Where I've Been

I never really intended for the blog to go dormant and neglected over the last few weeks but day after day I got busier and busier and before I knew it, it had been over a month since I'd published anything.  I haven't had that long of a dry spell since I started really blogging almost a year ago.  The days (and weeks) of silence are hopefully behind me now as J and I get into the swing of things in our new home in South Bend, IN.

Here are a few things we've been up to this month when I obviously wasn't blogging:

I left my job of two years in preparation for our move to South Bend and packed up all of our belongings while J studied for the bar exam.

J took the bar exam in Des Moines, IA.  24 hours later, we packed up our apartment in a Penske truck and cleaned the apartment within an inch of its life.  Thanks to my dad and J's parents for helping load us up and move us!

Less than 12 hours after that, we drove the six and a half hours from St. Louis to South Bend with J's parents, sister, my dad and Woods in tow.  We arrrived in South Bend around four pm and promptly unloaded the truck.

We then left South Bend for a week to vacation with our families at Feirin De--including Woods.

A big beach bonfire we had one night thanks to lots of driftwood washed ashore by heavy rains

 Returned a week later much more relaxed and refreshed to an apartment so full of furniture and boxes we could hardly move.

A view from our bedroom window taken our first night in the apartment!

Spent the next week and a half unpacking, organizing rooms, purchasing some new furniture and hanging art work.  A full house tour will be posted later this week!

I finally recovered our dining room chairs.  I love the pattern so much I wish I would have done it sooner!

Took another mini-vacation slash post-bar trip to Chicago to visit some friends last weekend.   We had a blast and I will be sharing pictures and full details later this week!

Doing our best Ferris Bueller impersonations at the Art Museum in Chicago

Cooked some delicious meals.  Recipes for Hot German Wax Beans, French-Style Perch with Vegetables and Zucchini Bread will be forthcoming in the next few days.

Oktoberfest in August--Hot German Wax Beans, homemade spaetzle and kielbasa.  Yum!

Registered for classes and spent way too much on books.  That's right, I am going back to school!  Eventually I will be obtaining a Masters in Education and a certification in secondary education (in Social Science to be more specific), but for now I am taking a few classes (three this fall and four in the spring) so that when we move back to Omaha I can hopefully complete the program there in one calendar year.  Classes start on Monday and I am nervous/excited to be back in school!

Tried to start catching up on blog posts in my Google Reader.  Right now I have over 1000 unread posts and I am hoping to get all caught up before classes start Monday!


And on the horizon for this week are the following items:

• Get satellite TV set up and DVR up and running--I've missed out on weeks of my favorite shows! 
• Take the Indiana driving test (new residents must take the written driving test...again...)
• Obtain new insurance
• Title my car in Indiana and obtain new license plates
• Visit the Farmer's Market and local co-op here on Saturday
• Have some new friends (J's soon-to-be associate at work, his wife and 2 kids) over for a pool party and dinner
• Make a kid-friendly dinner for six!
• Catch up on my Google Reader

While I am catching up and reading lots of blog posts, would you mind telling me one thing you've done or blogged about since I've been gone?!?  My last blog post was July 13th if that helps jog your memory!  

I can't wait to catch up with all of you and a big thank you for sticking around during this busy and hectic time in our lives!

Books, Comments and the BBC

I hope you all had a great weekend!  Ours was cold and rainy but fun.  I came across a Barnes and Noble gift card I didn't know I had (love it when that happens!) and bought a few new books thanks to a buy two, get one free sale and spent part of the weekend getting lost in Tudor England. 

This cat reminds me of my childhood pet Cricket!  Image via weheartit

When I wasn't reading or cooking up a storm, I was spending time with Ashlee, JY, Danielle and Kyle and celebrating Ashlee's graduation from her Master's program.  Let's just say all that regalia made me want to go to graduate school.  Badly.

Switching gears, I've recently changed the way I respond to comments on the blog and wanted to share my thoughts on the subject.  I love comments (who doesn't?!) and have been trying to figure out the best way to respond to them and communicate with you all.  I thought about using Disqus (these lovelies use it and they seem to work really well) and other options before deciding to reply to individual comments via email.  Many blogs I comment on reply to my comments this way and I love it when a response pops up in my inbox!  Will receiving fun, non-spam, non-work related emails ever get old?

For this to work, however, an email address must be associated with your Blogger account or else when I hit reply, the only email address listed is noreply@blogger.com which means my message isn't going anywhere which is sad!  Kristin at A Guide to Living Graciously has a great tutorial complete with screenshots on how to associate an email address with your account and it is something that only took me a few minutes to change!

It also has occurred to me that we completely skipped over April's BBC book!  April was a very busy month for me and while I did read the book, I never got around to hosting the discussion.  A few of you have been asking about this month's book but before we go any further, I thought I'd gauge interest in the BBC as a whole.   If you belong to the BBC, do you want to continue to join us for discussions?  Would having longer to read the books be helpful?  What type of books do you prefer: ones you can easily find at the library and check out for free or the latest best sellers? 

If you do not belong to the BBC, would you ever consider joining us?  What has held you back before now?  Is there something I can do to make being a part of the group easier?

I can't wait to hear what you all have to say and respond to your comments :)

P.S.  We received our wedding album this weekend and a complete reveal post with photos will be posted soon--I can't wait to share them with you!

Derby Horses

Today I am over at Jennifer's lovely blog blue-eyed belle talking about one of my favorite subjects, horses!

Image via

I share a bit of history about the Derby and the star of the Derby, the Thoroughbred, in addition to my prediction for who is going to win on Saturday.  Click here to check it out!  (If you place a bet on my pick and lose, my apologies.  I never claimed to be an expert!) 

Coincidentally, today would have been my horse Pal's 26th birthday--how's that for timing?!  I've blogged about Pal before and the timing of Woods' arrival into our lives.  Pal was part Thoroughbred himself--he was a registered Quarter Horse but had a great-grand sire (father) who was a Thoroughbred, which made him what is called an Appendix or Running Quarter Horse.  This is where he got some of his height (average height for a Quarter Horse is 15 hands--Pal was almost 17 hands tall!).  His height and build led many to believe he was a Dutch warmblood which always made me laugh since that breed is far more fancy and expensive than my little ole American Quarter Horse. 

He looks two-toned here because he had just gotten a trace clip for the winter!

Are you planning on watching The Kentucky Derby this weekend?  Care to make any predictions yourself?  I'm all ears!

I'm Back--Kind of

Last Friday when I said I'd be back on Monday I think I seriously underestimated how tired and wiped out I would feel after working 14+ hour days all weekend for our biggest event of the year--which explains why I haven't posted anything for the last two days. 

Last night I cooked a real home cooked meal for the first time in over two weeks (lots of frozen Trader Joe's meals and take out got us through) and actually had a night where we could do whatever we wanted because I wasn't working late into the night.

We celebrated by having our friend JDP over for dinner.  I made a very Spring meal:  poached salmon with fresh dill (from our new dill plant!), roasted cauliflower and wild rice which we paired with ice water with cucumber slices.  If you have never put cucumbers in your iced water before, you should really try it!  It flavors your water without overpowering it and adds a very clean, crisp taste to it that keeps you going back for more and more.

Image taken via weheartit

We finished off the night with some frozen yogurt before watching two more episodes of Mad Men (for those keeping track at home we are now at the beginning of season three and loving the show)!

I also have approximately 746 unread items in my Google Reader that I am slowly working through.  I promise I will be back to a regular posting (and commenting) schedule very soon.  I can't wait to see what you all have been up to!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

KT's Refinishing School Spring Break: Temporary Nest

Thank goodness it's Friday and my busiest two weeks of work all year are almost ALMOST over!  To finish off a great two weeks with ten amazing bloggers, the creative and talented Gina of Temporary Nest is here to share a beautiful spring time craft that is perfect for the weeks before Easter.

Actually, Gina's blog was one of the first I started reading when I began the whole process of reading and creating a blog over a year and a half ago.  Granted I didn't write on a consistent basis until after J's and my wedding last June, but all the while I was reading and loving Gina's blog!  Gina has recently taken up upholstery in the form of weekly classes and just finished her first piece Satine.  I have enjoyed living vicariously through following Gina through this process.  If you are not already a Nester like me, what are you waiting for?!?

Hi Everyone!  I'm Gina from Temporary Nest.  Nice to meet you guys!  KT was sweet enough to ask me to wrap up her Spring Break guest post line up.  What a sweetie pie, right?  I write about temporary upgrades for my sweet little rental to make someone elses' property and to make it feel like my home.

Today I thought I'd share with you guys something somewhat unusual for me...  I like to decorate my house for the Christmas holidays, and maybe a smidge for Halloween or Fall. But the rest of the year my house is just plain, my house.  No added shamrocks or hearts.  I guess I'm just so busy getting it to the pretty for the everyday, that I forget about decorating for all the other holidays!  But this time 'round I'm going to try to be a little better about it.  With Winter behind us now, I decided to join the Spring Wreath bandwagon and make my very own.

The supplies I used {which you could use anything you want} were:

• burlap {left over from another project}  $0
• foam wreath $4.99
• assorted sprigs of "berries" $1.99/ea {and I bought WAYYY too many.  More for the next project!}
• nest $1.99
• deer moss {left over from another project} $0
• bird eggs {left over from another project} $0
• hot glue gun and glue sticks $2.99 + $1.99 {Can you believe I have never owned one!?}
• fabric flower that I made from scrap fabric and an old button $0
• brown satin ribbon $2.99
• D-ring {left over from another project} $0

Total for this project: about $25  

 

First I made this fabric flower from folding circles of fabric in half then into thirds and hot gluing them onto a small circle of felt. To finish off the inside, I used a small circle of the same yellow fabric, and glued a pearlized button in the center.  Next up, the nest that I bought {Kind of a cop-out, I know. I totally should have made one myself but *shrug* I bought it anyway.}  was attached to a branch which was just too stinkin' big for the wreath.  Luckily, the nest was only held on to the branch by some small wires that I just clipped right off!

It only took a smidge of deer moss glued into the bottom of the nest and the addition of the little eggs to make it really come to life! What is it about nests that are so precious? They make my heart flutter!

I glued the burlap on in varying width strips to give it a bit of a fairly simple, modern yet raw, cottage-y feel. Then I just stuck single branches of the assorted colored berries straight through the burlap and into the foam.  Any of them that seem a little unstable I put a drop of glue under it just to make sure it wasn't goin' anywhere.  Then of course you can see, I glued the flower into the middle of the sprigs.  At the last minute I found a little swatch of leather left over from another project. I cut the shape of a little leaf and popped that on too!

But we're not done yet! What about the nest? I had originally wanted to put the nest and the flower asymmetrically on the wreath.  But it was way too much.  So, I decided to "float" the nest in the center of the wreath.

I hot glued the nest to the ribbon and pinned the ribbon to the wreath, cutting pieces to wrap around the frame of the wreath as well. Then I also pinned a loop of ribbon from which to hang the wreath. Inside the loop, I put a D-ring.  Odd choice, right? Well, seeing as though I wanted this to be kind of a more modern wreath, instead of going with a bow at the top, I rocked the metal D-ring. Why not? Gang way, folks! I'm breaking all the wreath-making rules!  

Originally, I was going to keep 'er all for myself, hanging it on the inside of my apartment door.  In thinking about the fun colors in the hallway, I went for adding some Springy-character to my door for all the world building to see!

Pardon the heinous flash photography, but it was entirely necessary considering the equally heinous lighting in the hall way. But aren't the colors perfect? The yellow flower unintentionally matches my door perfectly!  And there you have it! A pretty, yet simple, Spring wreath!

Thank you for bearing with me on this hap-hazard tutorial, guys! And I hope to see you guys all over at Temporary Nest some time! Thank you so much to KT for having me here and let's all welcome her back on Monday!  Have a nice weekend, guys!


Amazing, right?!  I especially love the mustard yellow ribbon Gina chose and the way it matches the door perfectly--oh my!  This project is a perfect example of why wreathes aren't just for Christmas.   I can't wait to make one of my own!

And now a special word to my guest bloggers:  You all have been absolutely wonderful and I am so grateful for the time and effort you put into these posts.  I have had such a great time working with you all and you have definitely made this extremely hectic time a little less so!  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing yourselves and your blogs with me.  I feel privileged to know you and am honored that you agreed to be a part of this series!  Basically, you rock.

Happy weekend everyone!  I can't wait to be back in full force on Monday--I have missed you all and have a lot of catching up and commenting to do on my Google Reader next week (only 467 posts or so).

KT's Refinishing School Spring Break: Mrs. Z(ed), A Crafty Librarian

I hope your Thursday is off to a good start.  Today my neighbor and friend Lesley of Mrs. Z(ed), A Crafty Librarian will be sharing her recipe for homemade chicken taquitos which look delicious!  Lesley and Dr. Z(ed) are wonderful neighbors with whom we share many a great meal, who watch Woods when we go out of town and let us use their washer and dryer because ours is broken, saving us a trip to the laundry mat.  Lesley is so creative, having worked as a costume designer before pursuing her MA in Library Science, and you should definitely check out her blog!

Hello! Howdy! Nice to meet you all!  I'm so happy to be guest posting on my dear neighbor KT's blog. Since it's spring break time (mine was last week-and was divine) I thought I would share one of our new favorite week night meals with you: the best chicken taquitos I've ever eaten.  Like seriously-I could eat them all day long and we have worked them into our rotation about once a week ever since I discovered the original recipe.

I'm not sure what makes them so good.  Maybe it's the little bit of salty-ness on the outside, maybe its because this is the first recipe in which I have conquered the corn tortilla (I usually have trouble getting them crisp or not tearing them, or even getting them to roll up prettily), or maybe it's just because they are mad, mad, tasty.  The first time we had them for dinner I ate at least 8 and Dr. Z(ed) (my partner in crime) ate at least 10.  We would have eaten more... but we ran out.  This time when I made them we had guests so we kept things a little more respectable: I only ate 5.  I also threw together a delightful corn salad which really topped off the meal and made it very spring-y.  Can't go anywhere exotic for spring break?  Have a fiesta at home!

I was worried the rotisserie chicken would be too greasy-but it was delicious!

 Ingredients I used:

1 pkg. corn tortillas
1 rotisserie chicken (you can also cook and shred your own chicken, but I had to work late this day and allowed the grocery store to help me cheat a bit)
1 small yellow onion, minced
1/2 c. reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. tomatillo salsa
1 lime (you will only use the juice)
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1-2 pinches red pepper flakes
1 tsp. cumin
3 cloves of garlic
1 Tbsp. Cilantro (you can also chop up about 1/4 c. of fresh cilantro-I just couldn't find any at our grocery store recently)
1 small batch of green onions, chopped
1/2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 c. shredded monterey jack cheese (we had swiss in the fridge once and that made them v. creamy-yum!)
kosher salt
black pepper
cooking spray

For the corn salad:
1 small bag of frozen corn
1 pkg. cherry tomatoes
1/2 c. edamame, shelled
5 basil leaves, chopped
salt
pepper
lime juice to taste

This step takes the longest, but it is totally worth it!

Steps I did:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and spray a large cookie sheet with non-stick spray. Shred the chicken and throw it into a medium sized bowl.  (I find it easiest to just pick the meat off the carcass and tear it by hand.)  Throw in the onion, green onion, chili powder, red pepper flakes, and cumin and toss around.  Add the salsa, cream cheese, and lime juice and mix well.  Salt and pepper the mixture to taste and fold in the cheeses.  Take the corn tortillas three at a time and place them on a plate in the microwave for about 30 seconds.  (It is important to microwave them long enough that they become nice and pliable.) Spoon the chicken mixture on the bottom half of each tortilla-I use about 2 Tbsp.  Then gently roll the tortilla up and place on a cookie sheet with the seam facing down. Repeat until you are out of filling, and don't be afraid to make them nice and meaty.  Once you have all of your taquitos nicely arranged, lightly spray them with cooking spray and sprinkle them with salt.  Bake for 20 minutes and let rest for 5 so you don't burn your mouth if you are impatient with food like I am.  Serve with more salsa, guacamole, and sour cream for dipping.

So colorful and so summer-y!

For the corn salad:

Steam the corn on the stove-top for about 7 minutes, drain off any excess water and let cool.  Toss into a mixing bowl.  Slice the cherry tomatoes lengthwise and toss them in along with the chopped basil and edamame.  Salt and pepper to taste, squirt in a bit of lime juice and mix well.  Oh so refreshing!

Start by eating 4 or 5, then graze on the rest through-out the evening.  Even cold they are yummy!

Just writing this has made me hungry for these, in fact my mouth is actually watering.  Guess chicken taquitos will be on the menu this weekend.  It's a good thing Dr. Z(ed) and I just got new bikes for the summer, otherwise we would be getting fat off of chicken taquitos in no time!  Thanks for letting me visit and I hope you enjoy the spring and this meal, heartily.


Those look so, so good.  I love taquitos but never would have thought to make them at home--genius!  I can't wait for this busy work week to be over so I can try some of these great recipes I've been seeing all week.  Thank you Lesley for sharing the recipe with us all and for being such a great neighbor!

Tomorrow Gina from Temporary Nest will be sharing a gorgeous spring time craft you won't want to miss so stay tuned!

KT's Refinishing School Spring Break: Every Little Thing

Thank goodness it's Wednesday--half way through the week everybody!

Today I have a fellow St. Louis-area blogger who will be sharing another delicious spring time recipe, this time one for dinner.  Stacy at Every Little Thing shares recipes, advice and personal experiences when it comes to living an all-natural life.  I have learned so much about organics, local foods and other all natural products from Stacy in a way that makes it fun, not intimidating.  Anyone who wants to take more care with what and how they eat should definitely check out her blog!

Hello! My name is Stacy and I write a Beginner’s Guide to All Natural Living over at Every Little Thing. My blog is very much a combination of all natural and organic recipes, making the right choices at the grocery store, the newest brews and wines, and whatever else happens to go up! Check it out, or shoot me an email at everylittlethingblog at gmail dot com. Thanks to KT for making this guest post possible!

I hope everyone got to celebrate Spring Break this month, even if that meant 5 minutes on the porch, soaking up the sun! You definitely don’t have to travel to celebrate the beginning of Spring; in fact, you can do so right in your own kitchen, with a few natural ingredients!

I’ve been craving huge salads lately (and seafood, but that’s a whole ‘nother post), especially with sweet and salty combinations. I had a long day at work earlier this week and decided to throw some things together with a homemade dressing.

In my salad:

      Mixed organic baby greens

      Hard-boiled organic egg

      Granny Smith organic apple

      Red onion

      Bleu cheese crumbles

      Avocado

      Honey

      Garlic Gold organic sea salt nuggets

      Honey Balsamic dressing

What a delicious salad!  I didn't want it to end.  I may or may not have overdone it with the honey but really? Doesn't matter :) The honey balsamic dressing consisted of: 

      Olive oil

      Balsamic vinegar

      Garlic

      Honey

      Rosemary

Whisk together about ¼ cup balsamic with 2 tablespoons honey and 2-3 minced garlic cloves. Slowly pour in about ½ cup olive oil, continuously whisking until mixed. Dash with rosemary and serve!

One awesome way to serve this salad is to combine the dressing in the bottom of a large bowl, then toss the greens to coat, then add your toppings! 

I hope you all enjoyed a big bowl of your favorite Spring food this month :) Hope on over to Every Little Thing for more all natural and organic recipes, info and chatter!

That salad looks amazing and oh so hearty!  Hard boiled eggs, bleu cheese and balsamic vinaigrette? Sign me up.  Thank you Stacy for being a part of the series and sharing this delicious recipe.  Happy Wednesday, everyone!

KT's Refinishing School Spring Break: The Granola Chronicles

Today Courtney from The Granola Chronicles will be sharing with us a yummy spring time recipe, one I could gobble up just about now--blueberry muffins!

I "met" Courtney through Ashlee because they went to college together in Nebraska back in the day.  Courtney originally had a strictly food blog but has recently expanded it to include all things "granola" and West Coast as well.  As a California girl myself, I love living vicariously through Courtney and Evan and following them as they discover all that California has to offer for the first time.  Here's more from Courtney:

Hello, all! I'm Courtney, and I blog over at The Granola Chronicles: A Simple Approach to California Living. I focus on healthy recipes (mostly, but not all, vegetarian meals), indulgent treats, Community Supported Agriculture & organic produce, as well as everyday life in northern California. 

Now that it's officially Spring, I want to share a quick & easy seasonal recipe. These blueberry muffins would go well with fresh fruit and an egg & asparagus strata - together they would make the perfect Spring-time brunch.

While I'm partial to blueberries, you can add in any kind of fruit: raspberries, strawberries, peaches - you name it! If you're looking for a healthier version, you can try substituting vanilla Greek yogurt for the melted butter. Enjoy!

Breakfast Muffins
Source: All Recipes 

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add milk, egg, and butter; mix until ingredients are moistened, do not over beat. Stir in fresh fruit.

Spoon batter into twelve greased muffin cups. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Serve warm. 



Doesn't that look perfect for an April morning like today?  Having spent every August in Michigan since I was a baby, blueberries always remind me of the warmer temperatures and longer nights that come with spring and summer time!  I love them in all sorts of breakfast foods and baked goods, but especially muffins and pancakes :)

I'd like to extend a big, sunny California thank you to Courtney for being here today.  Hope you all are having a great Tuesday!

KT's Refinishing School Spring Break: Aiukli-Because Life is Beautiful

Welcome back to another exciting week of guest bloggers as part of KT's Refinishing School Spring Break!  Mallori of Aiukli-Because Life is Beautiful is here to kick us off and will be sharing new details regarding the Spring Break trip she took a few weeks ago.  

I originally "met" Mallori thanks to her FLTOB feature and boy am I glad I did!  She is a fun and creative blogger and I love following her adventures as she wraps up her senior year of college.  I had the opportunity to participate in Mallori's Tell the World Tuesday a few weeks ago and am thrilled she agreed to be a part of this series!

Hello to all of KT's readers! My name is Mallori and I blog over at aiukli-because life is beautiful. (If you want to know more about my blog, you can find information just under my header in my pages list)

I am so very excited and honored to be guest posting here at KT's Refinishing School! This is my first-ever guest post, so I'm not exactly sure how well it will turn out.

Over at my blog, I shared the very basic of what my entire spring break entailed (spring break was the week of  March 14-18 for me). I kept it simple for many reasons: school immediately got crazy upon my return, I was exhausted, and I knew I needed some content for this guest post.

I would like to share with you my entire Thursday (St. Patrick's Day) in detail because honestly, it's the most exciting day (every other day we just layed around at the beach all day). A little background info: I'm a fifth year senior at The University of Oklahoma, and since I am graduating in May I wanted to treat myself to a fun spring break in a state I've never been to with friends only. We rented a beach house in Treasure Island, Florida.

I woke up from my somewhat coma groggy and with a headache around 9:30 a.m. The guys from our trip had gone out to a club and the four of us girls stayed at home and enjoyed playing drinking games to the movies The Hangover and Step Brothers. Needless to say the four of us really needed to sleep in. My roommate here at college was also up, as her body did not let her sleep in past 9:30 any day of the week. She and I went downstairs and realized that we were both terribly sunburned from the day before.

She and I had breakfast (bowls of cereal) and then talked about what we were going to do that day. Her mom had attended Eckerd College as an undergrad, and she wanted to go see the school. We had also talked about going to eat at Ted Peters' Famous Smoked Fish earlier in the week. After talking for less than five minutes, it was decided that she and I would go visit both the college, and then ask the rest of our spring break roommates if they wanted to join us for lunch at Ted Peters'. Once the other two girl roommates woke up, they told us they also wanted to join us at the college. Neither of the guys were too interested in the college, so the four of us set out to go look at Eckerd College.

Along the way, we saw a really cool resort that was pink, and then we also got stopped at a draw bridge (Treasure Island was completely surround by them):

Don Caesar's resort

one of the many drawbridges surrounding the island

Once we got to Eckerd College, I had the sudden urge to say "We're not in Kansas anymore." The college was SO SMALL in comparison to my large University of Oklahoma. Everyone around was in outfits that were beach ready, and people were walking by and seemed to know everyone. The only buildings that seemed to be more than one story were the library and the dormitories. HUGE difference than here. Also, maintenance men were driving around in their carts, and they got off the sidewalk to move around us! It was so weird to all of us because if you aren't careful on campus, you can get hit by golf carts and bikes.

We continued to explore to the back of the campus, and there was a beach behind it all.  A BEACH, PEOPLE! I would never be able to attend a college like this, because I would never go to class. I would just sit outside in the sun all day. There were lots of people out on a lawn in their bathing suits and tank tops laying out and getting some sun. There also were some hammocks on the beach, and of course me and the girls had to get in :)

my friends Colleen and Caroline

pretty flowers on campus

Once we had toured around the school (on our own) for about an hour, we started to head back home. On the way, we stopped by a souvenir shop to get some goodies to take back home. The one we stopped in happened to be in St. Pete Beach, so we had a difficult time finding anything that said Treasure Island. So I compromised and bought a shot glass that said "St. Pete Beach, Florida" but it had a skull and crossbones as the picture. I also bought a purple flip flop bottle opener key chain to replace the very heave one I currently had on my keys.

We went and picked up the boys from the house, and then made the trip to Ted Peters. By this time it was around 1 or so, so all of us were STARVING. Now, I'm not a big fish person, and I blame that on living in Oklahoma all my life where all of the good fish is never fresh because it has to be shipped from a coast. Because of this, I called my grandma to ask her which fish I was to try. I also wanted to try their German potato salad because my mom has a really good recipe and I wanted to compare. AND on top of that I wanted to try their Manhattan clam chowder because I heart soup, and I knew that I needed to try as much stuff as possible because I have no idea when I'll return.

Mimi (my grandma) convinced me that I needed to get the smoked mahi mahi because it would probably be one of the less fish-y tasting fish. Here is what the food looked like:

cup of Manhattan clam chowder

smoked mahi mahi, German potato salad, and two dipping sauces--horseradish and horseradish with Caribbean Jerk seasoning

It tastes even better than it looks. I'm not a fish eater, but that day I was. I don't know how, but I finished that entire 1-lb piece of fish, and wouldn't have minded going back again to eat it all over again. SO DELICIOUS. The clam chowder wasn't quite what I expected, and the broth was a little sweeter than I had imagined. The German potato salad was good, but my mom's is definitely better. And I've watched her make it enough to know exactly what theirs was missing to make it taste like mom's.
(but I still would recommend everyone trying it if they're ever down in Florida)

Once we all had eaten entirely too much, we headed back to the island to catch what little bit of sun was left before heading out for St. Patrick's Day. Since I was too burned for my taste, I decided to stay in and work on some school stuff that I had been putting off. Once everyone came back, we decided that we needed to find somewhere as soon as possible because one of us was not 21 just yet (I'm 23 so it's not me).

After doing a lot of googling, we decided on a restaurant called Gator's Cafe & Saloon because it advertised a Ladies' Night special and the kitchen was open until 10. Me being the good celebrator that I am got the reuben sandwich with fries. This was one of the top 3 reubens I've ever had, and trust me I've had my fair share. I seriously gobbled it up in probably 7 minutes and was licking my fingers for every last morsel. The kitchen closed at 10 and the bar opened up to replace it. The ladies' night special was phenomenal, free domestic drafts, well drinks, and house wine from 9-midnight. And there was a live cover band called Sunburn that had a good sound.

Gator's Cafe & Saloon

Live band called "Sunburn"

me enjoying the ladies' night special ;-)

Sunburn would play for a little bit, then they would have the DJ play for a little. We danced the night away. We were some of the youngest people there, but we didn't care because we were having a great time. For a minute there, we were afraid we were going to get kicked out because of the under-ager. But somehow  we managed to be able to stay until 1 a.m. when we called the guy who had stayed home to come pick us up. It was kind of scary at times, but we all had agreed that if they asked us to leave we would just leave.

Caroline and my roommate

me, Colleen, Caroline, Max

me, Colleen, my roommate, Max

this is my "I'm so happy that I'm in Florida for St. Patrick's Day" face

Cole came and picked us up, and we all got home and went to bed. As I lay in bed that night just before falling asleep, I had many thoughts. First, I missed my family and I wish they could see the beautiful beach. Second, I'm so blessed to be able to treat myself to the trip of a lifetime. Third, the friends I chose to surround myself with were truly a blessing. Fourth, I was so extremely happy at that point in time that I could have almost cried tears of joy (that might have been alcohol induced).

And that was the most interesting day of the most fantastic spring break trip I have been on to date.

So how did I do? Too wordy? Too many pictures? I hope you enjoyed my first guest post, and I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to KT for letting me share a day in my spring break!


That looks like a great Spring Break trip!  When I was in college, I mostly traveled home for Spring Break since my family was in Southern California and I was going to school in the Midwest.  I wish I would have gone on a girls' trip like Mallori though!

A big thank you to Mallori for sharing all of her fun photos and memories from her trip.  Up next, a yummy recipe from Courtney at The Granola Chronicles you won't want to miss!

KT's Refinishing School Spring Break: You Had Me at Handmade

It's Friday and you know what that means, another Spring Break feature!  What better way to kick off the weekend than a post from the lovely and talented Lauren at You Had Me at Handmade?

In December, I was a guest blogger on her site during her You Had Me at Holidays series and I am delighted to have her here today!  Lauren is a real life friend whose blog is a constant source of inspiration.  She has a great eye for design, home decor and fashion and runs the sweetest shop, Clever Betty.  If you are not following Lauren, you are definitely missing out!

Hi there! I'm Lauren, and I'm the lady behind the blog at You Had Me at Handmade, where I write about my life and loves, my handmade business- Clever Betty- and all of the wonderful handmade artists, designers and things that I find around the web. I'm thrilled to be a part of KT's Spring Break guest posting event today!

There's plenty of things that I love about Spring. So many that I honestly had a hard time narrowing down what to write about for KT's guest posting event! I love how suddenly flowers start to bloom in Spring. I love being able to wear skirts without needing boots and tights to keep my feet warm. I love wearing sunglasses when I'm driving with the sunroof open. I love open windows while I'm lounging on the couch, knowing that it will soon be my birthday, outdoor dining, walks and picnics in the park and the thrill that Summer is just around the corner. I could keep going for miles and miles...

So how'd I finally narrow it down to one subject? Well, I saw the sign, friends. And I continue to see it just about every time I get in my car these days. It looks a little something like this:

Now I haven't actually seen that sign in particular, but let me tell you. St. Louis is FULL of similar ones. Fish fry events during Lent in St. Louis are absolutely one of my favorite parts of Spring. Now this might come as a surprise to those who know me, as I really don't eat seafood... well, pretty much ever. But when it's battered and deep fried and served with a beer on a Friday night at a local church, you can Count. Me. In. I love the atmosphere, the good food, and the way our city has made Fridays during Lent into such a giant celebration!

My favorite fish fry? Most definitely St. Cecilia Catholic Church. If you live in St. Louis or have the chance to come here on a Friday before Lent is over, (like today... you might find Sean and I waiting in line this lovely April 1st!) I strongly recommend checking out this fish fry- and getting there early:

St. Cecilia Catholic Church

906 Eichelberger Street
St Louis, MO 63111

Not only is the church itself one of the most beautiful in St. Louis, St. Cecilia has a very large Hispanic population and thus, they serve a Mexican Fish Fry during Lent. Now that's what I'm talking about! The Chile Relleno is absolutely To. Die. For. The whole Parish gets involved- from selling beer and tamales to guests waiting in line, to kids dancing and playing mariachi music in Mexican skirts and sombreros.

If you're as excited about fish fry events in the St. Louis area as I am, you can even check here to find one that's close to you or that fits the style of fish fry that you're looking for. Seriously, any city that requires a fish fry finder on a local news station's website is alright with me!

Does your city have an abundance of fish fry Fridays during Lent? Have you been to any in St. Louis that you'd recommend?

What gets you excited during Spring?

Thanks for having me, KT! It's been a blast!

Images via Y108, St. Cecilia and STL Today

Mmm Fish Fries.  Growing up, we would often travel to my grandparents' home in Peoria for Easter which meant a fish fry at KofC (that's Knights of Columbus not Kentucky Fried Chicken) with whole fried catfish, baked potato and rye bread.  Imagine my surprise when I moved to St. Louis and was served pasta with my fried fish!  So far, J and I have only been to St. Gerard's in Kirkwood for fish fries, but after this post, I think we have a new place to try out :)

Thanks again Lauren for this post and for being a part of this series!  Happy weekend everyone!

KT's Refinishing School Spring Break: It's Baking Time with Ashly at Moon Walk

I am so excited to share today's feature with you all!  Ashly at Moon Walk has quickly become a great blog friend and her blog is a staple that I check daily for ideas and inspiration on everything from home decor to fashion to food.  I hope to someday make it out East so we can meet in person!  Today she is sharing a yummy spring time recipe for you that I think you will just love.  Here she is!

First off, Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ashly from Moon Walk and I am honored to be here today at KT's Refinishing School. Even though I have never met KT, I really consider her to be a friend and an inspiration as a blogger.

Ahhh, Spring Break! Every time I hear that word it makes me think back to my college days at UMASS Amherst. I must admit, I never got a chance to go on Spring Break but I always dreamed about it. My Spring breaks were spent at home with my family, lounging around and somehow always doing a whole lotta baking with my mom. I don't know if it was out of sheer bordom or that fact that my mom and I adore everything about food but that's just what we did. Cookies, cakes, bread...you name it, we made it!

One of my favorite Spring time treats to make is Raspberry Lemon Tea Cake. There's just something about it that makes me think Spring! Maybe it's the sweet, fresh raspberries! Who knows. 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

3/4 cup Vanilla Yogurt

2 eggs

1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract

3/4 cup Sugar

1 tbsp Lemon Zest

1 cup fresh Raspberries

Whisk dry ingredients together. In another bowl, whisk together yogurt, eggs, vanilla, sugar and lemon zest. Lightly whisk in dry ingredients until incorporated. Fold in raspberries into the batter. Pour into lightly sprayed baking pan.

Bake 55-60 minutes in 350 oven.

It's that easy. So get baking! What's your favorite Spring time sweet? Dish! I'm dying to hear. Thanks again to KT for letting me be a guest blogger on the Spring Break series. Make sure to stop by Moon Walk to let me know how your Raspberry Lemon Tea Cake turned out. 

Doesn't that look delicious?  I especially love the plate Ashly used in the photos--looks perfect for an afternoon tea and definitely evokes Spring time.  Thanks again Ashly for being a part of this series!

Tomorrow Starlet at :: Can You Come Home :: will be sharing some of her favorite Spring fashion pieces so stay tuned!