Easter decoration

Since posting my Christmas post went so well I've decided to move on to my Easter decorations. Again, the usual disclaimer. I wasn't anticipating posting these pictures anywhere so they aren't of the same quality or detail as if I were to post them now. So wait for next year's version. :)

This first photo is of the entire Easter mantle. You can see the centerpiece says Easter and is painted in pastel with 3 eggs hanging down. I didn't take a close up of it, but I got it from Hobby Lobby. 

 Next I took a close up of each side so you can see it a little better. I took a glass gar and filled it with some plastic eggs and put some fake grass down on the bottom. There was a purple garland which has its own eggs on it, but as you may or may not be able to tell there are some plastic eggs thrown in there as well. There was a large egg platter that I put up there for decoration, but could quickly double as a serving tray. Some white candles which never quite got around to being covered with scrapbook paper (another favorite trick of mine).  Next you see a pink "vase". It's actually a Carnival Cruise glass filled with Styrofoam flowers that are covered in glitter (Dollar Tree!).

This side of the mantle is pretty boring. It consists of 3 plain candles on my clear candlesticks. I love these candlesticks, but someday I'm going to make the candlesticks out of eggs shown here. There is also a rabbit which I found at Hobby Lobby (Do you sense a trend?!)

Finally I've got another example of my idea to use ornaments as napkin weights. Shown here is my example which was taken in the store before actually purchasing the items (gotta wait for the sale!).The egg says "Happy Easter" and the napkins are decorated eggs with some green background.

Ok Pinterest, here goes! Christmas Decor

Part of my motivation for resurrecting this blog was to post pictures of my stuff on Pinterest. I don't have much, and I have a lot on my phone still, but I found this picture on my computer. It was my centerpiece at our Christmas party last year.

As you can see it is pretty simple, but I really enjoyed it. It consisted of a green place mat, 2 red and white ball  and twine candle decoration, 2 white candles, a napkin holder, red and green Christmas napkins and a silver NOEL Christmas ornament.

I think this is one of the best ideas that has come to me. I love the look of matching napkin holders and napkins for parties. I seriously think I have a cocktail napkin addiction! But rather than spend $15 or more on the Mariposa or other brands of napkin holders...use ornaments! The one here was a silver star that said NOEL. It had a tie on it, and my napkin holder has a spot for a tie, but I didn't even use it. As we go through the other holidays you'll see I've purchased other ornaments to use for this purpose.

As a bonus I've included a picture of our Christmas mantle. Unfortunately it's not a great picture nor is it a very heavily decorated mantle. But I was more recording it for posterity not trying to post it for all to see. It includes a green wreath with red berries, a garland of greens, 6 different stocking holders (Christmas tree, metal moose, blue Christmas ball, gold bell, silver Christmas tree, and snowflake), and 3 stockings, a small cat stocking and a Santa hat.

Meatless Tuesday

Yesterday ended up being meatless Tuesday for DH and I. Our meat consumption isn't usually something we  pay much attention to, but I noticed that our FANTASTIC dinner last night was completely vegetarian. Then I remembered that they were out of grilled chicken for my salad at lunch and I don't usually have meat with breakfast. So, meatless Tuesday.

This past weekend DH and I went wandering around one of the local farmer's markets. It's not my favorite farmer's market, but its ok. I think its growing and will continue to do better. Anyway while there I noticed several people who were selling eggplant. Now what is the first thing that comes to mind when I see eggplant? Ratatouille! So we went in search of some zucchini too. Well that was Saturday, we ended up having Girls/Boys night out and had dinner out. Sunday for lunch we tried Texas Roadhouse (for the first time!) and after filling up on appetizers we hardly ate any of our entrees. So we actually had enough for dinner that night too. Monday night DH was working late so I was left to fend for myself and I didn't want to (nor know how to) make the ratatouille. So that left last night.

I noticed last night as I got home that the new issue of Food Magazine came. I always enjoy looking through that magazine though I don't know that I've actually made anything from it. Things just don't seem to grab me and we participate in emeals so I don't really have to meal plan anymore. Anyway last night they not only had a 50 milkshake recipes (did I mention I have a sweet tooth) they also had a recipe for french fries that looked amazing! So I made them and they turned out great.

Emeril Lagasse's Oven-Crispy French Fries with paprika-parmesan salt.
2 large baking potatoes (1.5 lbs) scrubbed well
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon emeril's original essence seasoning or creaole seasoning (I used cajun seasoning)
Kosher salt (I used regular salt)
1/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (I used sore bought Parmesan)
1 Tablespoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (mine ran out part way through so it wasn't this much)
1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1. Preheat over in 425
2. Pat the potatoes dry and cut them lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick slices. Turn each slice flat and slice again lengthwise into even 1/2 inch thick fries. Place the potatoes in a mixing bowl and add the olive oil, seasoning and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Toss well to combine then transfer the fries to a large baking sheet and arrange them in one even layer so that they are not touching. Roast, scraping the potatoes from the baking sheet with a metal spatula and turning them over halfway through, until golden brown and crispy, about 30 minutes.
3. While the potatoes are cooking, combine the cheese, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small bowl and stir to blend. When the potatoes are crisp and brown, sprinkle with the paprika-parmesan salt. Serve hot.

What To Wear

So I'm trying to revamp my wardrobe to make my closet full of things that I like and want to wear, not full of things I either don't like or am sick of wearing.  In that vein I have been looking at Pinterest to see what sorts of outfits I like, I also have been searching for what makes good and complete wardrobe. So I don't lose the links I have included them here.

This one is from Real Simple and it has a true checklist of stuff (no photos and the actual check boxes don't work). One thing I like is that it has items which are always good to have (black and white tanks, short sleeved and long sleeve shirts) and items which are good for each season (cardigans for spring, trench coats for fall). If I had most of the things on this list I would have a very versatile wardrobe and a full closet.

This next link from The Simply Luxurious Life has a photo list of 10 wardrobe essentials. The list is no where nearly as comprehensive as the list from Real Simple, but it has pictures of examples. It includes items such as the little black dress and a white button down shirt.

Finally Collegefashion.net has a list that is sort of in between the two lists. It does have some photos of ideas, but is more comprehensive in its suggestions. It is definitely directed toward college women, but I'm not that far removed from college and it has some general suggestions for mostly casual encounters. I like its suggestion to get at least one pair of fun high heels what show personality.

Now that I'm armed with ideas and inspiration I just need to get out there and find these things!
Happy Shopping.

So it's been a while...

...about 2 and a half years.  Well my life has gone through many iterations in that time. Lets reflect some shall we?

When I last wrote I was about to start the Spring semester of my 3rd year of pharmacy school. I've since graduated and am about 2 weeks away from finishing up my residency. I'm sure I can rant about all of that later. I learned a lot from my residency, just not necessarily what I was expecting to. I have a sneaky suspicion that's how it usually goes.

Since that time we've also moved to beautiful Pensacola and bought another house. This one has a pool, which we just replaced the liner.

Other than that, life just continues to move on.

Now, my main motivation for rekindling this blog? PINTEREST! Hi, my name is Katy and I am addicted to Pinterest. It started out with a goal of finding ideas for decorating our mantle for holidays. I was not to be tempted by delicious looking food, or funny sayings, or amazing outfits, or photos of luxurious travel locations. Well food has quickly become a staple "pin" and I have boards for drinks, sweet treats and general food items. I still try to be good and pass on some of the sweet treats. I also have recently decided that my wardrobe needs redesigning, so I am on the hunt for good outfits which I could actually see myself wearing (all the better if it is a work outfit!).  I have created a board for some of the funny sayings, but for the most part I shy away from repinning those. And to date I have not created a travel locations board, however after my weekly email from Pinterest today I'm sorely tempted to start one!

Now how does all of this relate to this blog?  Well I have pictures of my mantle and other holiday ideas I've considered for my mantle. However, I don't have a way to get them on Pinterest. Thus, I hope to put the pictures up on this blog, Pin them to Pinterest and become wildly famous for my fantastic holiday mantle designs. Isn't that the American Dream? To become famous via Pinterest?

Anywhoo, I also anticipate ranting about pharmacy life...I'm always surprised about how little people know about pharmacy and what a pharmacist is and what we do.

So sit back and enjoy the ride!