the ramekins in a baking sheet, fill the baking sheet with water and into the oven

once the creme has baked and cooled in the fridge...next comes the fun and exciting part!

until you realize the torch you just bought doesn't come with butane...

So now this is just homemade vanilla pudding. But it's really good!

They got married in a barn

2011-11-26T20:47:00.002-07:00

Byron Colby Barn, Grayslake, IL

My brother's wedding was just beautiful so I need to share some more photos of the big day...this time all about the decor. The venue was an old, restored dairy barn which was so perfect...it was rustic but elegant and everything was very autumnal. There were apples, there were lanterns, there were fall flowers, there were twinkle lights, there were apples posing as tealight candle holders!


programs, at the door, ready to take

instead of signing a guest book, we left our mark...literally! thumb prints on their new family tree

the gift table, windows on either side: the left, baby photos of bride & groom, the right=the seating chart!

look at those cuties!

the menu!

the tables had flowers and apples holding tealights and cute framed numbers for the tables

apples apples apples

apples and caramels to take home

lauren & michael bags!

Chili

2011-11-25T21:00:00.000-07:00

Another Schulzy recipe I learned from my dad. This chili is chunkier and sweeter than any chili I've ever had and I love it. It's easy to make and perfect for those cold winter nights! Again, this recipe is enough for five people to have seconds and leftovers for everyone...

brown a pound of ground beef and a big onion

after draining the meat, add two packets of chili seasoning and a jar of your favorite salsa

Next take two big cans of canned whole tomatoes that you have squished up with your hands and add it to the mixture. Add a bit of brown sugar to cut the acidity (I actually use like 1/4 cup because I like mine chili on the sweet side). And don't forget the kidney beans

Cook on lowwwwww for about an hour for the flavors to mingle

the end

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T22:40:00.000-07:00

Don't have much to say today just because it's the end of a long day and I'm pooped, so I'll just show you what I ate today:

Thanksgiving meal: turkey, garlic smashed potatoes, sweet corn bake and gravy made by stef; garlic green beans made by amy; parker house rolls made by kate

dessert: pecan pie mde by kate, smores brownies made by amy, ice cream made by stef

this is my turkey brine

this is my turkey a brinin'

this is my finished turkey which never looks like it does on tv

My brother's wedding!

2011-11-23T09:34:00.007-07:00

My brother, Michael, got married to an amazingfantastic girl named Lauren last month on October 23rd. The whole week was lovely and the wedding was as close to perfection as you can get. The weather was soooo beautiful and perfect (especially for late October in northern Illinois!), the ceremony was short and sweet (i. cried. the. whole. time.) the bride was beyond gorgeous and it was thrilling to see my brother so happy! And the whole thing was so perfect I have to save the wedding decor for another post. Here are lots of pics!

The day of the wedding rehearsal...

the day before, bro and sis

day before, Mom and Dad of the groom

day before, Michael and Katie

siblings...you can't help but cut off poor Tall Paul's head!

ready for the wedding rehearsal...so happy!

practice makes perfect

Wedding Day! Before the ceremony...

the bride!

touching up before more photos

Mom pinning on boutonniere, so serious!

there's the smile!

isn't that dress gorgeous??

the bride and her maids off to take more pictures

the men!

pretty pretty

lovely couple

awwwwww

why are we still taking pictures??

I just want to get married already!

bride and groom with both sets of parents

with my parents

awww their little boy

Post ceremony...

just two married men

doesn't Katie's hair look sooooo pretty?

Our Granny Ceil and her boys

the meal! bride and groom with best man and maid of honor

their first dance as husband and wife

blurry smiles

we're so happy!

one more sibling pic before they go

time to leave...

and off they go...into the rain!

Turtle Cookie Bars

2011-11-22T09:53:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe for turtle cookie bars on tastykichen.com and thought I'd make it this week since I have an abundance of pecans. It's a cookie bar (obviously) that starts with a shortbread cookie layer, then pecans and homemade caramel, then a layer of milk chocolate and more pecans. It was quick and easy and surpassed my expectations.

First I mixed butter, flour and sugar (I wasn't paying attention and used regular white granulated sugar but should have used brown sugar!)

Then pressed it into a 13x9 inch baking pan

Then I spread a cup of chopped pecans over the dough and sprinkled that with salt. The recipe called for salted pecan halves, but I worked with what I had

Next I started making my caramel. If you've never made caramel at home, you should! It's just butter and sugar!

Just boiled it for three minutes...

Then poured it over the pecans in the pan

Now time to go into the oven

Bake at 350F for 15 minutes until golllllden bubbly!

Right when it comes out of the oven dump your chocolate chips all over

It will be melted in a few mintues, then spread out the chocolate in an even layer then sprinkle on some more chopped pecans

Cut into bars after they cool for a couple of hours

Don't they look yummy?!

Here's the recipe!

Turtle Cookie Bars

Prep Time 20 Minutes

Cook Time 15 Minutes Servings 16 Difficulty Easy

Ingredients

FOR THE SHORTBREAD LAYER:2 cups All-purpose Flour1 cup Brown Sugar, Firmly Packed½ cups Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
FOR THE PECAN LAYER:1 cup Pecan Halves2 teaspoons Salt⅔ cups Unsalted Butter, Cut Into Pieces½ cups Brown Sugar, Firmly Packed
FOR THE CHOCOLATE LAYER:1-½ cup Milk Chocolate Chips¼ cups Pecans, Finely ChoppedPreparation

Instructions

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the flour, brown sugar, and butter. Mix on medium speed until well combined. Firmly press the mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 9 x 13 pan.
For the pecan layer, in a small bowl, mix the pecan halves and salt together. Layer the pecan halves over the crust. In a medium pan, cook the butter and brown sugar over medium high heat, until boiling. Cook for 3 minutes, then remove from heat. Pour the mixture evenly over the pecan halves.

Place the pan in a 350F oven, and cook for 15 minutes, or until golden and bubbly. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips over the pecans. Allow the chips to soften for a few minutes, then gently swirl the chocolate over the pecans. Sprinkle with finely chopped pecans, and let cool for two hours. Cut into bars, serve, and enjoy!

Saturday morning cartoons

2011-11-21T12:45:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid there was pretty much nothing better than a Saturday morning. I would wake up early (crazy!) and eat breakfast and watch cartoons with my brother and sister.

I know there are so many cartoons we used to watch and right now I can only remember a handful. But when I think of that part of my life two shows definitely stick out: Muppet Babies and Pee Wee's Playhouse!

We also had a very Schulzy (and now, kind of embarrassing) tradition on Saturday mornings. Mom and Dad would still be asleep so Katie, Michael and I would make breakfast. And by "make breakfast" I mean Pop-Tarts. Always chocolate Pop-Tarts. And we would play restaurant. Two of us would sit on the floor of the living room in front of an ottoman that we were pretending was a table. One of us would be the waiter or waitress. Looking at fake menus (or was it just our hands miming a menu?) we would ponder what we wanted and when asked, "What can I get for you today?" the answer would always be, "Ummmm I think I'll have the chocolate Pop-Tarts." We felt very grown-up and fancy.

Fried rice

2011-11-20T19:50:00.000-07:00

My favorite meal in the world is a nice teppanyaki meal at a Japanese restaurant. I love the hibachi steak, chicken, shrimp and veggies, and one of my favorite parts of the meal is the fried rice. In general it's not like I'm a huge rice lover, but the rice they serve at those Japanese hibachi restaurants is so yummy! I never would have even thought of making my own at home until my parents got a book called Top Secret Recipes where the author, Todd Wilbur, has created clone recipes of some of the dishes found at America's favorite restaurants. When I saw Benihana Japanese Fried Rice in the book and saw how simple it seemed to make, I tried it. And it was actually really good and I make it at home from time to time. Today was one of those times. Here are the steps:

saute about 1/2 an onion (or one tiny one) a bit of butter and oil

add steamed white rice, peas and carrots then mix everything together

push the rice mixture to one side of the pan and crack a couple of eggs into the other side. you'll fully cook the eggs while you scramble them and chop them up along the way.

mix the chopped up scrambled eggs into the rest of the rice then add soy sauce, salt and pepper and cook for several more minutes, stirring occasionally.

Then that's it! Fried rice! YUM!

Attack of the tumbleweeds!

2011-11-19T22:53:00.009-07:00

Before I moved to Colorado I thought tumbleweed was fictional. Something that only existed in Wile E. Coyote's world. But here in Colorado Springs, especially on the edge of town where I live, and especially on windy days, it is abundant.

One will shoot out in the middle of the road in front of you when you're driving. They will gather at your doorstep. They hide in fences. They are unpredictable!!

just randomly in the road

these lost in a battle against my husband's car


here are some huddled up, planning an attack


this car didn't stand a chance

see? totally trapped

this is what happens when you go on vacation, the tumbleweeds take over

Just don't say I didn't warn you.

the end

Nail of the day

2011-11-18T16:38:00.003-07:00

This is a shade I've had my eye on for while now. It's Chest-Nuts About You from Sephora by OPI's holiday collection.

It's described as an opaque pink champagne with fine glitter, isn't it gorgeous?!? The first person to leave a comment will win a bottle!

two coats, direct sunlight

in natural light, so shiny!

Birchbox

2011-11-17T11:24:00.002-07:00

This is something fun that I just signed up for a couple of months ago. If anyone knows me they know I'm a beauty product enthusiast and love to try new things. I heard about Birchbox on YouTube and I knew I had to jump in! Birchbox is a subscription service where you pay $10 a month (that includes shipping!) and you are sent a little box with four or five deluxe-sized high-end beauty samples every month. How fun!

I just got my second Birchbox yesterday so I thought I'd share it with you

This is my Birchbox!

When you open it up you have a little card with description of what's inside

All my goodies!

kitty trying to steal my ribbon

So here is what I got:
Avène Cleanance Soap-Free Gel Cleanser, Zoya nail polish in Noel, Mineralogie Cream Concealer, Thymes Body Lotion in Eucalyptus and Kimono Rose, and...coasters?

I'm looking forward to trying everything except the eucalyptus lotion. I don't really like the smell of eucalyptus anyway but one of my roommates in college had this exact brand and scent in a room spray and sprayed it ALL the time and it just made me want to vom ALL the time. So I opened up the bottle this morning, gave it a sniff and just thought, "Yep! That's Kari Y!" I will be giving that away. Any takers?

the end

I have a milk man

2011-11-16T22:39:00.000-07:00

"Two days from the cow to your doorstep!" That's the line that pushed me over the edge. I never knew that people still got milk delivered until I moved to Colorado and would see that Royal Crest milk truck in our neighborhood at like 4am if I ever had a late shift at the hospital. How quaint! I wanted a milk man. But I also thought it was kind of silly. Why can't you just go to the grocery store?

But then I got married and, on a whim, my husband signed us up online for a free sample of this milk man milk. Kevin, the milk man showed up a few days later telling me all about Royal Crest Dairy's all natural, fresh milk and how it tastes better and is better for you and how it's TWO DAYS FROM THE COW TO YOUR DOORSTEP! That sold me.

He gave us a half gallon each of 1.5% milk, whole milk and chocolate milk to try out and did it taste better than Walmart milk? It actually does! It's not a huge difference but I swear it just tastes more fresh. Is it more expensive than regular Walmart milk? Yes. But it is definitely cheaper than other all natural, hormone-free, antibiotic-free milk from the grocery store.

And now I've gotten used to the convenience! Every Wednesday I wake up and have fresh dairy waiting for me!


Here's my milk box that stays on my porch always

Here's all my stuff I got today! It's not just milk. Why not get all natural cream and butter too? They also have sour cream, cream cheese, eggs, juices and breads. We don't normally get all of this at one time but next week is Thanksgiving and there's lots of cooking and baking to be done! And I had to get the egg nog!

the end

"Instant" Oatmeal

2011-11-15T11:48:00.000-07:00

Confession: I don't eat breakfast as often as I should (aka everyday). And I am definitely not one of those people who wakes up early just to make breakfast and eat it at home before work. I'll make a smoothie or put some cereal in a baggie and eat it at work. Sometimes I get an egg sandwich and fruit from the hosptial cafeteria. But recently I had a new idea. I always wished I ate more oatmeal. I like instant oatmeal that comes in those little pouches but we all know those aren't that good for you. They are quite processed and in my opinion that kinda defeats the purpose of eating oatmeal (I'd rather have a Pop Tart).

So back to my idea: why can't I just make my own instant oatmeal? Would it really make that much difference if I just poured boiling water over regular rolled oats (not quick oats!) instead of waiting for it to cook on the stove? I decided to try today.

This morning while I was waiting for my face primer to set and my curling iron to heat up, I threw about a cup of thick-cut rolled oats into a plastic food storage container. Tossed in a bit of brown sugar, chopped pecans (that I quickly toasted while I got the pets' breakfast), raisins, a nice sprinkling of cinnamon and a couple dashes of salt.

My plan was to just take that container to work and pour hot water on it when I got there and see if it worked just like instant oatmeal from a pouch. And that's exactly what I did! I went to the cafeteria here at work, grabbed a cup of hot water from the coffee bar and poured it over my oats mixture (I probably used about 8oz of water).

I put my lid back on and waited about ten minutes...

And now all the water is absorbed into the oats! See? Instant oatmeal! Well, not quite instant but 10 mintues is pretty good.

And it tastes pretty good! I think I'll do this all the time now!

Homemade potato soup

2011-11-14T13:28:00.002-07:00

My dad taught me how to make this soup and it was always one of my favorite meals growing up, and now I make it for my husband and it's one of his favorite things that I cook. I made it yesterday so I thought I'd share it with you. It starts with a roux. That rhymes.

What you'll need:

one onion (big or small, depending on how much you like onion)
1/4 c butter (half a stick)
flour
one quart chicken broth (I always make sure to buy the kind without celery juice because I do not want my potato soup to taste like celery (yuck).
lots of potatoes
1/4 to 1/2 pound of bacon (depending on how much you like bacon...or none at all but it adds great flavor)
1 quart of whole milk or half & half (depending on how many calories you want/don't want & how creamy you want your soup)
8oz (or more!) sharp cheddar cheese
worcestershire sauce
salt & pepper

I only know how to cook for five people so this recipe makes a big pot. I start off potatoes! I use about 8 potatoes (10 if they are on the small side), and cut then into about 1/2 cubes and boil them in salted water until they are quite tender.

potatoes are boiling!

Then take your chopped onion and a half stick off butter in a stock pot. Cook on medium heat until the onions are clarified then add your bacon that has been cut up into small pieces.

onions and potatoes, ready for the roux

Now it's time to make your roux. A roux is a mixture of equal parts flour and fat so since we had 1/4 cup of butter and some of it is soaked up in the onions and some of it evaporated, I add about three tablespoons of flour to the onions and melted butter then mix it all up. Next add one quart of chicken broth. So stir it up really well making sure there are no flour lumps. Now take your cooked potatoes that have been drained of all the water and add it to the broth mixture...and here is a good time to add a little salt and lots of black pepper. I have no idea how much I put in, but not too much at this point because you'll add cheese and worcestershire later which will add even more saltiness.

You're going to cook the potatoes and broth for about 30 minutes over pretty low heat (stirring occasionaly of course) before you add the milk/half & half. And before I do add the dairy I actually microwave it first so when I add it to the soup there will be no curdling. You don't need to heat it that long, just long enough so that it's no longer COLD.

So add your warm milk and or half & half. I use only half & half because it makes my soup really yummy and creamy. You can also use any kind of milk you like for fewer calories or add just a little half & half or cream. But remember that if you use only milk and especially fat free milk you soup will be will be runnier too. Continue to cook over low heat for about another 30 minutes and then it's time to add the cheese and my secret ingredient.

Please please please use SHARP cheddar. Like my dad says, "What's the point of eating cheese if it doesn't smell like feet?"...or something to that effect. Our favorite brand to use is Cabot's because they have a great Extra Sharp Cheddar but then they have Seriously Sharp Cheddar which is just what this soup calls for. I like my potato soup cheeeesy! Also, just like we didn't want to add ice cold milk to steaming hot soup, we don't want to add cheese straight from the fridge to our soup because it can curdle and we want our soup to be smooth and creamy.

my SERIOUSLY sharp cheddar shredded up

Next up is the secret ingredient, WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE. Please only use Lea & Perrins. I'd be frightening to try anything else. You can add about a teaspoon to a tablespoon but I probably use more because it adds the yummiest flavor.

So once the cheese and worcestershire are added stir it up until the cheese it all melted then cook it for just about five more minutes. Taste your soup to see if it needs any more salt and pepper then add if needed. Your soup is done!

my pot of finished (and half-eaten) potato soup!

Then take your corn bread out of the oven. Oh, did I not tell you that corn bread goes perfectly with potato soup? I only use Jiffy corn bread mix and I only bake it in a hot iron skillet that has been coated in bacon grease.

Nail of the day double feature!

2011-11-13T20:12:00.003-07:00

Today I decided to show you my finger nails and my toes! I know, crazy. On my fingers I have my third Muppet's Collection by OPI color, Designer...de Better! It's a champangey shimmer with tiny coppery flecks. And on my toes is another one I borrowed from sister, Essie's Velvet Voyeur, described as a deep chocolate amethyst.

two coats

in natural light

Homemade Ice Cream!

2011-11-12T21:34:00.001-07:00

homemade coffee ice cream

I got my husband an ice cream maker for Christmas last year and I thought it would be just a fun thing to use every once in a while. My parents had an ice cream maker my whole life and they broke it out like once every few years. I hesitated buying one for hubby because I didn't want it to just sit unused in a closet like my bread maker and my juicer.

But over the last year we have actually made homemade ice cream, on average, about once a month. And it's so good, better than any store bought ice cream and cheaper too! And super easy. My dad got Mark The Ice Cream Bible and along the way I picked up Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book so between those two I have mastered my ice cream recipe.

It always starts off the same: two eggs, one cup of sugar, one pint of cream, one cup of milk. That's it! You could just mix that up, throw it in the ice cream maker for 20 minutes and get yummy, fresh ice cream. But of course we have made different variations. Add vanilla and you have vanilla ice cream (duh). Add peanut butter and have peanut butter ice cream (hubby's fave). This week we added PB and cut up Snickers to make, you guessed it, Snickers ice cream!

our messy, used Cuisart Ice Cream Maker

For Katie's birthday a couple of weeks ago, I added espresso and we had delicious coffee ice cream. Once I added dulce de leche and I promise it tasted better than Haagen Daaz. Last year for New Year's Eve I made candy cane ice cream, just added peppermint extract and chopped up candy canes. A few months ago I made banana ice cream! My favorite one that I have made is Oreo. I'm not a huge fan of cookies and cream ice cream usually, but when I make it it's soooooo good. It'll be fun to keep trying new flavors to make.


Oreo ice cream

dulce de leche ice cream

The end

Friday Randomness

2011-11-11T14:35:00.001-07:00

Here, have a sunrise. This was taken early in the morning (obviously) this past Sunday, which was the fall Daylight Savings Day, my second favorite holiday of the year, which was ruined by the fact that I had to work at 7am :(

Here have a rainbow

I've said it before and I'll say it again, IT SHOULDN'T SNOW WHILE THERE ARE STILL LEAVES ON THE TREES!

Here are some super duper cheesy au gratin potatoes The Pioneer Woman told me to make

My cat loves the garage. He sits in the kitchen by the door that leads to the garage and beg and pleads to be let out in the garage. My husband thinks he has a very important job in there and is on a lot of conference calls

The end

Emergency!

2011-11-10T16:26:00.000-07:00

I work in a hospital, sometimes I in the emergency room. I get the little form that patients fill out when they first arrive at the ER to tell us who they are and why they are there. I see a lot of funny things, I see A LOT of misspellings and, oddly, most are not emergencies. Here is a list of my favorites:

• Head Ach
• singes batheing me
• cant breath – bronkitus?
• caught toe on pant leg
• pregnet??
• sore thort
• vomititing
• possiable yest infection
• stumic pain
• numnes in the face
• lemonade stand fell on her
• hit by bull in neighborhood
• bitten by a mouse
• sleepwalking/tripped over birdcage
• seeing people’s animals that are not there
• hit in head by gulf ball
• trouble peeping
• hand cut by a goat's horn
• infection from teath/asma/volmiting
• did somthing to my leg and bad migran
• stabbed in back pain
• saw thot
• era
• baby has a deformed head?
• my cyatic never & throut is hurting migh have strep
• soars on elbows
• think my ankles broke slowwen all the way to my caf
• ABOMINEL PAINE (Sever)
• pt placed super glue in her eye instead of eye medication
• bread in ear
• sweating
• swallowed a bullet
• voice box came loose
• buttucks pain
• paranoid/frightened
• cooking naked/abdominal burns
• fell while playing wii (pt is 91)
• swetty
• runny nose
• gaul blatter
• a patient just told me "i'm hard of seeing"
• loss of conciseness
• stomach hurt, peepee hurt, poop looks very grainy
• dirahhera
• thirsty
• toothache (absesce)
• caughing
• chroic arthuis
• speech problems while skiing
• walked into a branch
• lergeic reaction
• swolled glass
• smoking and caught on fire
• attacked by vacuum
• to get check out fro staff or miliara
• run over by bicycle rider
• jelly jar vs toe
• moving furniture, fell through floor
• akle
• my bones pain
• voice changes
• glass imbedded in forehead for 1.5 years
• he is can't walk on his ankle hurt
• diaharia
• cut arm climbing through window of vacant house
• horrible sore throught
• leg olsers
• hit by a wheel chair
• stepped in a puddle
• was vomiting and fell into toilet
• dog ran really hard into him
• pane I got
• the runs
• blender fell on head
• chocking
• seasures
• thrown from a mule on the continental divide
• coff
• headake
• jeans too tight made sore on abdomin
• cut finger using pocket knife as a crowbar
• patient's husband fell, hit her face with his cheek
• pnenumia
• have pain went she urine pain
• homicidal ideation
• right nastril vs metal ball
• dierrrea
• hit in head with wooden shoe by roommate
• allgergs, throte
• cancer/Q-tip stuck in throat
• son pushed her out of the way of snake
• bad kneck problems

My favorite candle

2011-11-09T17:12:00.002-07:00

This has been my favorite candle scent for years, Ginger Peach from Pier One. It's peachy and sweet but not in a cloying way, it smells fresh. I feel like Pier One candles have always been my favorite and I don't know why. I have tons of these in my house and one on a warmer in my office and it smells so good in here.

Ginger Peach Heritage Filled Candle

The end.
Remember, I did not promise not to bore you.http://www.bluecastlewishes.com/2011/11/nablopomo.html

NaBloPoWe

2011-11-08T11:59:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let you all know that I had a nice time during National Blog Posting Week and I really appreciate both of you for reading all of my posts.

Siiiiiiiiiiiighhhh... I really am going to try to make it all month but I'm running out of ideas. I'm especially running out of ideas since someone "misplaced" the cord for my camera so I can't upload the amazing photos of Michael's wedding and homemade chili and of course more cat pictures.

So for now I will let you all be jealous of the time Katie and I went to an all-you-can eat sushi place.

yummy salad

yummy veggie tempura

my first nigri...pretty yummy

some kind of yummy roll with EEL
eel is weird

some kind of yummy roll with shrimp...i think?

super duper yummy spicy tuna roll

Sister and I shared everything and it was all so yummy...now I want to go again! Whatdoyasay Kate? Your treat?

Excuse Moi!

2011-11-07T14:16:00.001-07:00

Here's my next Muppet's Collection by OPI nail color, Excuse Moi! Inspired by Miss Piggy, whose 1981 calendar donned my wall for more than one year, this color is pretty, pink and glittery!

three coats

in natural light

Homemade lip scrub

2011-11-06T15:57:00.000-07:00

My skin is really feeling the change in weather and this dry Colorado autumn air is sucking all the moisture from my skin! My face gets dull and my lips get flaky. And what's the best way to fight dullness and flakiness? Exfoliation! But holy cow, exfoliators and scrubs can be expensive so that's why I'm a fan of DIY beauty.

Yesterday I made my own lip scrub and I'm going to show you what I did and what I used.

The ingredients:

unrefined sugar

brown sugar

shea butter

jojoba oil

argan oil

vitamin e oil

The shea butter needed to be softened so it could be mixed easily with the other ingredients so I just spooned out about a tablespoon into a small cup and microwaved it for about a minute at 30% power


shea butter before


and after heating

So I had the tablespoon of shea butter then I added about a teaspoon of jojoba oil, 1/2 teaspoon of vitamin E, one dropper full of argan oil and combined them all with my cute little baby whisk


all of the oils combined

After that I added a couple of teaspoons of both sugars and stirred the mixture until it all came together

After that I put the mixture into an empty, clean little jar that used to have eye cream in it...then I put it in the refrigerator, instead of just letting the shea butter get back to solid form on its own, because I'm impatient. And this is the final product:

If you've never used a lip scrub you're in for a treat! Just take a small amount and gently massage the scrub into your lips, about a minute will do.

scrub it in


creepy close-up of my lips

Most lip scrubs' directions say to wipe it off with a washcloth or tissue but I just like to rinse with water because it rinses away the sugars but leaves all those good oils behind. This makes my lips so soft and moisturized and flake-free!

The only thing I don't like about the scrub that I made is the smell...while shea butter is extremely nourishing, I think it stinks. Next time I would love to add a yummy smelling essential oil (peppermint!) or even use coconut oil instead of shea butter. If you don't have these ingredients just use regular granulated sugar and olive oil...or any good-for-you oil!

Kitty, one year later

2011-11-05T10:37:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was the anniversary of Dusty Miller's GOTCHA DAY! One year ago, on November 4th, we went to the Humane Society and got our little kitty. Mark had been saying that we should get a cat for a while but I was anti because I always thought cats were totally stupid and boring and pointless. I was finally persuaded because I didn't want our new puppy, Fred, to be lonely while we were at work (and two puppies would have been insane). I wanted a gray cat since I knew Anne (of Green Gables, of course) likes them best and I knew I wanted to name him Dusty Miller because that's the name of the cat in Anne of Windy Poplars. His name was Gemini (so weird) at the Humane Society and when they told us that he was found somewhere out there stuck between two fences I knew I had to rescue that lil baby.

Fast forward a year and I love that cat (though I'm not always sure the love is reciprocated). He's so soft and warm and cuddly (though the cuddles are usually protested) and now I want tons and tons of cats! OK, not really but one more would be nice. I'll call her Saucy Sal after Emily's (of New Moon, of course) cat.

November 2010
3 months old

November 2011
He loves his Kitty Kube and sleeps in it every night

Warm & Fozzie

2011-11-04T10:50:00.003-06:00


Fozzie Bear

Here is the first of my Muppets OPI collection, Warm & Fozzie and I really like it. The color in the photos looks too green/yellow, in person it's definitely more bronzey/brown/red shimmer.

two coats

Starbucks tastes better in a pretty cup

2011-11-03T11:49:00.004-06:00

*DO NOT READ THIS POST IF YOU ARE ON A DIET
OK maybe it doesn't taste better, but the whole experience is so much more excited and cozy and romantic (romantic in the way that it's more romantic to end a book with a funeral than with a wedding). I absolutely love when Starbucks brings out their red and snowflakey cups for the holidays, I swear I frequent them more just because of the cup.

I love Starbucks, but I have always only allowed myself to go about once a month for a treat, usually a decaf white mocha. BUT in the late fall when they come out with those pretty Christmassy cups, I might go more like two or three times a month (I know, crazy right). And my favorite winter drink is the peppermint white mocha (because peppermint tastes better around Christmastime). Doesn't an "espresso with white chocolate and peppermint flavored syrups and steamed milk topped with sweetened whipped cream and dark chocolate curls" sound super delish?

Peppermint White Mocha

But now I think I have a new favorite drink, the Caramel Apple Spice drink, "steamed, freshly pressed apple juice and cinnamon syrup topped with sweetened whipped cream and caramel drizzle." I just had it for the first time this week when my sister brought me one (on her bday, HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE!) and it was so amazing.

Caramel Apple Spice

Sweet but tart, so appley and spiced, and caramely and almost buttery...I swear it tastes like apple pie in a cup. So I have had three this week. Yikes, it's dangerous that there is a Starbucks in the hospital I work at and that they just deduct the cost from your next paycheck...

Muppets Nail Polish!

2011-11-02T19:13:00.003-06:00

I have been a Muppets fan since like FOREVER (still regularly listen to the Muppet Movie soundtrack that I have had since I was like three). I was so psyched to learn that there will be a new Muppet movie, The Muppets. And I am equally psyched that OPI has created a Muppets collection!

There are 12 Muppet-inspired shades with fun Muppet-inspired names like Rainbox Connection and Gone Gonzo. All of the colors look absolutely amazing and I want them all. But since I'm not made of cash I have settled on getting the set of four mini polishes, The Muppettes!


Wocka Wocka


Excuse Moi!


Designer...de Better!


Warm & Fozzie

I haven't worn any of these colors yet, but will probably change my polish tonight and save each of these for separate posts for NaBloPoMo!

NaBloPoMo

2011-11-01T11:39:00.000-06:00

I have been inspired by one of my BFFs, Amy to participate in National Blog Posting Month. I am going to try to post here every day during the month of November. Soooo...

I do not promise not to bore you
Yes, this counts as a post
Any suggestions?

xoxo,
stef

Monday Questionnaire: Halloween Edition

2011-10-31T14:19:00.001-06:00

Got questions from Amarixe again :)

1.) Mood: Mondayish, but kind of giddy at the same time because I love this time of year and Christmas is coming!

2.) When was the last time you carved a pumpkin? Last year with hubby and sister

3.) What is your favorite Halloween candy? Anything chocolate, don't make me choose!

4.) What is your favorite Halloween memory? Probably just every time I was allowed to go trick-or-treating (which was not every year)

5.) Do you believe in ghosts/spirits? I believe anything is possible

6.) Were you allowed to dress up at school for Halloween as a kid? Not only were we allowed, we were encouraged! In elementary school we even had a parade where every class would just walk around the school in their costume.

7.) Did you trick-or-treat as a kid? At what age did you stop? I did sometimes and my last year of trick-or-treating was probably 13.

8.) What is your favorite Halloween movie? Ernest Scared Stupid, duh

9.) Did you dress up for Halloween this year? If so, as what? I haven't dressed up at all since I've been an adult.

10.) Weekly goals: Catch up on work and pay bills!

Nail polish of the moment

2011-10-31T11:53:00.000-06:00

This week I am wearing Shower Together by China Glaze, which is actually my sister's favorite brand (as well as her bottle of polish that I borrowed, thanks Kay-Kay). It always goes on nicely and has hardeners in it to protect the nail. Here I am wearing two coats.

This Is Dedicated To A One I Love

2011-10-26T13:37:00.001-06:00

My younger brother Michael got married this weekend on October 23rd. Before I post pics and details from the wedding I wanted to remember the little boy that was.

Michael Schulz, I am so happy for you and proud of the man you've become.

Love, your big sister

Nail color of the week

2011-10-18T11:27:00.001-06:00

Today I put on Essie's Splash of Grenadine, a "playful magenta pink." Yes, I know it's not a good autumn color, but I will see my mother tomorrow (who is unabashedly judgey), so I just need to play it safe...no blues or yellows this week!

I have a tiny bottle from their Resort Collection, summer 2010.

Crispy Onion Straws

2011-10-14T10:12:00.001-06:00

One of my favorite restaurants is Cheddars. It's yummy and cheap, and Cheddars and I just have many fond memories together. My very favorite thing to get there was the CRISPY ONION STRAWS, an appetizer that is no more. Now there are fried onion thingies at a lot of restaurants but none compare to the ones at Cheddars. They were always piled high, light and golden crispy, perfectly cooked, not too salty and the onions were always on the sweet and mild side. And you would dip them in the most heavenly ranch dressing, the kind of ranch dressing that is so good, our friend Michelle would always dream of just ordering a bowl of that ranch and drinking it through a straw.

For some reason Cheddars took the crispy onion straws off the appetizer menu and that is a sad, sad thing. But last year I saw that The Pioneer Woman has a recipe for fried onion strings on her website that look really similar to the ones at Cheddars. This past weekend I actually got around to making them.

Please excuse my dirty, dirty stovetop

I had never deep fried anything in my life so I wasn't sure how everything would turn out, but it was actually really easy. I used a mandoline to slice my onions really thin, dipped the onions in buttermilk, then flour/salt/pepper, then into the hot oil in small batches.

The final product sadly did not turn out like the wonderful, perfect crispy onion straws at Cheddars, but they were still tasty.

And they were even better because I made HOMEMADE RANCH DRESSING! Again, The Pioneer Woman taught me how. Instead of adding a ranch dressing mix to mayo and buttermilk, I used garlic, chives and parsley. It turned out super yummy!

Random Questions

2011-10-11T11:03:00.001-06:00

I just stole this from Allison at amarixe, a beauty blog/youtube channel I follow and this was her Monday Questionnaire. Since I'm tyring to blog more I figured I might as well throw this in, so here we go!

1.) Mood: Content. I'm at work but taking a break and I know I have a busy day ahead of me so my day will fly by

2.) Can you parallel park? I CAN but I never have to

3.) What is your favorite treat during the fall/winter/holiday season? a peppermint white mocha from Starbucks

4.) Current nail polish: just Essie's Grow Stronger, it's a "fortifying growth treatment"...trying to get my nails pretty before MY BROTHER'S WEDDING NEXT WEEK!!

5.) What is your all time favorite TV show? without a doubt, Veronica Mars

6.) Current outfit: ugh my ugly, ugly work uniform: an unflattering, shapeless royal blue button up shirt and kinda flowy black dress pants. I feel gross every day at work.

7.) Are you dressing up for Halloween this year? I haven't dressed up as an adult ever so I guess I'll just be Stephanie

8.) What is your natural hair texture/style? really fineslashwavy but not in a pretty way, more like in a frizzy, kinked way

9.) Where would your dream honeymoon be? (or if you've had it, where was it?) I never had a honeymoon but I really want to go on a cruise to somewhere tropical!

10.) Weekly goals: To get ahead at work since I'll be off for a week for the wedding :)

Coversations in married life

2011-10-09T14:00:00.000-06:00

It happens all the time. My husband "can't find" something. He "looks" for whatever it is that is "lost" for one minute and gives up. When it's my turn, I can always find the "missing" object within a matter of seconds.

Today it was honey. It is on a rare occasion that my husband cooks and today was one of those occasions. His recipe called for honey.

hubs: Where is the honey? I can't find the honey.
me: It's on the counter.
hubs: Can you be more specific?
me: It's to the left of the sink.
hubs: I can't find it anywhere.
me: (after getting up off of my comfy spot on the couch) It's right here! Right where I said it was!
hubs: That's honey? I was looking for a bear.
me: NOT ALL HONEY COMES IN A BEAR!

Nail color of the moment

2011-10-07T13:22:00.005-06:00

This color is Essie's Over The Edge, described as a "dramatic metallic midnight silver." I really love this, I'm sure it will become one of my most reached for bottles of polish!

A yummy treat

2011-09-28T13:37:00.002-06:00

I made these chocolate-covered peanut butter pretzel bites a few weeks ago for a work pot luck and they were a huge hit! If you are a fan of the salty/sweet combo give these a try. I found this simple recipe here.

Hello, yellow!

2011-09-23T22:20:00.000-06:00

This is my polish of the moment. Nails, Inc. is another UK brand and pretty new to Sephora.
This shade is Carnaby Street and is described as a "bright sunflower yellow."

This is the only Nails, Inc color I've tried and I dont like the fact that it doesnt go on evenly, even two coats of this bright shade doesnt look too great. But the color is pretty and the brand has sooo many more fun ones so I'm sure I'll be purchasing another. (Did I say another? This was actually Katie's purchase and I just borrowed)

Nail polish of the moment

2011-09-19T10:57:00.002-06:00

Oh, excuse me, I mean nail varnish. Illamasqua is a UK brand and apparently they say varnish as opposed to polish.

This color is Force, which is described as a "deep electric blue with a glossy finish." I saw this color on a clerk at Sephora a few weeks ago and it looked so fabulous on her I had to ask what she was wearing. Looks good on me too!

This is actually one coat! Amazing!

Cats and Dogs

2011-09-16T02:53:00.002-06:00

We have a dog

His name is Fred

Our dog has a cat

His name is Dusty Miller

They are brothers and best friends

They fight

They play

They cuddle

the end :)

Upper Michigan: A True Story

2011-09-15T13:03:00.008-06:00

April 2007. Three girls headed on a car trip from Northern Illinois to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It was me, my sister Katie, and our bff Michelle. Our destination? Ontonagon, MI...a small touristy town right on the edge of Lake Superior. We just wanted to take a road trip...somewhere we'd never been before, somewhere pretty, lots of trees, do a little hiking. We drove up through Wisconsin and as soon as we hit the U.P we noticed a drastic change. Tall, ominous trees; narrow, winding roads; small and completely desolate towns. Every store, rustic and cabin-like, had a CLOSED sign hanging from it's doors...this included gas stations. We remember one thing that didn't seem that important when we were doing our trip research: October through May is "off season" in the U.P. Now we realize this might be a problem. One supremely eerie thing we notice: every town has several taxidermy offices. If you've ever seen the movie "Wrong Turn," this is what all of Upper Michigan reminded me of. We half expected cannibalistic men to come out and get us. It takes about an hour and a half to drive through the UP until we hit our hotel. The setting of the sun and arrival of darkness of course makes things even weirder. Finally we arrive at our hotel, relieved it's on the new/clean side and check in. While in the lobby, my sister gets out her phone to let our parents know of our safe arrival. Failing, she looks to the clerk at the desk, "There's no cell reception here?" All the girl does is laugh. Interesting. We sleep well for the night, eat a stale complimentary breakfast in the morning and head out the door to start our day. We had arrived so late and it had been so dark that we notice something now...our hotel is right on the shore of Lake Superior and it's absolutely beautiful. This starts our day off with good attitudes and we end up having the prettiest hike of our lives! Hours later, we are spent and hungry. Luckily our hotel has a restaurant attached...something with "pub & grub" in the name. We order some food to go and while we are waiting for it to be ready. We walk down the road to a building donning the name "General Store" that surprisingly has an OPEN sign on it's door. We go in to buy something to drink. The store is empty. There is an overwhelming stench of cigarettes and armpits. The old, green carpeting is stained. The shelves are sparingly lined with typical convenient store food, all covered in a layer of dust. There is a tv on in the corner of the store...Jerry Springer is on and the volume is quite loud. We grab our sodas out of the refrigerated shelves and while doing so, we realize that several of these refrigerators are dark, and warm inside. Oh, well...it's just soda...it doesn't really need to be cold right? We are still waiting for the store clerk to appear. Then we hear something weird. A woman's voice. It's coming from an answering machine. We find this odd. An answering machine at the check-out counter of a convenient store? "This is your wife! Where are you??" the impatient woman asks. She actually calls twice while we're there. We tell Michelle to go check to see if there's a back room and that we might find someone there. "No way! I'm afraid I'll find a dead body!" is her logical reply. We pick out some postcards and, sick of waiting, we decide all we can do is leave a note with some cash on the counter. We walk out the door and along-side the building we see a suspicious man who acknowledges us, "Were you in the store?" We tell him what we took and about the note and the money while watching the suspicious man chaining his garage dumpster shut. "So the bears don't get in." But he couldn't fool us. We knew he had taken that store owner, murdered him and locked him in the garbage!! Anyway, we went back to the restaurant, got our "grub" and went down by the lake to eat. Katie takes a sip of her beverage and makes a face, "something is wrong with this." We all examine our bottles and learn the sodas had expired. A year ago. This last meal in the U.P. was the perfect punctuation to our weekend.

the end

I just subscribed to Hobby Farms magazine

2011-09-09T11:43:00.005-06:00

What is a hobby farm? It's a farm you have, just for fun, without it being your primary source of income. It has always been my dream to be a farm girl but when I used to mention it to friends I would only get negative feedback: "Do you know how much work a farm is??" "You really think that you are going to wake up at 5am every day??" But they just didn't see my vision of a farm.

It has just been in the last year or so that I first heard the term "hobby farm" or even "urban homestead" and when I learned that actual people are out there living my dream, I knew I wasn't so weird and that this could really happen some day. These people live in regular houses, with regular-sized backyards (or even tiny backyards!) and they have gardens, they grow vegetables, they grow herbs, they have chickens! Can you imagine having organic produce and cage-free eggs without Whole Foods prices? Some people even have a cow or a goat and pasteurize their own milk and make their own cheese! This is my dream people!

Of course right now I do not own a home or have a backyard but that doesn't mean I can't get a head start on the research. In addition to subscribing to Hobby Farms magazine, I have bought a few books: including Keeping a Family Cow, The Encyclopedia of Country Living which is the one I'm looking forward most to diving into constantly in the years to come. It promises to teach me "how to cultivate a garden, buy land, bake bread, raise farm animals, make sausage, milk a goat, grow herbs, churn butter, catch a pig, make soap, work with bees and more!"

I Hate Summer

2011-06-27T12:08:00.004-06:00

I don't understand why anyone would like summer. These are a few reasons why I hate it:

It's hot. Way too hot.

Oh, the humidity!

Sweating

Sweat=stink

Extra pimples

Sunburn

To avoid sunburn you must put on goopy, smelly, sticky lotion that makes your skin shiny and more pimply

Frizzy hair

It's so darn hot I don't understand why anyone wants to leave the house

Air conditioning=high electric bills

Your makeup melts right off your face

You have to shave your legs more

It's so much harder to sleep when it's hot

Pit stains are not classy

Just Another Day

2011-04-13T15:51:00.001-06:00

Here are the lyrics to the Paul McCartney song. It's my sister's theme song and I just think it's a great song for someone who doesn't have a lot going on (aka me).

Every day she takes a morning bath she wets her hair
Wraps a towel around her as she's heading for the bedroom chair
It's just another day
Slipping into stockings, stepping into shoes
Dipping in the pocket of her raincoat
It's just another day
At the office where the papers grow she takes a break
Drinks another coffe and she finds it hard to stay awake
It's just another day

So sad, do sad
Sometimes she feels so sad
Alone in her apartment she'd dwell
Till the man of her dreams come to break the spell
Ah, stay, don't stand her up
And he comes and he stays but he leaves the next day
So sad
Sometimes she feels so sad

As she posts another letter to the sound of five
People gather 'round her and she finds it hard to stay alive

Ev'ry day she takes a morning bath she wets her hair
Wraps a towel around her as she's heading for the bedroom chair
It's just another day
Slipping into stockings, stepping into shoes
Dipping in the pocket of her raincoat
It's just another day

Health Nut

2011-03-15T10:59:00.005-06:00

So recently I've been trying to eat healthier, mostly for optimum fertility. I've been drinking supersmoothies with SPINACH in them to get lots of folate. They are pretty tasty and it's a very easy way to get tons of fruits and veggies into my diet. I'm also supposed to be eating lots of nuts to raise my HDL (good cholesterol) but I am not a fan of almonds and walnuts, the healthiest nuts. So I've been making homemade granola to get them in. Granola is a great way to get fit in lots of good things in one meal/snack. I eat it with milk and a spoon and in one bowl I get OATS, ALMONDS, WALNUTS, SESAME SEEDS, SUNFLOWER SEEDS, PUMPKIN SEEDS and FLAX SEEDS. Sometimes I put coconut in it and dried cranberries just make it yummier.

I have also been reading about SPROUTING. You can soak nuts or seeds and get them to actually sprout and I guess the nutritional value is very elevated. So I tried it this weekend and now I have some sprouted BUCKWHEAT. But now I have no idea what to do with it...

A Visit To The Country

2011-02-24T17:08:00.005-07:00

Some of you may know that I come from a long line of hillbillies. My roots are in southern Missouri in the countriest part of the country I've ever been to. I have the sweetest old country granny there and Mark, Katie and I visited last week just for a day. I love to hear my Granny talk in her thick, country accent and every thing she says comes out humorous.

One of the best parts of the trip was meeting my five-year-old second cousin, Jared. He was just as country as Granny. Example: he went outside to play minigolf by himself. He didn't have a golf club so he used an axe that was as tall as he was. Oh boy.

But the very best part was when we went with Granny to let out her chickens. She also has two turkeys and my little fluffy puppy Fred did not like the way one of them ruffled his feathers.

Why didn't I live in Canadia in the 90s??

2010-11-18T12:30:00.004-07:00

Many of you know that The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery is my favorite book. Well it is depending on the day or how recently I've read Anne of Green Gables but mostly it is The Blue Castle.

I recently found out that The Blue Castle was a stage musical in the 90s! And I missed it! OK, I did not know of its existence back then, but still. Maybe it will come back one day?

"If it had not rained on a certain May morning Valancy Stirling's whole life would have been entirely different."

Isn't that a thrilling start to the book??

He redeemed himself!

2010-03-23T18:05:00.002-06:00

Now I feel kinda bad about my complaining yesterday. When I came home today, he had done a bunch of dishes and straightened up the living room and even lit candles! Nice hubby.

I'm a newlywed. It's wonderfulslashfrustrating living with a boy.

2010-03-22T10:14:00.004-06:00

I'm such a bad blogger. I've go to do better. I really will try.

I did want to share a picture with the world (three readers?). Was going to just send this photo to my sister...then thought I'd just post it here so I can vent a litte.

I am newly married. I love being married, my husband and I really have a good time together. But he's just a mess. In so many ways. There are things that most people care about that he just doesn't give a thought.

Take this bag of Cocoa Pebbles. He thinks it's OK to just rip open the bag any which way, as long as it's open. He does the same with crackers, chips, whatever.

I tell him that when you open the cereal bag this way, the cereal just won't stay as fresh (imagine the bag all the way full). Also, when you go to pour the cereal, half of it will spill back in to the box before it hits the bowl. He thinks I am absolutely crazy and OCD for caring about this.

All I need is someone to tell me I'm not crazy.

Anyone?

Chris McMillan Wants Me To Have Pretty Hair

2009-09-17T16:15:00.002-06:00

Instead of working this afternoon, I took a few minutes to look at the educational website, www.allure.com

Since all of our hair is going to get drier in the coming months, I thought I'd share a tip that I learned. Chris McMillan (fabulous hairdresser to the stars and frequent "Hair Guy" for Allure) says:

"Every time I see a head of fried hay-hair walk into the salon, I have the same recipe: Mix two tablespoons each of a rinse-out conditioner, a leave-in conditioner, a deep conditioner, and a hair mask in a bowl. Wet two large towels, wring them out, and put one in the microwave for a minute. Comb the mixture through clean, damp hair, and wrap it all up in the hot towel. Heat the second towel and alternate, repeating two or three more times. Do this once a week—it makes hair much softer."

Let's all try it!

For more tricks and tips:

http://www.allure.com/magazine/hair/chrismcmillan/chris_mcmillan_questions

How we did the Dew.

2009-05-24T13:16:00.004-06:00

We took Mountain Dew Live Wire and Mountain Dew Voltage and mixed them into the yummiest beverage that tastes like gummy bears.

Oh, the luck!

2009-04-29T17:42:00.004-06:00

I just had to share this magical moment with you all. Today seemed like an ordinary day as I left work, but when I got in my car and started Vanessa up, I glanced at my odometer and saw the most wonderful thing ever! This has got to be lucky, right?

111111. Dude. Can't wait for my good fortune to begin and I hope it rubs off on all of my friends!

xoxo
stef

Stephanie's Own Dictionary

2009-04-22T11:48:00.002-06:00

So, when you do a spell check on an email or document, and it comes across an error, it asks you if you want to IGNORE, CHANGE, or ADD. When it is a slang word or a made up word that I use a lot, I add it to my dictionary so the stupid spell checker doesn't bug me everytime! Here is the list of all the words I have added:

Ahhhhhh
AimE
Aww
ae
ahhhhhhh
ahhhhhhhh
aimster
ain't
alaska
am'onna
amazon
amy
amy's
annnnd
annnnnnnd
anthropologie
april
argh
arrgh
austen
awesomer
awesomest
aww
awww
awwww
awwwww
awwwwww
awwwwwww
Benetint
bday
bf's
bff
bff's
bfffffff
bffs
blahhhh
blahhhhhh
blahhhhhhhh
blahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
blog
breffass
brinner
bronde
buyitformethanks
buymeonethanks
buymesomethanks
byeeeeeee
byeeeeeeeee
byeeeeeeeeeee
chelle
chelle's
chicas
confoosed
convo
cpk
craaaaaap
cuz
d'know
december
defo
degrassi
delisher
diggity
dinnah
doin
dowistrepla
dumm
eeewww
enuf
espana
euro
ew
eww
ewww
excalibur
expedia
fab
fam
fave
faves
fekkai
fo
forill
forreal
freakin
funnee
funneee
funnnneeeeeee
funnyandsmartandgreat
funnyfunny
g'head
geez
gidget
girlier
glamazon
gonna
google
goood
gooood
goooood
goooooood
gotta
grrrrr
grrrrrrr
gunna
HoCho
haha
hahaha
hahahaha
hahahahaha
hairspiration
happenin
hawaii
hehe
hellllooooooo
hilar
himym
hmmmm
hmmmmm
hmmmmmm
hmmmmmmm
hoodies
hott
howwww
insupportin
jap
japanese
jello
Kel
Kool
kaaaaaatie
kate
katee
katie
katie's
kelly
kelly's
kinda
kmb
l.m.
laaaame
landjaeger
liz
liz's
lol
longstocking
looooove
lucy
Mmmm
Mudhouse
mags
makin
markus
michael
michelle
michelle's
mj
mmmmm
mmmmmm
mmmmmmmmm
mwahahaha
myboys
Nooooo
nappin
nbk
neew
nkotb
noooo
nooooo
noooooo
nooooooo
noooooooo
nooooooooooo
nothin
nsync
nuh
OHCH's
Ohh
Ohhh
Okie
Oooh
OooOoh
OwOwOwOwOw
ohh
ohhh
ohhhh
ohhhhh
ohhhhhh
ohhhhhhh
ohhhhhhhh
omg
oooh
ooooh
oooohhh
oooooh
ooooooh
orrrrrr
orrrrrrr
orrrrrrrrr
oui
oy
Pattinson
paramore
pippi
pleeeeeease
pleeeeeeeease
poo
poos
prob
probablamente
psshh
punny
purdy
rad
reeeeeeally
reeeeeeeeeally
rewatch
roadtrip
roland
S'okay
Schlotzsky's
Smashbox
Stila
schlotzsky's
schmeltz
schmooooooot
schmooot
schulz
sephora
sheesh
shmear
shooooooooooot
shooooooooot
shooooooot
si
siiiiigh
siiiiiighs
siiiiiiiiigh
smashbox
somethin
sooo
soooo
sooooo
soooooo
sooooooo
spf
starbucks
stef
stef's
steff
steph
stephanie
stepuptwothestreets
stila
stoopid
stripey
studly
stuf
supercool
superdelicious
superfunee
superhealthy
superromantic
supertall
surrrrrre
sweetums
swoony
sytycd
Thaaaaaanks
Twilighters
Tyra
texas
texted
thankssomuch
thanksyourethebest
thanksyourthebest
thinkin
thinspiration
tooo
ughhhh
ughs
uhhhhhhhh
ummm
ummmm
ummmmm
ummmmmm
ummmmmmm
unlessssss
Valancy
vacay
vegas
volvo
Wooohooo
waaaaaaaaaah
waaaaaaaaah
waaaaaaahhhhhhhhh
waaaaaaay
waaaaaah
waaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh
waaaahhhhh
waaaahhhhhhh
wahhhhhh
wahhhhhhh
wahhhhhhhhhh
wanna
weeeeird
weeeird
wester
whatcha
whatdoyasay
whatev
whatevs
whenev
whenevs
wherevs
whyyy
whyyyy
whyyyyyy
woooooo
woop
ya
yay
yoghut
yummmmmm
zoop

Feel free to use any of these words in your everyday language.

xoxo
stef

We got a dog!

2009-04-20T10:30:00.010-06:00

Meet Lucy.

Well, it's Lucy Maud Montgomery Schulz, actually.

She is from Australia, but has an American accent. She likes to pee in my bed, shed all over everything, and eat our window blinds.

She is sooooo sweet, but is pretty much the dunce of her doggie class.

xoxo
stef

Duck, Duck, Duck...

2009-04-14T14:08:00.004-06:00

I'm such a good cook. I made duck for Easter and it was super yummy. Just wanted to share the pics!

And I didn't know how to carve the thing so I cut it in half with kitchen shears and plopped it on my plate as is!

I know you're all jealous!!

xoxo
stef

boys, boys, boys...

2009-04-04T20:01:00.013-06:00

Ok, when I was in high school my sister and I made a list of our most favorite famous guys and I just found it the other day...this is probably from about 1994 and very detailed....Stephanie loves her boys!

LIST 1 - THE HOTTEST GUYS IN THE WORLD:
Ethan Hawke
Tom Cruise
Christian Bale
Andrew McCarthy
River Phoenix (best hair ever)

LIST 2 - VERY HOT GUYS WITH WHOM WE HAVE A STRONG EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT:
Kevin Bacon
John Cusack
Matt Dillon
Michael J Fox
Michael Schoeffling
Rick Schroeder
Scott Wolf

LIST 3 - VERY HOT GUYS WITH WHOM WE HAVE SOME EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT:
Matthew Broderick
Nicholas Cage
Cary Elwes
Emelio Estevez
Matthew Fox
Donovan Leitch
Jason London
Jeremy London
Rob Lowe
Dermott Mulroney
Brad Pitt
Charlie Sheen
Christian Slater

LIST 5 - HOT GUYS WITH WHOM WE HAVE LITTLE OR NO EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT:
Billy Baldwin
Randall Batinkoff
Kyle Chandler
George Clooney
Patrick Dempsey
Johnny Depp
Leonardo Dicaprio
Stephen Dorff
Michael Goorjian
Corey Haim
Val Kilmer
Robert Sean Leonard
Chris O'Donnell
Dennis Quaid
Ethan Randall
Keanu Reeves
James Spader

LIST 6 - MEN WHO USED TO BE VERY HOT BUT ARE NOW EITHER TOO OLD OR DEAD:
Marlon Brando
Montgomery Clift
James Dean
Paul Newman
Robert Redford
Christopher Reeves

If you will notice, they are in alphabetical order...16-year-old Stephanie is so cool. Of course this list would change now but it was fun to think of how much thought I must have put into creating this list forever ago...

xoxo
stef

Google It

2009-03-27T10:47:00.004-06:00

Google it. This is a common phrase, right? Everyone says it. A million times a day. But I just overheard a conversation at work between two gals trying to find some information, particularly a restaurant menu and phone number. Then my southern co-worker asks the other, "Did you google 'em up?"

Google them up?

Just a little story.

xoxo
stef

A Glamorous Deal!

2009-03-23T09:35:00.003-06:00

So this year is Glamour magazine's 70th anniversary...and so we can join in the celebration too, all of Wet N Wild's 99-cent nail polish will be 70 cents from March 10 to April 10, 2009! If you're not up to doing the math, that's a whopping 29-cent savings per bottle. It's a recessionista's dream! Let's all stock up!

xoxo
stef

Welcome!

2009-03-23T09:29:00.003-06:00

Hello, all my beautiful friends! Just want to say welcome to my blog! I hope to fill my entries with loads of stephanieness. I hope you're never bored. And if you are, you're the one who's boring...

xoxo
stef

ps - thanks to amy for the help!