Starting a New Project

For my newest project, I've combined a few ideas I've found on other blogs that I LOOOVED but knew for my living room, I needed more. This is the wall that will be getting assessorized.

I've decided to use the idea based off this tutorial from How Does She? for my window panes, along with this shutter idea from A Glimpse Inside. After seeing these ideas and tutorials, my mind was overflowing with endless ideas to start this project and refresh, rearrange, and redesign this all in the future! Seems like a great inventment to me! :)


How Does She?

A Glimpse Inside

To start off my project, I went to a local resale shop in search for the windows and shutters. I walked away with one window that wasn't paned so, this is the one I'll use How Does She?'s idea on.

I did find a set of beautiful blue shutters that would have a brought a new color into my living room but for now, the shop is keeping them for decoration.

Oh! And I found a beautiful Singer sewing machine base that reminded me of a side table I wanted to make for my reading nook but failed at because these bases are quite expensive. This resale shop had a pretty good deal going on for it so, I may go back this week. This is where I got the idea for this from:

Tomorrow, I'm hitting Old Tomball for the rest of my project materials. Wish me luck! We'll see what I come back with!

Happy Halloween!!!

Tomorrow is Halloween so my wishes for you all are to be safe, have fun, and have a HAPPY Halloween!

From me, Rosalie (from Twilight) and my pumpkin, Bob Marley. :)


Notice: I have naturally green eyes but they are vegetarian-vampire honey brown here. :D

Yeah mon!



Thankful Thursday - 10/28

Today was extremely hectic. So there was very little time to reflect on much at all.

But right after lunch, right before the chaos wreck havoc on my day, I got a little message from my photographer saying that our wedding pictures were done and ready! :)

This little message totally made my day.

I took a few minutes to look through them and was filled with an overwhelming amount of emotions. So much happiness. So much joy.

Our day was on I could live on forever. It was such a beautiful day with so many wonderful people around us.

So today, I'm thankful for all the amazing people that shared our special day with us, our amazing photographer who captured the entire day so wonderfully, and my husband for making my dreams comes true by becoming my husband on that very special day.

I Love Lucy! I Love Cupcakes!

This past summer, my buddy, Jade, and I took a quick trip to Austin to take one of my bridesmaids' (Mary) her dress.

Our trip was full of adventure and fun.

With my professional driving skills, I managed to get there in 2 1/2 hours. All the while, laughing my way to a 6-pack. :)

Once we made our way to Mary's home, Jade was clued in on Mary and her cat.
All 3 of us made a LONG journey to Salt Lick BBQ. Because we supposedly heard this was the best BBQ in Austin. And it's not. And they do have an ATM on site...don't take the HUGE "CASH" sign literally.

This sign what caused our journey to be sooo long. I drove an hour to find a gas station/ATM/bank/something to give us CASH because I was determined to eat the BEST BBQ IN AUSTIN!

While in search of cash, I passed the most amazing thing ever...well, the most amazing thing if you are a Lucille Ball fan. Which I am. And after finding cash, I stopped back by.

It was a little eatery & bakery called...Lucy & Ethel's.

Where they served the most adorable WEDDING CUPCAKES!!!

Yes, that's glitter!!!! :D

Now, this place is not in Austin. It is located at 16920 Ranch Road 12 in Wimberley, Texas.
Somehow, I managed to leave the city I traveled so far from home to.

But I will say it was totally worth it.

Aside from the fabulous cupcakes and amazing diner find, I, also, found the greatest travel partner (2nd to Mark Dean, of course).

Jade is what made the trip so worthwhile. And I'm so, so lucky that she's game for any of my hair-brained schemes. She's the Ethel to my Lucy. :)

Menu Monday - 10/25

Today, I feel pretty yuck - for lack of a better word.

Although food sounds extremely unappealing to me today, I'm going to attempt getting through Menu Monday. And I'm going to keep it short and sweet - both, this post and the menu.

So, my dinner thoughts for this week are:

Monday - Papa John's Pizza Special (Tonight's dinner will suffer due to my lack of appetite)
Tuesday - Tacos (Another easy dinner incase this feeling decides to hang around)
Wednesday -  Chili Mac (Using a new recipe I found!)
Thursday - Chili & Tator Tots (My good friend, Shannon, mentioned this last week and I can't get it off my mind)
Friday - Chicken Noodle Soup (Since there is a the lil cool front that should be coming through)

Feeling Crafty

Today was a pretty lazy day.

Up until about 5 o'clock when I found an awesome tutorial on U Create. By 5:30, I got to the fabric store where I ran through picking out fabric after fabric since they closed in 30 minutes! Because this project had to be done today.

And this is the final product. That I'm quite happy about. :)

Stewart - The Little Dog Who Lives Like a 3 Year Old

This is my living room. Less than 8 hours after I cleaned it up. And it looks like a few toddlers inhabit our home.

Every toy out of the toy chest. Every blanket out of the dog beds. And even a dog bed moved to a new location.

All from our sweet little nuisance of a pup named Stewart.

Current Obsessions - 10/22

I am loaded down with obsessions right now. It is not rare for me to be obsessed with something momentarily. And as Autumn and Winter come, it reaches extreme highs.

So, currently, I am obsessed with:

Twilight - not such a new obsession and I have a STRONG feeling this one will stick around for along time. You see, I finished reading Breaking Dawn (FINALLY) last night and I'm having withdraws because I want to read more and more. (Someone get me the movies.)

Scarves - although the cool/cold weather has not permanently reached Houston, I'm already yearning to wear the one or two scarves I already have and want to buy more and more.

Rock music - CKY for the past week and Kings of Leon since I obtained their newest CD. :) And every time I do this, I always lose my rap skills for a little while once I go back to my roots.

Autumn - since so many rooms of my house are in warm tones, I love this time of year to add to the decor. And I love making our home smell like pumpkin and cinnamon and vanilla. And I love autumn and winter food. And I love love love autumn trees...except I'm not living where I can enjoy them.

This blog - Over two weeks now! And that makes me so happy. I TRULY hope this obsession sticks around for a LONG time. And I pray my FABULOUS followers do, as well.

Thankful Thursday 10/21

I've thought about this all day and I just felt there were plenty of things that I could proclaim to the world that I am thankful but it felt like I was just stating the obvious.

After work today, I did something quite unusual. I went to watch Mark Dean ride his dirt bike instead of going home to do my usual thing...pretend to clean and take a nap. :)

On the way to the track, the thought for this Thankful Thursday popped into my head but I thought it was way too silly. That was until the evening wore on and I realized on my way home, it wasn't so silly afterall. After Mark's accident at the track, I felt extremely stressed on my way back (the exact opposite that I felt on my way TO the track).

So, today, I'm thankful for quiet drives all alone.

I love the calm that washes over me as I'm driving, pondering, dreaming, and letting go of reality for just a little bit...or a little while, if I can find anywhere to go that takes a little while.

And since I've been quite (quite isn't the best word, more like EXTREMELY) sleep deprived lately, this was a nice compromise.

Here's to all those rare night time drives. :)

Let's Gather Round the Table, Y'all!

Well, now that I have a real dining room set, it's time to start decorating - one of my favorite things to do.

So, I decided with all the red and aqua that I have in my kitchen and no real seperation between the kitchen and formal dining room, I want to stick with the same color scheme but use dark, more dramatic, formal versions of the colors.

And this is what I found.

PERFECT! PERFECT! PERFECT!

Now, I'm thinking...instead of buying the buffet that coordinates with my dining set, I want to buy a used one a refinish it to match all this. This option should save my lots of money (but NO time) and let the option open for me to redesign it EVERYTIME I change the style of the room.

Two things I know for sure about doing this is:

1.) The buffet will be situated on the dark brown wall to the left.

This picture was taken as the tile was being laid in our house...disregard that mess. And I know the quality is the BEST but I think you can get the idea from this picture.

2.) I will most likely do the "shabby" worn look so, I will need a base color (that will show through and be "worn") and a top color (the main color).

So, I have no idea what color(s) to paint the buffet (IF I HAVE ANY LUCK FINDING ONE...people seem to only get rid of ugly stuff). Any suggestions?

Top 10 People that I Love

pSo, just call me Barbara Walters because I'm starting my own Top 10 People...but instead of JUST facinating people, I'm going to showcase all different kinds of Top 10 People.

To start my first one, I think it's appropriate to proclaim to the world the Top 10 People that I LOOOVE!

1. Mark Dean - my high school sweetheart, my best friend, my annoying roommate, MY HUSBAND!

2. Kim & Glenn (my mom & dad) - I think it's fair to consider them one in the same because my life wouldn't be the same without them both...and when they got married, they became one anyways!

3. My Grandma Gladys - this is amazing woman deserves a Top 10 Reasons why I love her alone...she's just that darn fantastic!

4. Brittany - my sister-in-law, who is more than just a sister-in-law...she's a REAL sister, a REAL friend, and I'm so lucky to LOVE her!

5. Kasey - my BESTIE who stood by my side at my wedding...and has been with me during so many ridiculous moments of my life!

6. Marsha - this woman is like a 2nd mother to me. I thank the Lord every day for letting our paths cross!

7. Carla - my wonderful mother-in-law that loves me as her own daughter but also, gave me something to love in life and an opportunity to love her!

8. Chris - my brother...my butthead brother...that I love no matter what...and can burn on the spot...and for every 10 burns I get in, I let him slip one in on me! :)

9. Jerry - Mark's dad. Though I never got the opportunity to know him, I know just from the stories I've heard that he was an amazing man that I DO love. He gave to the world a piece a piece of himself that's carried on within Mark Dean!

10. My Maw-Maw & Paw-Paw - these 2 people are simply the most amazing people I've ever met and I love them more than words can express. In an old blog of mine, I dedicated a post to my GRAND!parents which I do plan to one day repost on here...just not sure when.

Through this little exercise, I did realize that there is no way possible to narrow down all the people I love to just a Top 10 but these are the people that I will built a loving soul within me and I will love them always and forever.

Menu Monday - 10/18

I'm still recovering from the past weekend's events. My weekends normally consist of a lil' fun with a lil' laziness (which is my FAVORITE part of the weekend). And this week had no laziness whatsoever.

After the baby shower Saturday, I had to immediately switch gears and start preparing for my MIL's surprise birthday party AT MY HOUSE the next day. I spent ALL morning and afternoon CLEANING, CLEANING, CLEANING which helped me complete 2 more obstacles in my MISSION: Clean House adventure.

(Pictures of my FRESH, CLEAN kitchen and dining room will be up soon - just no before pictures...I was too rushed to get that done)

But I do have 2 new things to show off.

After seeing this on a Little Miss Momma's 10 Things list, I had to make one off my own. So, I did. And I thought it was appropriate to show it off on a Menu Monday day.



So, with an introduction like that, I think it's time to premier this week's menu.

Monday - Meatloaf (didn't get a chance to make it Friday since we went and saw Jackass 3D - A+ by the way)
Tuesday - Guinness Roast (I'm addicted...must be the beer)
Wednesday - Tacos
Thursday - Stuffed Mozzarella & Spinach Chicken w/ New Potatoes
Friday - Slow Cooker Ribs

To top off this kitchen themed post, my next thing to show off is my birthday present that I received from the most amazing husband on the face of this earth. :)

MY DINING ROOM TABLE! Yay for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners! It's so perfect! And it makes me so happy - only an incredible husband can make his wife this happy with jsut a table!

Recipe: Guinness Roast

Since it's time for a break from my cleaning and I want get something in my stomach sometime BEFORE dinner, I decided to answer a request from a Facebook friend for my Guinness Roast recipe.

Ingredients:
1 Chuck Roast (I usually get about 2-2.5 lb)
6-7 tbsp. Adam's Reserve Steak Rub (available at HEB)
1 bottle Guinness Stout
1-2 lb Baby Red Potatoes - cubed
1 bag Baby Barrots
8 oz Mushrooms - sliced
10+ whole cloves Garlic (I use minced garlic from a shaker and it's just as good)
1 Onion - slided
Salt - to taste

Oven recipe:
Season roast with steak rub. Place meat in a roasting plan and add Guinness, potatoes, carrots, mushrooms and garlic. Top the roast with onions, cover with a lid or foil.
Roast the meat @ 450 degrees for 3 to 4 hours until fork tender.

Crock Pot recipe:
Season roast with steak rub and place in crock pot. Add Guinness and mix in all other ingredients. (I like to make sure there in enough Guinness to cover everything so, I'll sometimes use a second bottle). Cover and let cook for 7 to 8 hours.

(recipe from the HEB cooking booth thing)

Sooooo good. Could it be featured on this week's Menu Monday too?

Quite the Host

I was given the honor of helping plan/host a baby shower for some a family friend yesterday...in 2 weeks. But even with the limited time frame, I had sooo much fun doing it.

And this awesome comment from my facebook made the day even better!
"It was a awesome shower..... You need to do that as a living like a party planner." - Yes, I think that's a fabulous idea.

Here are some pictures of different things I made and put together for it:

And here's you a recipe to add to your collection. It's be the dumbest move you made if you didn't.
My bestie, Kasey, THE MOST FABULOUS matron of honor on the planet, made it for my bridal shower back in August and all the ladies went nuts over it! So, I knew I needed it. And yesterday was my chance to use it! And all the ladies went nuts!

Grape Salad
2 lb Seedless Green Grapes
2 lb Seedless Purple Grapes
8 oz Cream Cheese
8 oz Sour Cream
1 - Small Tub of Cool Whip
1 Cup Powdered Sugar
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Pecan Pieces

Wash and dry the grapes.

Mix cream cheese, sour cream, cool whip, and powdered sugar until mixed well and smooth.

Mix cream cheese mixture with grapes. (I recommend using your hands so you don't puncture the grapes.)

Mix brown sugar and pecans.

Layer grape mixture and pecan mixture, top with pecan mixture.

Thankful Thursday

(Yay for more alliterations!)

I decided earlier this week, when I decided to do Menu Monday, that I'd do Thankful Thursday, too.

Thanksgiving is my ALL TIME favorite holiday but really, why do we only have ONE day to show how thankful are. When I decided to start Thankful Thursday for myself, I thought this would be a way for me to look back and realize how great EVERYTHING really was and IS.

I figured for my first Thankful Thursday, I'd do something really cliché but this afternoon, I realized I will get around to that, some time or another. I found something to REALLY be thankful for.

You can't understand why I am SOOO thankful unless I give you some background information. So, here goes...I'm taking a Lesson Planning class for my education degree. And the teacher sucks.

You see, I take night classes because I HAVE A REAL JOB AND NEED A CLASS TO WORK AROUND MY SCHEDULE. And the teacher doesn't get this. So she assigns group work...a group lesson plan...along with another ridiculous teacher I have.

From the very beginning, I was behind with this group. The first assignment we were to do together, I was on my honeymoon. The second time I was still trying to process what we were supposed to do AND find out what my group picked out.

Tonight was our third meeting. And we had to FILM acting out our lesson plan. I thought "Ok. I can play one heck of a student and just go along with what the "teacher" is teaching"...WRONG! The girl we picked out to be the teacher FREAKED! And I was nominated.

I actually did an AWESOME job. And ended the video with a lil "natural-Lynzi" humor. :)
(Once I get the video, I'll post it here...for entertainment purpose only. I'm by no means a certified teacher...YET!)

So, today, I am thankful for an amazing group to work with for my class project. I'm thankful for having the courage to take charge and be the "teacher".



On a side note, while writing this post, I realized that I have so much confidence within my words but it's not too often that I project this confidence in my real life. So, something else I'm thankful for today is letting my confidence shine. I wish it came more naturally. Maybe, one day it will.

I think this ended pretty cliché. :)

Menu Monday

You will come to find that I loooove alliterations. :) And that this is prolly the first of many.

That being said, I've decided that Menu Monday is the day I will plan our weekly dinner menu and go grocery shopping on my lunch break...on Monday. :)

And since I often times get cooker's block, I think this will help when I want to look back for ideas of what to cook.

So for the week of October 11-16, specials are as follows:
Monday - Chili
Tuesday - Guinness Roast (the ONLY roast I'll eat) or possibly dinner with my parents for my birthday (so Guinness Roast will be postponed till Thursday
Wednesday - Lupe Tortilla with our buddies for my 22nd birthday!!!
Thursday - Guiness Roast
Friday - Mark's Meatloaf

Now, if Tuesday's Special ends up being Guinness Roast, I have no clue what I'll be eating Thursday since I seemed to have forgotten a day this week.

Obviously, I battle with time management...and when it comes between me and eating, that's a declaration of war!

A Weekend Packed

With nothingness. And eating.







I must achieve something before it's over!!!

UPDATE:
So, I made 2 achievements this weekend.

1. Cleaned our room. :)

Mission:

Mission Accomplished:

2. And cut off my fake nails. :D
(Crossing my fingers that they will be grown out and NATURALLY pretty before Thanksgiving...or Christmas)

I was consumed...

By the crafting...all weekend long.

The only thing that was ever cleaned were the dishes and my hair! Eek!

But Mark Dean did say while I was at school tonight, he would drill the holes so I can finish my little project.

I'll get that finished that up and move on to what I started...getting my house spick and span for an upcoming  party which I am SUPER excited about since it will be the first party I get to host in our new home.

Although, I've neglected a little bit of my duties this weekend, I feel better about jumping back on the horse since I've started this lil experiment of mine. It's like turning in a report to your teacher. I love to write but if I don't have anyone to see what I'm writing then I usually don't. If I have to write a paper, I do the very best I can and turn it in to get that shiny A stamped on the top. I have to clean but it's sooo easy to neglect. If I show the world, I have to make it look shiny and presentable.

Now, that I feel relieved, refreshed, and reenergized, I need to go find the horse to jump back on. :-/

TASK ONE - Complete

Update regarding Thursday's mission: I survived one of the first steps in this mission, the living room. One of the only easy rooms in the house.

Once I finished, I was filled with so much pride! And the living room STILL has the FRESH, CLEAN scent...which never happens in a house with 2 dogs and a husband.

Mission Clean-Up:

Mission ACCOMPLISHED:

Let's flip to Friday, October 1! I'm still beaming with excitement from my sparkly living. I postponed the mission for the day BECAUSE there was a very special gathering that took place at Tin Roof BBQ in Atascocita, Texas (the best BBQ around these parts). The Montemayor-Wilkinson clan & friends gathered for the revealing of the next grandbaby of the famiy.

To host such a party, you need many things.
1. The patience and will power NOT to tell anyone.
2. Time to bake a billion cupcakes.
3. An awesome family who accepts this idea!

Since my SIL & her hubby have all those ingredients, they planned the party and started baking their hearts out, filling the center of the cupcake with icing to "match" if the baby is a boy (blue) or girl (pink).

Well, I will have a baby NEPHEW around March 8th! And I'll finally get the Lil Auntie Lynzi hat. Yay!

I do feeling that was reason enough to neglect my household chores...for one day.

Back to the plan today. Let's see what I get accomplished! :)