Highlights of summer

Here's a little update of our summer so far!
Jett loves playing outside!  He literally cries when its time to go in and will just stand at the door looking out the screen door.  He got a new bubble toy from his auntie for his birthday and its one of his favorites. I love how fascinated he is with everyday things and love to watch him discover each day.
I applied self-tanner and minus some areas by my toes, it doesn't look so bad!  Hooray for not being pasty!  And not increasing my risk for skin cancer :)  I used the L'Oreal Paris Sublime Bronze Luminous Bronzer and am seriously IN LOVE!  It gives me the perfect amount of tan and leaves me skin shimmery without looking like I just spilled a bottle of glitter all over me.  I would highly recommend this product.  I bought it at Walgreen's for under $10 and I believe it can also be found at Target, Walmart, etc
Matt stayed home last Friday night with Jett and I was able to go out with my dear friend Britta.  We always have so much fun together and it was nice to go out to the bars since I haven't been there in awhile.  It definitely made me feel old though- and that isn't a feeling I get very often.  I was hungover for about two days afterwards.. so maybe I really am old.
I'm excited to announce my sister and I have opened our very own Etsy shop!  Were so excited about it and hope to be successful in selling our crafts.  Check it out: HERE (http://www.etsy.com/shop/FlutterSisters?ref=ss_profile)
Recently, I bought a pair of True Religion jeans off Ebay.  It seemed like such a great deal that I couldn't pass them up.  They arrived on Monday and to my disappointment, they are way too long.  At first, I was super disappointed.  This is not the first (or second) time I've bought something off Ebay and it didn't fit right.  Its so disappointing because then you cant return it!  I hate getting jeans hemmed because its expensive and I think the bottom looks funny then-  I like the original hem.  While browsing the Internet yesterday at work, I found a tutorial on how to hem jeans and keep the original hem! FOUND HERE  It requires the use of a sewing machine (which I don't have but if someone would like to donate one I would be forever grateful).  However, I did mine by hand.  I did this on a pair of American Eagle jeans that I've had for forever.  They're way too long so I rarely wear them so I figured if I ruined them, no biggy, but if it worked, they could re-enter my wardrobe!  I followed most of her instructions with a few of my own ideas here and there.  I decided to do this at 9:00 at night which probably wasn't my best idea.  I was sitting on my bed and didn't have any pins so instead I folded the jeans and used my hair straightener to iron the fold to get it stay well.  (The epitome of lazy, I'm aware).  I also didn't want to try them on, so I decided an inch and a half sounded good to me.  I didn't take into consider that they were folded so that measurement would be doubled.  Whoopsie.  They are a tad short but not bad- they will be good to wear with either flip flops or winter boots.  It took about half an hour to do and I did it while chatting to my brother on the phone.  It would've been faster if it had my full attention (or if I had a sewing machine of course).  Overall, I'm satisfied with the way it turned out and am ready to try it out on my new True Religion jeans.  Wish me luck and I'll post an update later :)

Have a fabulous day :)

What I Made Monday- Lemon Shrimp

I feel like I'm always making very similar foods lately.  It seems as though everything consists of either chicken or noodles, and often a combination of the two.  Having recently discovered my love for shrimp, I thought I would be adventurous and try out a shrimp recipe.  I saw something on Pinterest and decided to use that as the base to my meal.  When making dinner, I don't usually like to follow the recipe exactly- I like to add a few of my own ingredients. 
I got home from work Monday night ready to make my new meal.  However, I had forgotten to put the shrimp in the refrigerator so it was still frozen.  Doing what I do with all frozen meat, I started to put it into the microwave.  Something possessed me to read the bag and it said to thaw frozen shrimp, it should be placed in a bowl of cold water.  Who knew?  Certainly not this girl!  Thank goodness for directions.  Into a bowl of water my shrimp went.  I was surprised at the short amount of time it took for them thaw out!

My shrimp thawing out

While I was waiting for my shrimp to thaw out, I put a little bit of butter into a baking pan and put it into the oven to melt.  While that was melting, I sliced up a lemon.  I then put the shrimp into the pan and added the lemon slices.  I didn't think I had enough butter because it wasn't covering the bottom of the pan so I added a couple more scoops of butter (real healthy, I know).  I then sprinkled with the dish with Italian seasoning, garlic salt, pepper, and a lemon herb spice I found in my cupboard that I didn't realize I even owned.  I don't have measurements for the spices/herbs because I just sprinkled as desired.  I love using different spices in my recipes but you will notice that I rarely use an actual measurement.  

Before it went into the oven

I then stuck my pan into the oven, set at 350 for 15 minutes.  I forgot to take a picture of my end result (I really need to get better at that!) but it was delicious.  I would definitely make this again.  However, I didn't squeeze my lemons and I feel like that would've given it such a better lemon flavor.  I guess I'll have to try that next time- and take a final photo!

Enjoy!

June Birchbox

Yesterday was a very long day.  I got home from work exhausted and had barely enough time to get out the door to be on time for Jett's one year pictures.  He wouldn't really cooperate and I have a feeling we didn't get too many good shots.  As soon as we were done with the pictures we had a few errands to run and then went to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings.  The hostess had given us a kids menu with crayons and while Jett has never really played with crayons before, I didn't have any toys to keep him occupied so we decided to try them out.  Of course, he tried eating them.  As I was trying to fish the tip of the red crayon out of his mouth, our waitress came over to take our order.  I was already feeling kind of flustered since I hadn't had time to look at the menu to decide what I wanted, but little did I know, my dining experience was about to get worse.  With my pointer finger in his mouth, Jett bit down.  HARD.  It took every bit of me not to scream in the middle of the restaurant.  I yanked my finger out and looked down to find it covered in blood.  Yes, he bit me so hard that he drew blood.  And a lot of it at that.  Needless to say, I was ready to get home, crawl under my covers, and sleep for a long time. 

To my surprise though, this lovely pink box was waiting for me on our kitchen table: my June Birchbox!  Even though I was so exhausted, I couldn't go to bed without checking out all my goodies!!  I would say that this birchbox was way better than the first one I got.  After the first one, I contemplated cancelling my birchbox but this erased all those thoughts from my brain. 

This months theme was Jet Setter, which is perfect since I'm going on vacation next week!  Its compiled of 5 items that that will

outlast your next long-haul flight

"My samples this month were:

Comodynes Self-Tanning Intensive

Description:

"This Spanish brand’s genius towelettes are designed to give you uniform all-over color. A bestseller in Europe, they landed on our shores just in time for bikini season. These single-use wipes deliver a natural tan on face and body that’s more intensely bronze than the brand’s regular self tanners. Even so, the formula adjusts to your skin tone, so you don’t have to worry about ending up with an un-matching tan"

My Review:

I really liked these!  I have extremely fair skin that doesn't tan very well.  I've tried spray tans, which I really like, but they are just so dang expensive.  I had been thinking about purchasing a self tanner recently so I was so excited when I saw this!  They didn't leave me looking orange and gave me a natural, streak free tan.  I would definitely purchase these in the future.  I did see that they are cheaper on Amazon, FYI.

Stila One Step Bronze

Description:

"The three-in-one primer, bronzer, and skin perfector addresses our three main concerns: oversized pores, unevenness, and lackluster skintone. Made with a triple helix of bronzing, highlighting, and illuminating pigments, the creamy formula has a mousse-like consistency, and is subtly laced with coppery shimmer"

My Review:

I couldn't believe the size of this baby!  It is not a sample, its the full-size product!  I tried this once, and am not really sure how I feel about it.  It definitely contains a lot of bronzer- almost too much for my preference.  I felt that it made my face look a little orange and didn't blend very well on my neck.  However, I'm not ready to completely write it off- I think it will look much better once I start to get a nice summer tan (or use self-tanner in my case)

Wonderstruck by Taylor Swift

(sorry my picture is upside down for some reason)

Description:

"Eclectic and traditional with whimsical flair, every element of the brand is authentically Taylor."

My Review:

I was excited to finally smell this perfume, being I'm a huge T Swift fan.  I didn't love it, didn't hate it.  In my opinion, it didn't really stand out to me so I don't think I would actually purchase this.





The Balm Cosmetics Stainiac

Description:

"This two-in-one lip and cheek stain gives us a natural, understated flush and helps us get out the door faster. The gel formula looks dark in the tube but delivers a sheer tint."

My Review:

I liked that this went on a lot lighter than it appeared in the tube.  I really liked it on my lips and would actually consider buying it.  I seem to have a preference for stains over lipsticks because I like that they seem to last a lot longer.  It says it can be used on cheeks as well.  I didn't try it on my cheeks and don't think that I will.  My cheeks are naturally flushed and I'm always trying to minimize that. 

peanut Butter Cookie Luna Bar

Description:

 Each [bar] has just under 200 calories and is full of the nutrients your body needs, including calcium, folic acid, iron and vitamin D.

My Review:

While I've never had this particular flavor, I've had Luna bars before and they're really tasty!  I plan to save this little treat for my flight next week :)



30x30

Kate, over at the Small Things Blog as well as her sister, Lauren, at From My Grey Desk are doing this thing called the 30x30 challenge.  What it is: you choose 30 pieces out of your wardrobe and thats all you can wear for a whole MONTH.  At first I thought it seemed pretty simple to do.  Then I realized they were including shoes and jewelry in their count of 30.  The point of this is to force yourself to pair things together and make new outfit combinations out of the clothes that you already own.  Sounds kinda fun, huh?  I want to try to do it but I'm kind of boring.  I've worn the same pair of flip flops on my feet everyday for the past month.  When I dont need to dress up for work and most of my coworkers care more about cows than clothes, its hard to do.  Its so easy for me to get in a slump and go to work with no make up and my hair up in a messy bun.  So, my 30x30 will be a little different.  I am going to, for the next 30 days, actually do my hair and makeup and look presentable.  You're probably reading this thinking 'what the hell have you turned into?  I do that everyday!' I know, I know, its bad!  So this will be my motivation.  And to keep me on track, I will take a picture of myself each day.  This weekend I'll pick out my 30 pieces and start on Monday. 
Also, while I'm at it, I'm not going to spend any money on clothes until August.  That way, if I see something I have to have, I'll have to wait awhile to get it and if I still want it by then, I must really want it.  I tend to be an impulse shopper so hopefully this will help me a lot.  I get really bored at work so I start to online shop.  (But, in my defense, I never ever pay full price for things.  It must be on sale at some level.)  So, throughout my challenge, I'll have to find other websites to occupy my time.  Suggestions of blogs to read are greatly appreciated :)
Have a fabulous day!

Birthdays, Baptism, and busy-ness

I haven't posted in over a week but my life has been pretty crazy to say the least.  Last Wednesday, my peanut turned one.  Yes, you read that right, he's one!  Where the hell does the time go?! I swear the little guy was just in my tummy yesterday. 
We spent his day going on all sorts of adventures.  Matt picked him up from daycare around noon and met me back at our house.  We went and ate at Matt's favorite place- Burritos on Broadway.  After that, Jett fell asleep.  We had planned to take him to the zoo but wanted to wait until after he woke up so we drove around for awhile and ended up at our friend Brian's house.  Brian lives on a lake so Jett slept in the shade, Matt fished, and I worked on my tan (or lack thereof).  After Matt caught a fish, we decided it was way too hot for that.  As we were loading Jett into Matt's truck, he finally woke up from his  nap, so off to the zoo we went.  And he hated it.  I mean really hated it.  We looked at fish in a tank- he screamed and cried.  They have peacocks walking around the grounds of the zoo and every time one came into sight, he would scream and cry.  We made our way over to the petting zoo and he screamed and cried.  He didn't want to sit in his stroller, he wanted to be held.  Normally, that wouldn't bother me but it was hot.  Very hot.  I was wet with a mixture of both of our sweat.  We decided it was best that we just went home.  Matt and I had bought him a power wheels car for his birthday so we let him open that.  Matt put it together for him and to my shock, he understood how to make it go!  Matt showed him to push them button and after that, he didn't need our help- he was ready to cruise!  So he rode that across the lawn for quite some time.  To end our day of fun, we went to Pizza Ranch, Jett's favorite place to eat.  After stuffing his face with chicken and pizza, we made our way home for the night.  By that point, he was so tuckered out and ready for bed.. and he slept like 'a baby'.
On Saturday, we had a birthday party at the park.  The forecast was 90 so we packed our swimsuits and towels and planned for a day in the sun.  However, it was extremely windy so it didn't feel that warm.  I had also purchased a bunch of cute decorations but, because of the wind, we weren't able to use them.  Hopefully I'll eventually have another boy so they can be used ;)  With the water being cold, we didn't end up going swimming.  We just sat and socialized with everyone, ate, had cake, then opened presents.  For some reason, Jett wasn't that into the cake.  I couldn't get him to dig in it like I had pictured.  He wanted to use a fork and didn't like getting his fingers messy.  Maybe I shouldn't complain that my son doesn't like to be dirty.  He is still a little too young to understand the concept of opening presents but there were plenty of other kids to help him.  I think some people were a little disappointed that he didn't open the presents himself but if that would've happened, we would've been there all night!  After that, Jett played with his toys and people started filing out. 
We had planned on spending the night camping at the park but around 10, we had a change of plans.  Jett was doing everything in his power to stay awake and we had another long day ahead of us on Sunday so we went back home.  It was nice to actually get a good nights sleep, even if it wasn't for very long.  My mom, being the angel that she is, got up with Jett when he woke up.  Matt and I got to sleep in until 8 and then we had to go back to the campground to get all of our stuff.  Its pretty sad when I consider 8 being able to sleep in!  We didn't have much time to pack up our things because we needed to get home to shower and get ready for church.  We finally go Jett baptized!  Matt's mom had been bugging us a lot that he needed to baptized but the timing just wasn't right.  My sister, Kelly is Jett's godmother so she had to be there for it.  I just couldn't justify making her buy a plane ticket for that and every time she comes for a visit, we always gather in Minnesota.  Obviously, because there is so much more to do there.  Since everyone was coming for his birthday, I figured we might as well just get it over with.  I'm glad we did it but it made for such a long weekend!! I'm still exhausted from all the planning and lack of sleep and my house is a disaster to say the least.
I had planned on writing about the day that Jett was born but this is already getting long so I will have to do that tomorrow

Riding his new toy from mommy and daddy

Some of our decorations lots and lots of cupcakes

Feeding momma the cake 

 
Enjoying some new toys

Pooped out from a long weekend!

Have a fabulous day!

What I Made Monday

Last night, I made the most awesome pizza and I made the recipe myself, which made it even better in my mind.  And it was super easy- took me less than 10 minutes to make!
I have a ton of left over boneless chicken wings in my freezer so I cut those up.  I realize the normal person doesn't have those on hand, so I will explain the recipe as if I'm normal. 

Ingredients:
Pizza crust (either pre-made or homemade.  I used pre-made)
Chicken
Buffalo Sauce
Garlic Olive Oil
Mozzarella Cheese
Bleu Cheese

1.  Preheat the oven according to the directions on the packaging of the crust.  Mine needed to be at 400 but that may vary depending on the brand you buy.
2.  In a saucepan, boil chicken for 15 minutes, until cooked thoroughly.  Once done, remove from pan and shred with two forks it in bite-sized pieces.  Next, coat chicken in Buffalo sauce.  (This is the step I didn't need to do)
3.  Place pizza crust on baking sheet and lightly coat the top with garlic olive oil.  Next, layer buffalo sauce on top of the oil.  I didn't put an exact measurement because it depends on how spicy you want the pizza to be.  If you prefer it to be less spicy, use less buffalo sauce but a tad more olive oil so its not dry.
4.  cover buffalo sauce with Mozzarella cheese, followed by the buffalo chicken pieces.  Sprinkle bleu cheese on top and add a little more mozzarella if desired.
5.  Cook until cheese has melted and crust has begun to turn golden brown.  Mine took about 12 minutes.

Enjoy!

I didn't to take a picture because it looked so good that I couldn't stop my hubby from eating a piece before I could grab my camera.  This would be so much better if I had a photo because I'm such a visual person but you will just have to take my word for it.  This is to die for!  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.  Give it a try and let me know what you think :)