Goodwill. Bizarre find. And boots.

So, I went to Goodwill in Jax. Beach today with Rachel. She got a huge, 788 pound mirror for $9. NINE bucks. This thing was massive. Great find! Whilst browsing, I ran across this:

I am gonna need you to remove your child's picture before giving it away to a thrift store. She was only $0.99. Poor girl.

I bought a pair of boots tonight at Kohl's. Love me some Kohl's. Anywho, boots are usually not my thing. Especially brown one's that cut right under the knee. I love them on other gals, but I always felt uncomfortable thinking about wearing them myself. Don't ask why. It's a "I don't like being in the spotlight or looked-at kind of thing." I feel like boots make people look. Haha. Dumb. They were only $15, marked down from $90. I had to! I am going to build the courage up the wear them. Anyone else have this scared-to-wear-something thing? I also have this "syndrome" with my hair. Always have.

Moving away from my neurosis.

So, I heard today on some obscure commercial that the average person has 28 first kisses...really?! Am I the only person on the planet that hasn't kissed 28+ men? Just wondering...?

I will leave you with some chalkboard wisdom. It is something that I am working on in my daily life:

Have a marvelous week!

A quick makeover.

Spray paint is my friend. I love it. It can transform anything (almost) with a quick spray (Haha! My creativity astounds me) of the bottle!

I picked up this color today at my beloved Hobby Lobby:

I picked up this color to cover these:

No offense to anyone that would fancy this candlestick holder in their home, but it is just not me. In the slightest. Soooo....I bought it with the hopes of spraypainting away the Grandma-ness of it. And I use Grandma in the nicest, most respectful way possible.  :)

Grandma-ness gone, if you ask me. As you can see, sweeping and raking are amongst our least favorite things to do in this world. Case in point, the bed of leaves on the back porch. Excuse that.

Love this for a wall in the living room somewhere. Somewhere being the operative word. Sometimes I pick things up that I find for a steal and know I will eventually put it to good use. Hobby Lobs for this guy, too.

Here was the mantel before:

And here is the quick after with the fun candlestick's new home:

Just a tad bit of more fun color up there on the mantel. I didn't even realize he would match his pillow friend until I took this picture.

"M" will find a new home soon. I will be sure to let you know when I do. I know you will be anxiously waiting--day and night.

Love,

Aqua Candlestick Lover Extraordinaire

Happy Monday!

Hello, blog world! I think about you often and I missed you over the weekend.

I tend to stay away from the computer on weekends. Ofir and I and the little guy (That rhymed, thank you.) are usually out and about Saturday and Sunday doing something. This weekend was spent mainly at the Town Center. Yes, we were there both days. It is a sick obsession--it draws you in.

Tip: Don't ever try to go to Costco on Saturday or Sunday. You will leave with less hair, as you most likely ripped it out in the aisles. And if not in the aisles....certainly the check out lines.

We made a yummy appetizer this weekend:

These are our homemade wontons. De-lish, I tell you. And don't you just love how we so delicately placed the scallions on the side for a photo-op? I mean, really. We could be the next food photographers for Gourmet Magazine. Ha. ;)  If you get the urge for some...don't call Panda Bamboo Hop Shing China Wall House...call me and Ofir. They were out of this world! Cream cheese and scallions filled these babies. They were very little (Mouth-popable. Yes please!) and we limited ourselves to 5 each. Although, I could have easily eaten 78 of them.

Must. Have.Self. Control.

Hope your weekend was good, folks.

Love,
Wonton-Maker Costco Weekend-Hater Extraordinaire

P.S. The black bean burgers that I spoke about in my previous post turned out yummo. Give them a try.

Stats and a burger.

So, I was all amped on posting E's stats and then I thought "Who really cares about his stats other than me, Ofir and my parents?" No one, probably. But then I remembered how lazy I have been with filling out his baby book and if I just type it here, then I can always look back and see his weight and such and not actually have to lift a hand and get the book from the shelf (groan), flip the pages (groan) and lastly, write it all down (double groan).

So here, future Kristina, are your child's stats:

*Weight: 24 lbs. 6 oz. -- 43% (The Dr. actually said that he would like him to be a tad bit bigger. Hmm. I guess all you folk who exclaim "Whoa...he's a very large boy" just have no concept of the size of a child his age. So...there!)
*Height: 30.8 inches -- 37%
*Head circumference: 48.3 cm. -- 78% (Huge head. He is definitely his father's child)

In other news, I think I am going to make this burger this weekend:

Black Bean Burgers


1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup carrots, diced
1 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg
1 cup dried bread crumbs
1 tablespoon canola oil
4-5 slices of provolone or pepper jack cheese

Add the olive oil and veggies to a frying pan, and cook at medium-high heat until veggies begin to soften. While the veggies are sauteing, add the beans into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Mash them up a bit with a potato masher, leaving about 1/4 of the beans whole.

Add the sauteed veggies to the bean mixture and stir to combine. Add the remaining ingredients (reserving the canola oil for frying the patties in) and mix together. (It's best to use your hands to mix everything together at this point).

Divide mixture into 4 or 5 patties, depending on your preference of patty size. After forming the patties, fry them in the canola oil until golden, about three minutes per side, over medium-high heat. Top with the cheese of your choice, once bean burgers are flipped.

Serve on hamburger buns, with mayonnaise, greens of your choice, and tomatoes.

Sounds yummy and pretty healthy, huh? :)
 
Enjoy your weekend!!!!

Close-ups.

I am enjoying my camera! Shocker, I know. I want to take pictures of everything. I took a picture of the Lysol wipes this morning. Why, you ask? Who knows?

My favorite subject, however, is my little man. These were my two favorites over the past few days:

Angel baby.

Stinker.

He has his 15 month Dr's appointment today. I always look forward to finding out his stats. :)

Hope you all are having a wonderful week!

Just because.

OK, so I am not normally about bragging. It's not really me. At least not to the majority. Maybe to my close friends and family I can brag now and then. But to most of you, I am not the bragging type.

BUT.

I have to brag about this.

My husband, just because, surprised me with this tonight:

Hello!? If you know me at all (Which some of you reading may not, which is totally cool. You know I like a reader swingin' by my blog to read and continue on the unhealthy, obsessive blog-reading cycle. :-D ) you know I love photography and have wanted a gorgeous camera like the beaut above for a long time now.

You see, Rachel and I signed up to take photography classes together in February and March (SO excited, by the way) and Ofir said "You just needed it. For your class."  Um...so excited and so thankful for my wonderful husband. He spoils me.

Love,

Future Big-Deal Camera Lady Extraordinaire

Weekend Recap. Through pictures.

Well, Happy New Year All. Here's to a great year filled with health, happiness, love and success!

I have a new little idea for my blog. Every once in a while I will post a recap of our weekend. Through pictures. I just got a new cellphone that has an exceptional camera, so I am putting it to good use. I actually stole this idea from another blog I saw. I am all about stealing, people. Just not money or any stealing that would hurt another person. :)

I learned this when I was 3. I stole a pack of gum from Winn Dixie one time and my mom found out when we got in the car. She dragged me back in and asked me to give it back and say "Sorry." Ha. I learned something that very fine day in Winn Dixie at the wee-old age of 3. Don't steal.

Except for an idea for a blog. That's OK.

So, because I know you are curious and it's about time for me to hush with all this typing...here's what our weekend encompassed:

E looks bewildered, I know. But it was the only picture I got of my men on New Year's Eve. We rang in the new year at our favorite British pub at 7:00 pm--midnight UK time! A tradition now, four years running. I just can't make it to midnight in my old, feeble age. This way we can count down with our little man too! This way he can freak out when everyone screams and blows their horns. This was we can subject our child to the idiocracy of buzzed, middle-aged woman who try to dress like they are 20 and flail their arms like hooligans. Ha. Poor kid--the sh*t we put him through. He was a good sport. :)



 Back to the pictures.

Playing in the backyard :)

Someone please tell me why my 15 month old looks like a five year old already.

Picnic at the park. Homemade chicken tacos. High-class picnicing right here.

Packing up the wagon.

Wondering the park and pondering life.

I am reading this now. I am probably behind the rest of the world. I like it so far!

My favorite with my favorite. Yogaberry and Rachel, that is.

I have renewed her faith in Yogaberry. I am proud of myself, I must say.



Hope you enjoyed your weekend. We sure did!