Summer Color

Even though it's October, the air is getting cool and crisp, and Halloween costumes are on everyone's minds, I thought I'd do a quick garden flashback to early summer, and post about the annuals I stuck in the ground back then. Even though it's a pain to plant every year, I like having different color in the flower beds, and I usually don't find perennials in a style or price range that I like. Until I do, whatever annuals I find at Lowe's for around $1are it!

flowers along the path

Petunias up front, and my lone Snapdragon left over from 2 years ago! I thought those things were annuals, but this guy has stuck it out through two winters. Don't mind the dead thing in the back... he was a goner from day 1!

Some sort of puffball-looking thing. I loved the bright purpley-fushia color against the stone on the house!

Purslane and some other drought-tolerant thing that I can't remember. The purslane took over and choked out the other stuff within weeks, that jerk!

Purple and pink petunias

What I Wore Wednesday

Since I'm sorta re-launching this blog venture, I decided to jump onto some regularly scheduled blog prompts - you know, like What I Wore Wednesday, Meatless Monday, Miscellany Monday (which makes me think of Manic Monday - hmmm...posts about crazy Mondays??), What I Love Wednesday, Insta-Friday, Oh, How Pinteresting... and I'm sure that there are a thousand more.
So.. today we're trying this What I Wore Wednesday (WIWW) experiment. (Meatless Monday is never gonna happen in our house. I made the mistake of mentioning that Meatless Monday was a 'thing' and ever since then, Rob will call me out anytime I make something meatless... He may not notice it if it's a non-Monday. But Mondays are most definitely out! Haha) This could totally be both the first and last WIWW post that I ever compose, but I have the best intentions.. so you'll forgive me :)
Today I only had 1 clean pair of work pants that I feel comfortable in, so I started with those. They're these lightweight patina green cotton pants that I've had forever. They've faded out over the past few years, but it kinda looks like that's how they're supposed to be, so that works! I got them taken in at the waist at some point, so the tag with the brand is gone. Then I just paired it with a new gray 3/4 sleeve thin sweater, since it's getting cooler out...and then my go-to leopard print satin wedges. These shoes are great because they give the impression of cute little satin flats, but they actually have a small 2 1/2 inch wedge heel. They're comfy, but can make any outfit a little more glam with the leopard print (which we all know IS a neutral!) This ensemble would've been kinda boring with black or nude shoes - but that little pop of print at the bottom just makes it.

Top: OneA, TJ Maxx, $15. Pants: Either Limited or Express, via TJ Maxx. Shoes: Tahari, TJ Maxx, $30

Weird angle for a picture, but it works. I'll get better :) And yes, this was in my office. I had to sneak over to the corner because I was worried someone would walk in on me taking a picture of myself. How much of a dork am I?? Haha!
There is also something known as a link party, (or linky party if you're feeling cutesy and say things like "twinsies" and "totes" haha). But this whole blogging thing is somewhat new to me, I'm not up on the hipster lingo yet! I think it's basically adding yourself to someone else's WIWW post, so that others will see yours and visit your blog. Not sure if I'm ready for public consumption yet :) Maybe I'll try that next time...

Meanwhile...I was complimented on my hair today by my former supervisor. She told me it's getting really long and pretty (Aww, gee thanks! Really, it's long because I'm lazy and cheap - I haven't had a haircut in probably close to 9 months!) But I'll take the compliment!

Loving this style - I side-part it, section it out, curl the pieces with a 1 1/2 in curling iron, and let it fall out a little. Total time: approx. 15 min.

It's Not Who You Are...

Source: http://www.etsy.com/listing/29509566/its-not-who-you-are-that-holds-you-back
I saw a post from Women at Forty where the author (who I'm assuming is someone in her 40s, but I'll be honest - I located her post in a search for the above graphic) took an honest look at herself - what she is guilty of telling herself that she is NOT, and then what she IS (and those things are harder to tell yourself - why is that?)

What I am guilty of telling myself that I'm NOT:
perfect
great at balance
organized
a daily exerciser
tall
smart enough
generous enough
strong enough
a perfect workout picture on Pinterest (and will never be!)
super confident

What I AM (and need to do a better job of remembering):
loved by many
admired
openminded
a woman with faith in herself, her loved ones, and the world
positive thinking
a FABulous self-stylist
kindhearted
one who tries to be better every day
one who appreciates beauty in everything most everything
sassy when needed
honest
a good listener
a great talker!

I think I'll make myself a deal - when I'm feeling bummed about the things that I'm NOT, I will pull out the list of things that I AM... and read them over and over again until I'm dne with my pity party! Sound like a plan?

I'm BACK in the Saddle Aga-eh-in

...sing that post title in the key of Steven Tyler.

It's been a while. Moving on...
Cilantro butter is one of the best things you can do for fish. This is from myrecipes.com:

Ingredients:
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
4 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets
Cooking spray
1 lemon, quartered
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

Combine first 3 ingredients; sprinkle over both sides of fish. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Coat both sides of fish with cooking spray; place in pan. Cook 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Place fish on a serving platter; squeeze lemon quarters over fish.

Place butter and remaining ingredients in a small bowl; stir until well blended. Serve with fish.

Nutrition Information:
CALORIES: 194 (32 % from fat)
FAT: 6.9 g (sat: 3.1 g, mono: 2.5 g, poly: 0.6 g)
CARBOHYDRATE: 1.2 g
FIBER: 0.2 g
CALCIUM: 32 mg
CHOLESTEROL: 88 mg
IRON: 0.7 mg
PROTEIN: 30.5 g
SODIUM: 354 mg
http://m.myrecipes.com/details/searchR.rbml?id=10000001142036.xml&bcat=search&cat=Search%20Result&fl=recipe/skillet-fillets-with-cilantro-butter-10000001142036/

Living Room Decor

My headings are the most boring headings in all the land.
Anyway...

Time to post pics of what the living room has been looking like lately. We had the sectional separated into its 3 pieces for a while. It worked in some ways, but not in others - we couldn't use 1/3 of it (the chaise part) because there is no cushion (Peegate 2010, ahem... Pepper... We still haven't gotten it replaced, but that's the plan. Ugh. Pets!)

I digress. So, the chaise was out in left field by itself, and basically was only used by the cat, who would get up there regardless of what we wanted her to do. I admitted defeat and threw a towel on there, so at least all her little hairs aren't imbedded into the couch base.

Real life - blankets strewn, towel on the cat's lounge chaise lounge, laptop hanging out on the couch, ya know... the exciting life we live.

Adding on to the wall, frame by frame. I need to find something un-frame-like to break it up a little.

The mantle. I'm pretty happy with it, even if leaning the mirror came from plain ol' laziness when we moved in. I've had the wrought iron thingy since my apartment days, and I like it leaning there :) The mercury glass candle globe-y things were from TJ Maxx, as well as all of the candles. And the wooden candle lantern was on clearance at World Market for $8, because it had a small scratch on one piece of the glass. The non-scratched ones were $20!

The giant, wood-framed mirror was a lucky-as-hell $14.99 Target clearance purchase from when I worked there in college. It was originally part of that limited Global Bazaar line $150, and a lady returned it while I was working at the Guest Service desk. It just so happened that all the Global Bazaar stuff was marked down to 90% off - they were clearing it out, and all that was left of that section were single cloth napkins and weird odds & ends, and this lady walks in with a kickass item! I saw her walking up to the desk and called dibs. Huge Target perk there!

A you-are-not-a-photographer pic of my newest little pretty thing up there.

This is just to the right of the TV. I still need something to go on the other side...

I do have this, which doesn't have a home yet. It's been sitting up in the entryway on the console table. (You can see our paint samples here - I'll post that when I actually get around to cleaning taking the pictures!)

And here is the TV stand we found at HomeGoods. We needed something on the small side, since we didn't want the room to be completely filled with furniture. I want to get some low-profile shelves (like the leaning kind) to go on either side at some point.

So, that's it for now. I'll post more as we go along :)

**UPDATE**

So I had a root canal done Monday, and afterwards I was feeling so great that we wandered over to some of the shops nearby. My endodontist's office just happens to be right next to one of my favorite shopping areas because they have pretty much every store I love: Target, World Market, Pier 1, and of course...a HomeGoods/TJ Maxx combo store. The funny thing is, I don't really remember wandering around shopping. This morning I was trying to remember when we got our newest stuff, and it's only then that I realized it was only YESTERDAY! I was on some major painkillers. (Which is why the rest of the afternoon was spent getting sick. Gross, I know. Toooo many painkillers!)

Anyway, I'm glad I was feeling so great immediately after the appointment, because we found a great deal on one of those folding stair-step styles shelves at Pier 1. It was the floor model, and it had some dings in the back, so we asked for a discount. You'll never see the back, but Pier 1 doesn't have to know that; they gave us an additional 15% off :)  Woo hoo! Here it is, in our living room, alongside the entertainment console:

With the discount, it came out to around $127! I've been eyeing a shelf like this for the side of our console forever, and I see them everywhere - but I always hold off, because they're usually at a much higher price, like this one from Pottery Barn:

http://www.potterybarn.com/products/studio-wall-shelf/?pkey=ccabinets

So cute, but at $299, it's definitely out of my price range. Our patience paid off, and our white shelf came out about 57% cheaper than the PB design!

Spring & Summer Yard

Some of what's up in the yard this summer. Some before/after shots for ya...

Before:

After: (mid-summer, Lantana planted in front of the Indian Hawthornes)

After: Updated 8/23 - the Lantana are now ca-ray-zeee...

Some of them have grown better than the others, for reasons I can't explain. But some color is all I'm after, so it works I guess.

These are the two to the right. The far right is also a different color than the others. (Lesson learned: make sure whatever you're buying has blooms, so you know what to expect!)

And this is the one that just can't get going. Poor little guy! He's front and center, it's like he got stage fright.

Before: (plain walkway, dying Chinese somethingorother on the left)

After: (baby Petunias planted along the walkway, Chinese somethingorother still looking decrepit)

After: (mid-summer, a shot of the lone Snapdragon left from the summer or 2010)

After: (mid-summer, the baby Petunias growing)

Ummm, except this guy... Uh, nothing to see here! Moving on!

Before:

After: (view of the new baby Petunias)

Before: (sad little Chinese somethingorother, there to bring your whole day down as you walk up to the front porch)

After: (mid-summer, looking so much better)

After: Updated 8/23 - this little guy has made a full recovery :) And the baby petunias have gotten huge!

Before: (the other sad little Chinese somethingorother, also dragging you down as you walk around to the side of the house)

After: Oops, don't have one. Stay tuned...

More Paint!

Coming soon... pics of the dining room, kitchen, entryway, office, laundry room, and hallways...all painted and lookin' pretty. Get ready for some Filtered Shade.
:)

Bathroom Chaos

Finally got serious about getting the cabinet organized ok my side of the bathroom. It always looks worse before it looks better, right??