have to brag...

Happy Friday! I know it's been forever since I've blogged anything. I'm sorry. I was thinking of you though. Okay, so I have to brag a little bit... I started reading Money-Saving Mom & I recently got some GREAT deals because of it!



First deal: A few weeks ago MSM shared a coupon code for Old Navy. It was 25% off of clearance items. I started shopping through the clearance section online and found all sorts of stuff. I ended up getting 3 skirts & 5 sweaters for only $60! I got my package yesterday and it was like Christmas all over again. I'm usually worried about buying clothes online 'cause you never know how they'll fit and what they'll look like. I had to get 2 of the skirts in Tall because they didn't have them in regular, but they fit great. All of the sweaters fit fine, minus the maternity one that is way too big for me. I'll have to take it back or something. UPDATE: I called Old Navy and not only did they have the sweater in my size BUT they had it in the color I originally wanted. I got the sweater for the price I paid for the other one and free shipping.



Second deal: MSM shared a tip that CoastalContacts was giving away 10,000 free pairs of glasses to their facebook fans Friday morning. All you had to do was fan the page and get the code. I did all that and then went to the website to pick my glasses so that the next day I could just open my computer and click "BUY". Well, I picked out two pair - a normal black pair & a fun pink pair. Friday morning came and I fought back and forth on which ones to get. Which pair did I get? The fun pink pair! Did you even have to ask? All I had to do was pay S&H and they were mine! I got those in the other day and was again a bit skeptical about getting glasses online. Will they fit right? Will the prescription be correct? What if I look stupid in them? Let me just say... they are wonderful! I only have one problem and it's that they are a little too small behind my ears but I can get them resized.



I'm just so excited about all this new stuff. I used giftcards we got for Christmas which makes it even better. Thanks Money-Saving Mom!

Mmm! Chicken & Peppers

Sorry I haven't been around for awhile guys. I kept thinking of things to type about and then would just get busy. I don't want to turn this into a food blog, but I just have to share this yummy (and easy) recipe!

So... Mhubs is doing P90x and part of it is a nutrtion plan. I was a bit scared and nervous about this new nutrtion plan 'cause it has a lot of fruits & veggies which we don't eat fast enough so they go bad. And not to mention the amount of protein he has to eat and only getting one carb/grain a day. I ended up getting a lot of frozen fruits & veggies (brocolli, strawberries, etc.) so that they wouldn't go bad as quickly. We also got a big box of spring mix that we've eaten a lot of.

Okay, so here's what we had for dinner last night (sorry no pics)...
1. Put sliced onion, sliced bell peppers (we had orange, yellow, & red) & chopped garlic in a hot pan
2. I added a ladle of chicken broth (homemade btw) so that I didn't use up our "fat" on olive oil. It was just a little too much, but it worked.
3. Cook until tender (or just until you feel like doing the next step)
4. Add chicken breasts right on top. Add pepper to taste.
5. I waited until both sides turned white and then covered.
6. Once you think the chicken is cooked (I'm the worst at this. I'm so paranoid about serving pink chicken), cover the chicken breasts with the onion/pepper mixture and add a slice of pepperjack cheese on top of each breast. Place it in the oven until the cheese is melted.
8. Serve with black beans & sliced avocado.

Mhubs seemed to really like it. I was worried it would be bland, but it was full of flavor from the onions and peppers and cheese. It was one of those "I'm going to throw all this stuff in here and see how it turns out" things and it was great and easy! I was worried about not having two sides with dinner. No rice? No bread? But the food was really filling. I walked around with a food baby for a goodwhile afterward. We never even got to eat the pudding I had made for dessert.

Shopping!

So, I didn't even realize that my last post was the last day of December. The [official] dress dare is over. I spent the first two days of January in skirts though. Mhubs went golfing on Saturday so the MIL & I decided to do some shopping. We went somewhere a little different, but with all the same stores. It was nice to just be somewhere new. Anyway... went to Dillard's and grabbed a bunch of things to try on but they were all too big. I rarely look at sizes and just grab what looks like it'll fit and try it on. I more look at price tag. I ended up only getting a [super comfy] baseball tee (for $2.50!!!), a tye-dye looking sweater thing, & 2 Christmas ornaments. All for under $10. Then we went to Ross and that's where I got really excited. I had about 25 things to try on. Half being super cute cardigans, but I ended up putting most of them away 'cause they were $25 each and that was a little past my budget. I ended up getting 2 dresses, a black sweater shrug, yellow cardigan, shoes, sunglasses, and a winter jacket. I tried on a dress that I just fell in love with, but it was just a little too big. I'm going to see if a different Ross has it in the size I need. It'd look great with the shoes I got.

Now here's the question/dilemma... now that December is over and the new year is here should I start wearing pants again? The dress dare was way easier than I thought it'd be. The hardest part was coming up with outfits. The cold didn't bother me too much. One of the problems I ran into is that a number of shirts I have are "jean shirts". Meaning the only look good with pants. I haven't figured out a way to make a peasant top look good with a skirt. If you have any secrets, please do tell! I think I'll continue to not buy any new pants, only skirts & dresses, but until I have a bigger skirt/dress wardrobe I'll wear pants occasionally. The hard part will be only wearing them occasionally. I'll have to come up with some "rules" for pants wearing or something. Thoughts? Suggestions?

Happy Birthday & Happy New Year!

Yesterday was my birthday. Another year older. It was a great day. Mhubs woke me up and told me to get dressed and "wear tennis shoes". Him and Chewbaby had something special planned. We got in the car and started driving. Stopped by Kolache Factory before we got to where we were going. This is one of my new favorite places. Mhubs usually gets the Ranchero. I have fallen in love with the Philly Cheesesteak and my new favorite - Chicken Enchilada. YUM! I want one now! Anyway... ends up the boys were taking me to the zoo. It was great. The weather was perfect. Just a little cool and overcasty so the animals were hanging out and not hiding in their caves and whatnot. We even had a picnic in the park. Chewbaby got to feed the ducks (well, mommy fed them and he watched). After we finished up at the zoo, we came home to get ready for dinner. I got to enjoy a nice shower, complete with loud sing-a-long music. I told Mhubs in the car to make sure he got a picture of my outfit so I could put it on the blog, but of course we both forgot. But it's okay... It was so cute I'm sure I'll wear it again. We had dinner with my family and the in-laws. It was a nice dinner - edamame, blueberry mojito, sushi & tempura oreos. My siblings even got me a sushi dinner set with 2 plates, 2 bowls, 2 chopsticks, 2 dipping things, and 2 chopstick holders. I'm so excited. I told Mhubs we were going to start having sushi night at home. Yum! Not sure what we're doing for New Year's Eve tonight, but HAPPY NEW YEAR Y'ALL!

Christmas Catch-Up

Sorry guys. It's been crazy busy with Christmas and all. The weather was nice up until Christmas day where it became 50 degrees with gusts of wind making it 30 degrees. Christmas eve was great. Full of gumbo, family, & friends. After everyone left we opened our gifts with the Mhubs' family. We got a Keurig which we had been wanting. I was like a little kid. Hugging it and asking if I could take it to bed. I'm actually sipping a freshly brewed cup right now. Mmm! Slept over since gift opening goes late. We cut it SUPER close for Mass at 10AM, but made it just in time! Chewbaby (which is his new name since he's learned how to do the Chewbaca noise) was a bit rambunctious and spent the last 10 minutes of Mass screaming, but he was ready for breakfast and a nap. After Mass we tried to figure out what we were going to do with my family. Breakfast? No breakfast? Since I was in a skirt with no leggings & no jacket I was ready to just go to my Dad's house. My sister offered to bring me a pair of pants, but I didn't want to break the "pants fast" when I'm so close to the end. So, we went to my dad's and everyone was hungry so we decided to go to IHOP. I borrowed some leggings and some really weird but really cool thigh-high sweater socks. They were so warm and matched perfectly with my red sweater. Overall Christmas was great! I'd have to say it was one of the best so far.



I have to admit I was tempted to wear pants twice. Trying to find an outfit for Christmas eve was tough when I wanted to wear a chunky sweater but it would just look silly with a dress. How cute it'd be with some skinny jeans. Or Christmas day when the wind was ripping 30 degrees onto my bare legs. Thank goodness for sister and her thigh-high sweater socks! I got a few giftcards & checks that will go towards some new skirts & sweaters/cardigans.



Merry Christmas Y'all!

Day 20: I WON!

I can't believe it, but I actually won!!! I'm so excited to get it! She has another giveaway going on too. I'd love to win that one as well, since it is a St. Therese Chaplet.

We went to a Christmas Party Saturday night. We had a Santa Swap (or whatever you want to call it) and I stole a beautiful Mary & Child statue from M&M. Mhubs was a bit upset that I gave up the tool bag, but I really wanted that statue.

Don't forget about the giveaway! (but if you win you should give it to me for Christmas)

Day 17: Wardrobe Redo

Since I don't know what I'm going to wear yet. A special Friday Wishlist for you!


When I started dating Mhubs his family had a tradition of watching the movie Christmas Vacation every Thanksgiving. This year while watching I noticed something... I LOVE Aunt Bethany's outfit and I want one! I told Mhubs I either wanted to find it or make one. I have yet to find it, but while searching/browsing on Etsy I found some cute dresses. Here are just a couple of them...
A: This is WAY over any budget I would have, but can't you just imagine going to a ball or a presidential party in it? A girl can dream.
B: This is what I would want as a fabulous birthday party dress!
C: What a great party dress! And it reminds me of Dirty Dancing for some reason...
D: I know the pattern is kind of ugly, but there's something about this dress I really like.
E: I love everything about this dress. The belt, the jacket, the way it puffs out. How cute would this be at a party or even a wedding?
F: Every cute dress needs cute shoes!

I want to redo my entire wardrobe with stuff like this. It all reminds me of back in the day when you'd get dressed up and make dinner and have a martini waiting for your husband when he got home. It's very Mad Men-esque. I've never seen the show, but I've seen the clothes and they're fabulous! I have another wardrobe wishlist, but I'll save that for another day. How would you redo your wardrobe?

Day 16: Don't Forget!

Boo! I started a really good post yesterday complete with a wishlist & pics, but the stupid HTML was confusing me and it all got deleted. I'll figure it out and put it up soon. Something I've realized over the last few days and advice for you readers...

EVERYTIME I wear a skirt or dress (no matter the length) I wear some running shorts underneath. This is because you never know what could happen. With monster baby getting older he likes to pull on my skirts and sometimes they ride up. Or a huge gust of wind could come and that cute skirt of yours would be over your face. OR (everyone's worst nightmare) you're not paying attention and your skirt gets tucked into your undies after using the restroom.

So, my advice is ALWAYS wear some shorts underneath. Mine aren't anything special. Just some old black running shorts I got from a friend of mine years ago. My dilemma is I found a hole in them the other day so now to find some new "modesty shorts".

ALSO, I just saw a blog on slips and I've been thinking about getting a few as well. MoMoMod found this Etsy shop: A Slip Shop. And they have some cute slips.