dos semanas

Two weeks until our house is finished! (We hope). They have done so much work on it since last time I posted.  Everything is turning out great so far.  Above are pictures of the living room and kitchen.  Hubby doesn't love the paint colors I picked out for the walls (Benjamin Moore Sweet Pear & Tucson Tan) but too bad, so sad ;)  We're inheriting several beautiful pieces of furniture from my grandmother that have been in the family for years and we're taking a U-haul down to Prentiss in a few weeks to pick everything up.  I have two chairs that I need to get reupholstered and am still trying to pick out fabric that I like.  I want to get in the house soon so I can start putting up fall decorations - I love this time of year!

Also, our first wedding anniversary is just around the corner - October 12th! :)

home sweet home

My sweet hubby is from Costa Rica.  And there are lots of things that sweet hubby misses from his home country.  Homemade gallo pinto (typical Costa Rican breakfast with rice & beans), Costa Rican coffee, the beautiful beaches and volcanoes, and most of all, "la cervesa de Costa Rica" - otherwise known as Imperial.  I cannot tell you how many local bars and brewerys we have visited searching for his beloved beer.  He can make the gallo pinto and we can find Costa Rican coffee at the grocery store, but Imperial is nowhere to be found!

...So, I've decided to surprise him with a case of Imperial on our one year wedding anniversary!  Problem is I have no idea how to execute my plan, as I have no idea where to find la cervesa de Costa Rica.  Wish me luck...I've got a little over two weeks to make my sweet hubby feel a little more at home :)

green, organic, healthy

Organic.  It sounds a bit daunting.  O-r-g-a-n-i-c.  A little overwhelming. 

I grew up eating pretty much whatever I wanted.  My family would eat big, hearty meals full of red meat, white pasta, lots of salt and butter.  It's hard to break the habit after 22 years.  Since being married I have taken on the responsibility of cooking meals for my little family.  And with this responsibility comes a lot of pressure.  I want my husband and I to adopt healthy eating habits while we are still fairly young so we can pass these traits on to our children someday.  Walking into the grocery store for the first time after deciding to go organic was stressful, to say the least.  Did I have to carefully examine each item I buy?  What if there was no organic option?  What would I do?!  Then...I calmed down and took a step back.  A healthy lifestyle involves more than just healthy eating; it involves being as stress-free as possible and working out and exercising our minds and our souls.  Eating real butter every once and a while won't kill us.  But stressing and getting anxiety about these things can.  So we are going to reach our goal of a new green lifestyle little by little.  Over the past year I have made several changes to our diets.  I no longer eat red meat.  At all.  Danny still eats pork, sausage and steak every now and then.  We use lean ground turkey instead of ground beef.  We grill chicken breasts, boil shrimp, etc.  We try our hardest to eat minimally processed, whole food.  I also try to buy only organic on the vegetables that count and avoid the "dirty dozen" - the fruits and vegetables that typically have the highest amount of chemicals and pesticides.  These are apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, grapes, lettuce, nectarines, peaches, pears, potatoes, spinach and strawberries.  Writing this down makes it all seem even more overwhelming, but I know that it is a process and takes time to change old habits.  It also takes time to convince my husband not to eat so much white rice.  Some things never change :)

casa updates

mes de septiembre

Sweet Nannie
On a very sad note, my paternal grandmother, Nannie, passed away on September 3rd, 2009.  She was 88 years old and was my last living grandparent.  She had been sick for a long time and God decided it was time to take her home.  I saw her two days before she died and I will never forget my last visit with her.  I know she is in a much better place. This is definitely a wound that is slow to heal.  I miss her so much..


Other Happenings:
The house is moving right along and we are hoping it will be finished by October 15th...fingers crossed :)  We are meeting the carpenter tomorrow morning at the house to tell him how we want our kitchen cabinets, etc.  The brick is finished and it looks really good.  My mother said "it's not what [she] would have picked out" ..haha!  But I love it.  I am starting to pick out furniture and think about how I'm going to decorate.  I love having a blank canvas to work it.  I want to get two chairs reupholstered for the living room and I also want to find someone who can make me some beautiful drapes for the living room and master bedroom.  If you know anyone who is talented in this area please let me know!  I will post updated pictures of the house as soon as I get home :)

Have a safe weekend!

show us your life - dinner recipes

This week on Kelly's Korner is show us your favorite dinner recipes.  I have a few family recipes that were passed down to me that we LOVE:

Dirty Rice

1 can French Onion soup
1 can water
1 stick margarine or butter
1 cup rice

Preheat oven to 350.  Melt butter.  Mix soup, water, melted butter, and rice in large bowl.  Bake 45-50 minutes.  Easy and delicious!

Italian Beef Casserole

1 lb ground beef  (we don't eat red meat so we use ground turkey)
1 cup sour cream
1 half onion, chopped
1 can cream of celery soup
1 pkg frozen chopped broccoli
garlic salt to taste
shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350.  Brown meat in skillet with chopped onion.  Drain.  Put broccoli in microwave for 3-4 minutes until soft.  Mix meat, broccoli, soup, sour cream, garlic salt in large bowl.  Put in greased 9x13 baking dish.  Top with shredded mozzarella.  Bake 40 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.  Delish.