Monday music, vol. 17: Paradise City

Every Monday, I'll be sharing a pick-me-up song with the hopes of helping you begin your week on a positive note. Happy Monday!

This song never fails to remind me of three things:

1. my husband "air drumming" at the beginning of the song (we do it every time we hear it)
2. the scene with William Lichter in Can't Hardly Wait
3. my brother and sister-in-law's wedding (they recessed down the aisle to this song — it was so "them"!)

Buy this song here.

bet your bottom dollar

I think it's time I share with you all the secret to my marriage. Well, maybe it's not the only secret to staying happy and minimizing conflict, but as equally stubborn Leos, it is one that Nick and I use often, and it works like a charm. It is...

the dollar bet.

image source

That's right: whenever Nick and I disagree over a fact-based matter, we bet a dollar that one of us has the right answer. If it's something that IMDB, Wikipedia, or Google can clear up for us, we bet a hundred cents, and all arguments cease. We break out the iPhones and when one of us wins (ahem, usually me), the other can't argue — he just has to hand over a buck and wallow in his wrongness. We even bet a dollar on the racing Septa bus competition (Red! No, blue!) that is shown on the jumbotron at Phillies games. It's silly, but I have to say that winning a dollar is the ultimate satisfaction, because you have something to show for your victory. And believe me, we each like to gloat when we prove the other wrong. We're very mature.

I only wish that when we started making dollar bets (years ago... I don't even know how long we've been doing it), we had started keeping track of who wins each bet. I am pretty sure I'd be in the lead...

What's your method for squashing disagreements?

i'm alive.

Hey guys... sorry I've been so quiet this week. I have been a little preoccupied with work and feeling a tad uninspired on the blog front. I'm going to take a little break until next week, when I hope that my blog juices will be a-flowin' again! Thanks for sticking around while I take a breather :)

Monday music, vol. 16: Here Comes the Sun

Every Monday, I'll be sharing a pick-me-up song with the hopes of helping you begin your week on a positive note. Happy Monday!

Spring seems to have finally arrived in the northeast (after some back-and-forth "is it winter or is it summer?" confusion). Here comes the sun.

yummy (and easy) taco soup

Some fabulous people we know had a beautiful baby girl on Thursday. We had the opportunity to meet her today (she is really cute!) and we packaged up some easily reheat-able dinners that we brought over for the new parents, knowing that they might be a tad too busy to cook in the coming weeks.

One of the meals we made was taco soup — I found the recipe ages ago on sparkpeople.com, and Nick and I really enjoyed it when I made it before, but we had since forgotten about it. I like it because it's not quite as heavy as chili, but it still has a similar kick to it. It makes 9 servings, so we packed up a few containers for our friends and saved a little for ourselves for dinner tonight. It's delicious, super easy to make, and doesn't dirty a lot of dishes. (This feature is of particular importance to my husband, the designated dish washer of our household.)

Taco Soup
found via sparkpeople.com, modified by me

1 lb. lean ground turkey
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes w/green chilies
1 4 oz. can chopped green chilies
2 11 oz. cans corn (not drained)
2 15 oz. cans dark kidney beans (not drained)
1 pkg. taco seasoning

Optional toppings:
Tortilla chips
Shredded Cheese
Sour Cream

In a large pot, brown ground turkey over medium heat. Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, green chilies, corn, kidney beans, and taco seasoning. Bring to boil, and then simmer for 15 more minutes, stirring often. Serve and enjoy. Garnish with chips, cheese, and sour cream, if desired.

Serves 9

We added a little shredded cheese but skipped the chips and sour cream — still delicious!

ETA: obviously, this recipe could be made with fresh vegetables as well (which would cut back on the sodium) — but if you're low on fresh veggies and time, canned items are a great solution.

yes, I NEED it.

This sweet polka dot swimsuit reminds me of one I had as a little girl... and I really do NEED another bathing suit before summer arrives. Really, I do!

via J.Crew

Handmade Nation

image via buyolympia.com

Last night I attended a screening of Handmade Nation, an indie documentary by Faythe Levine about the craft movement. I bought the book by the same name last year, but seeing the artists' stories played out on screen was delightful and re-inspiring.

Photos via Handmade Nation blog

If you are an independent artist or interested in pursuing a craft, I highly recommend seeing this film to get your creative juices a-flowin'. It's available on DVD or there are screenings nationwide. Or, pick up the book!

image via Handmade Nation on Flickr

rainbow

It's a yucky, rainy day here today. I'm just going to keep looking at this pretty photo and hope that a real rainbow will show up with the sun when it comes out later. (Please, sun?)

photo by Livia Cetti, found via Oh Happy Day

how to make grocery store flowers look like a million bucks.

Let me begin by saying I greatly admire the work of florists. I do. And I love my mom a lot. But when I'm buying her flowers for Mother's Day (and living on a budget), I can't fork over $50 for a pretty bouquet of something that will die in a week. Just. Can't. Do it.

I have always been a fan of buying grocery store flowers, but of course you don't get the same beautiful presentation in a Trader Joe's bouquet as you would with a professional florist's bouquet. Something about that price tag on plastic secured with a rubber band... just not doin' it for me. Fortunately, if you're resourceful, you can make grocery store flowers look like a million bucks in five minutes.

What you'll need:

1. grocery store flowers — I bought two bunches of sunflowers from Trader Joe's ($4.99 per bunch of 5)
2. brown postal wrap — I'm still working with the 75 square feet ($2.50) I got last Christmas!
3. scissors — I used pinking shears to add some character with the zigzag effect
4. ribbon or baker's twine — I used green and white baker's twine

Step one:
Remove the store packaging from your flowers and trim the stems (if necessary). Arrange flowers however you'd like and secure your arrangement in place with a piece of twine tied in a bow around the stems.

Step two:
Cut a piece of postal wrap — I cut a piece about the length of the flower stems (from the bottom of the flower buds). Any longer and you won't be able to see your flowers peeking out when they're all wrapped up! And, in case you're like me and can't cut a straight line, I fold over my paper and crease it where I want to cut it, then follow along that crease with my scissors. Works like a charm.

Step three:
Line your flowers up along one side of your postal wrap (with the cut edge at the top of your bouquet if you used pinking shears). Gently roll your postal wrap with the flowers to the opposite side to create a cone-like shape with the wrap. Make sure the bottom of the wrap is more tapered as you roll it to achieve the desired effect.

Step four:
Wrap a long piece of twine around the middle of your postal wrap a few times and tie a bow.

There you go! Now that looks way better than flowers wrapped in plastic, doesn't it?

Monday music, vol. 15: If We Ever Meet Again

Every Monday, I'll be sharing a pick-me-up song with the hopes of helping you begin your week on a positive note. Happy Monday!

Most of my selections for Monday music are older songs that bring back happy memories for me... but this one is a little different. I heard this song a million times last week, and it put me in a good mood each time — t's poppy and certainly nothing groundbreaking, but it makes me want to dance. I'm sure I'll be sick of it in another week or two, but for now, I like it (and the video is delightfully cheesy). Enjoy!


Buy this song here.

happy Mother's Day

Aren't moms the best?

my mom and me, circa 1984

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there.

Luren Jenison

When we have our own house someday, I'd love to paint some sort of mural in a tucked away space, or maybe my home studio space. I'm earmarking this amazing piece for inspiration; the cross-stitch effect is genius and I love that it doesn't require the entire wall to be covered with the design. You could have little bits and pieces of the design throughout the room.

by Luren Jenison, found via designworklife