Fighting a Cold - Again

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I didn't mean to take an extended posting break (again) but this weekend wore me out so much that I came down with a cold and have been battling it every since. Hopefully I'll be back to normal in a couple days. I'm going back to sleep now.

Modern American Girl - Kirsten Saves the Day

This was another one of my favorite Kirsten books. I'd like to think that back in the pioneer days I'd be able to escape from a bear, but let's be honest, if I saw a bear today and it started charging me I'd probably be dead. I doubt I have the knowledge/skills to survive a bear attack. Unless it was a koala bear or something, then I'd be too busy trying to cuddle it. But those were simpler times back then and everybody knew how to climb trees to get away from bears. (Although personally, I'd be more afraid of the bazillion bee stings Kirsten would have gotten if she had gone ahead with her plan to take the honey.)

But let's talk about how cute this dress is. Looking at it now I'm getting a few Dorothy vibes, but I think it's adorable and I want a dress like that to wear on hot summer evenings by the lake.

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Monday Miscellany and the Luck of the Irish

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The main question is, why did I not make these for St. Patrick's Day? Next year my my friends, next year.

I'm back from my little posting break. This weekend was relaxing, fantastic, and just what I needed. St. Patrick's Day was pretty low key which was unexpected but ended up being perfect. Neither of us are very Irish (I'm not at all, and I think Kacey only has a tiny bit of Irish blood in him) but I happen to really like Irish dance, art, and folk music so I'm all about getting in on the fun. Kacey and I did our pre-marriage counseling Saturday morning, then had a a great Irish lunch of corned beef and cabbage plus a little Jameson and Guinness at a little pub I just discovered in my town (I've only been here for what, 9 months? sheesh) and then headed back to Kacey's to bottle his beer (did I mention he started home brewing? I don't drink beer but I still think it's pretty cool). Later that night we met up with some friends for a night out which oddly did not include going to any Irish bars. In fact we ended up at a German themed pub. I don't even know.

Sunday was really fun because Kacey and I went apartment hunting for our first apartment together! We had a few really good showings and we put in applications for 2 places so fingers crossed that one of them works out! The one we love is a 2 story townhouse with a half finished basement and it sounds like the landlord will pretty much let you do whatever to the place. I really hope we get it, and I think we'll find out this week.

Be Right Back

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I'm going to take a quick, somewhat unintentional blogging break this week. Everything is sort of piling up right now with working unusually late hours at work, trying to finish up the majority of wedding planning, some actual serious exercise business that's been happening, and the weather suddenly being gorgeous outside and taking advantage of every brief minute of it. I just need to step back for a tiny bit and try to hammer everything out in actual life. But it will be business as usual next week! And I may still post the next Modern American Girl installment at its normal Thursday time since it's pretty much all ready to go.  Have a great week!

Healthy Living

Becky and Me circa 2009 when we lived in California together. Also a giant glass of water. 

I'm so excited about this that I had to share. One of my best friends (and former roommate and bridesmaid) has started a fitness and healthy lifestyle blog to share her knowledge while becoming a certified trainer and nutrition specialist! I'm so excited to have her join the blogging world and to read all the advice that she has to share. This crazy girl is training to run a 50k (aka 31 miles). Yes, you read that correctly. It's longer than a marathon. I complain about how far I have to walk from my car to work. I figure anyone who has the stamina to run 31 miles up and down a mountain knows what she's talking about. So go check out her blog Find Your Courage.

Modern American Girl - Happy Birthday Kirsten

I don't really remember much about this book. What stands out are brief scenes of all the women sitting around sewing a gigantic quilt while the men built a barn at their barn raising. Also that this was a very special day because her hair wasn't in  braids, it was down.  I think there was a big barn dance at the end, and there were kitties involved. But really, what book or Polyvore set couldn't be improved with the addition of kittens?

But let's talk about this outfit, Kirsten. You've sort of got this hippie meets hipster look going on with the flower wreath and the pink dress matched with the red boots. Bold choice. We're going to pretend you had a gig modeling for the pioneer version of Free People's catalog and give you some Doc Martens paired with a cute little floral dress. You can keep the wreath (what was with this girl and hair wreaths?) since once again you had 8 year old me wishing that I could wear a crown of flowers on my head. Also, kitties.

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Also, I had a guest post about my Cirrus Duvet DIY over on Effortless Anthopologie. Check it out!

Sink or Swim

I'm the first to admit that I hate trying on swimsuits. With that harsh fitting room lighting and those horrible mirrors it's no wonder everyone thinks they look terrible.  Still, it's been unusually warm here (it's supposed to get up to 60 degrees today. 60!! Not sure how that works seeing as there's still snow on the ground, but I'll take it!) and that has me thinking about summer and honeymooning in Hawaii! As stores start unveiling their swim lines I can't help but notice a few fun trends popping up. Guess it's time to start working out again!

Neon Brights

Victoria's Secret, Target

A Hint of Retro

Anthropologie, J.Crew

Girly Ruffles

J.Crew, Anthropologie

Almost Stripes

Ralph Lauren, La Blanca

Rosemary Chicken Flatbread

I've been cooking up a storm lately, so here's another food post for you. This is what I like to call "what to do with the other half of the rotisserie chicken you bought to make posole".  Oddly I've never made my own pizza before, but since this combines some of my favorite things (olive oil, mozzarella, chicken, and spinach) I was pretty sure it would taste delicious. I started with this recipe for rosemary chicken pizza and did a few adjustments to account for the fact that my chicken was already cooked.

I made dough from a powder mix I had in my pantry. It was ok, I think next time I'll make it from scratch.

Mix olive oil and seasonings together and coat chicken. Note: only use a few tablespoons of olive oil instead of the 1/4 cup since the chicken is already cooked. Otherwise it's waaaay to much and will soak through the crust which will prevent it from cooking properly. And no need to marinate, just go right on to the next step, which is:

Sauté chicken with onions and garlic because chicken is always better like that. This also gets rid of some excess oil in case you did put the whole 1/4 cup of olive oil on the chicken. Whoops. 

Brush a coat of olive oil on the crust, layer chicken/onion/garlic mixture, spinach, and chopped sun dried tomatoes.

Dump a ton of mozzarella on top just because you can.

Bake 20-30 minutes until the cheese is nice, golden and bubbly. Enjoy. Try not to drool everywhere.

Friday Inspiration

Creature Comforts 

I've been insanely busy this week with wedding planning, so here's some pretty color inspiration to kick off the weekend. I need a break and a drink. How about you?

Modern American Girl - Kirsten's Surprise

This was my favorite Kirsten story and actually one of my favorites out of all the American Girl books. It had all sorts of cool stuff in it - adventure, a blizzard, camping out in a cave, planning secret surprises for your parents, and most importantly she got to wear a wreath with lit candles on her head!!!!! This was the epitome of awesome for me as a kid and I spend the next few years parading around the house with our Advent wreath on my head trying to convince my mom to light the candles. Strangely, she never went for that idea.  I also loved the idea of St. Lucia Day and bringing coffee and sweet rolls to everyone to start the morning. In fact, though I don't have a drop of Swedish blood in me, I want to do this if I ever have a daughter. Though I'm not sure I'd let her have lit candles on her head either....

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