Living in chaos!

You wouldn't know this but in less than a month the husband and I will be leaving our apartment that we have been in the past 3 years and will be moving to a house that we will be renting for the next few years. I was not prepared to move and my brain is whirling with all the necessary adjustment and changes but I am coming to grips with it.

Though we will be taking on more responsibility by now having a yard to take care of I'm super excited to decorate this new place and make it our own. Its a small old house but I can't help but be inspired by these wide open white spaces.

I ran across this website and I'm completely addicted to staring at all the swedish homes that are so light and airy. Though I have painted every apartment that I have lived in, in this house I have decided to keep everything white. I have plenty of bright accessories to liven the place up so it will be cozy and warm and not sterile (no one wants to live in a hospital). 

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So while I'm going crazy packing and moving my life, I hope you will be able to find some inspiration from some of the same spaces that I did. Enjoy!

*J*

P.S. I still haven't finished reading my book from February because of all the happenings in my life. I will try to finish it in March. No promises though cause I have a lot of packing to do!

Eats - Spice Art

I was mixing up a new batch of our "House Spice" recently, and realized before I combined the different layers that it looked a lot like sand art.

I put this mix on just about everything - seasoning meat, in soups, or on scrambled eggs. It adds an enjoyable little punch of flavor to a dish. Here's the recipe I roughly followed - 


Spice Blend

• 2 ½ Tbs. Paprika
• 2 Tbs. salt
• 2 Tbs. Garlic powder
• 1 Tbs. Black pepper
• 1 Tbs. Onion powder
• 1 Tbs. Cayenne pepper
• 1 Tbs. Dried Oregano
• 1 Tbs. Dried Thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container. Makes about 2/3 cup.


I doubled the recipe and added a few "extras" in, and I keep it in a washed out pickle jar. I always save glass jars from sauces, pickles or minced garlic since they're easy to re-use for things like this.


If there are flavors you enjoy, try combining them in a blend like this, if you have spices in your pantry it will save you money over buying those expensive "gourmet" brands at the grocery store, and you can customize them to your taste buds! It'll make every dish a delight

Bon Appetit

-B-

A little delayed..

Sorry this is a little delayed guys but not posting was not an option. I got this skirt for a song at H&M and I couldn't wait till spring to style it up. 

This skirt is one of those basics that is going to get a lot of wear and I cant wait to see what else it will go with. For right now though I'm just concentrating on getting through the next busy month. 

*J*

(Sweater & Boots: Thrifted, Necklace: F21, Tank & Skirt: H&M)

We Pinned That!

Here's some of our favorite finds from this week

 

                

  

Happy Friday!


*J & B*

B - Read Of The Month

I've been a bookworm since even before I could read - one of my favorite photos of my moms is me as a baby, fast asleep in a chair with an open book on my lap. I'll read just about anything (except Twilight...I have my limits) but I do have some favorite genres and sometimes get stuck on a theme. In the past I've read Jane Eyre, The Eyre Affair, and this month I'm reading Becoming Jane Eyre. There are also several craft books I've been flipping through, but this one is the "main book". So far I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars (if it were 5 stars I'd have it finished already).

What are you flipping through these days?

Happy Reading

-B-

Soo much better...

First let me point out a few things:

A. My lips have color on them

B. Black Leggings and boots seem 

to make my legs look longer

C. I look like I'm on drugs 

(which I assure you I'm not)

So now that I've pointed that out let me explain why that was necessary. A (see how cute that was)...I don't wear lipstick or tinted lip gloss hardly ever UNTIL I received some new Physicians Formula Lip Gloss to try out. I officially love it and it brightens up my whole face. I might..might be a convert. 

C..(c how cute that was? I crack myself up! And yes I skipped over B) These lovely picture were taken early this morning so I didn't have my model face ready yet. I'm just glad I was able to get this outfit photographed without making anyone late for work. Brava, Brava!

Oh and in case you were wondering, this outfit was supa supa dupa comfortable! I have reached a new level of clothing Nirvana!

*J*

(Necklace: Made by me, Vest: Love Culture, Sweater & Tank: H&M, Leggings:??, Boots: Skechers)

*J*'s 5 Tried & Trues

Everytime I go shopping I tend to gravitate towards certain items. No matter how hard I try I just can't seem to leave without falling in love with one of these items. So I guess you could call them my 5 tried & trues. In no particular order they are:

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Purchase here

Stripes, anything striped. For me stipes are a neutral. I don't know why, and there is probably some hardwiring in my brain that got twisted at birth but nonetheless, the proof is in the closet!

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Anything drapey! Some (including friends of mine) don't know what to do with all that extra fabric but you know what I call it: the muffin top eraser! Yep you heard right, and until it stops working I will continue to buy drapey items!

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Purchase here

Shoes! Now if you don't understand this one, well I don't think I can help you. Shoes for most girls are a duh! Moving on..

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Purchase here

Scarves, especially bright ones! Whether you find them at a thrift store or at a department store doesn't matter. What matters is that they are dynamic and versatile. You can wear them all year and a different way each time. A true blue accesory!

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Hats. Not only are hats a fun accessory that add pizzaz to your outfit they also cover less than glamourous hair. Like mine. On the weekends. I'm a dirty girl.

So there are my tried and trues, now think about what yours are and share them below if you like. Til next time!

*J*

Happy Birthday Mr. President

In honor of Presidents day here is just a couple of our countries "sexiest" presidents. Mind you there weren't many but hey good looks don't run the country very well!!

*Disclaimer: This is meant to be funny, please don't ever ever every take this seriously!*

President Kennedy. Probably the only President any woman may describe as "sexy" or at least the most memorable. Whether is was his rumored affair with Marilyn Monroe or his fashionable first lady this man managed to run the country with a hunkiness!

President Lincoln. Honest Abe. He may be known for helping free the slaves but as you can tell there was a scruffiness to this President. He may have died with a blow to the head but he definitely left his mark on our world. Bravo Abe, Bravo!

President Franklin Roosevelt. In true nepotism style I had to add one of my ancestors. He was known for something but for me he was known as my extra credit in high school history class. His cousin Theodore Roosevelt was also a former president and again extra credit for me. It was probably the only reason I didn't fail history that year!

Happy Presidents Day Everyone!

*J*

We Pinned That!

        

 

 

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Happy Friday!

*J & B *

Eats - Fish Tacos with Corn Salsa

This year my BF and I have been increasing the number of fish dishes we (ok, I) prepare for dinner. It actually started before New Years Eve. I got a bee in my bonnet to make something new so I made this recipe with a few modifications and with tilapia instead of cod because cod is outrageously expensive for my wallet. I made that a few times since, and then this recipe (with just the fish part) but you can only have something so many times before it gets "old" and I like variety in my menu.


I dont think most people consider fish as a no brainer taco filling, but I've had them before and liked them so I went hunting for a recipe and found one that seemed promising. I say promising because I almost never have all the listed ingredients in a recipe, but I make substitutions and modifications to accomodate our tastes and cupboard. For instance in this recipe for the salsa I dont exactly know what jicama is and I hate cilantro so I omitted that. Actually there's enough different I should just say the salsa is my own "recipe"


Beck's Stoplight Salsa
I call this stoplight salsa because its red yellow and green:

• 1 C Frozen or fresh corn
• 1/2 - 1 C Diced green pepper
• 1/2 C Diced red onion
• 1/2 - 1 TB Kosher salt
• 1/2 - 1 TB Pepper
• 1 TB Garlic powder
• Lemon juice ( I use the bottled kind and add a capful)

I dont actually measure the spices so those are approximates. Combine everything in a bowl. I dont bother thawing the corn because once its mixed I let it sit for 5-10 minutes and let everything get happy together, but you can pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds or so.


Season your fish if you desire - I use a new spice blend that I made for one of the other recipes because it called for Old Bay but I didn't have it so I googled for substitutes and one suggestion was using Emerils Essence. I didn't have that either but I followed a recipe I found for making a home-made version and its now my House Spice that I use on everything from fish, chicken, steak or even scrambled eggs.


I grilled my fish using our little George Foreman grill for about 5 minutes, then put the fish and salsa on some warmed tortillas and topped with some hot sauce and plain Chobani instead of sour cream.

2 fish fillets was enough for 2 tacos per person. Its pretty filling and it was so good the BF even requested it a second night that week, which doesn't often happen.

Enjoy

-B-

Everybody Everywear: Pink & Red

Jennifer is busy today because not only is it Valentines but she is on vacation and it's her anniversary so she left me (Beck) in charge of the post. I hope that turns out alright because I'm probably going to make some stuff up.

J is no stranger to wearing bright colors and mixing patterns as exhibited here in her deft application of multiple striped garments. I have no idea where she got anything she is wearing but I know I am jealous of her red shoes and if I didn't not have giant feet I would be driving across canada to go steal them from her

My own outfit was less inspired and more color blocked, but here's a sampling of it

My favorite pair of tomato pants and some bright pink pointy shoes (though I did swap them out for boots)

Hope your Valentines Day is delightful!

Pants are too casual?

This post has been a couple of weeks in the waiting. Blogger was acting super funny when I was trying to add the photos then life took over and distracted me for a couple weeks. No excuses, just reality.

Anyway, I wore this to work and while at work I was told these pants were too casual and since they are like cargo pants I should only wear them on Friday. Never mind the fact that I've worn these exact pants numerous times before (insert eye roll here). So let's take a little survey, do you think these are too casual? I vote no and I even dressed them up appropriately. Go figure.

Also, Happy Valentines Day everyone!

*J*