babysitting k-man

Yesterday my amazing fiancee came with me to babysit our nephew Kestan while his mom and dad got the chance to spend all day out celebrating their 6 year anniversary. It's the easiest babysitting gig around, but it just made it way more fun having Matthew with us. We went to the park and he was passed out in the stroller by the time we left. Kestan had fun in the bath tub as I styled his hair, and afterwards he cuddled with Uncle Matt on the couch.

birthday dinner

Friday night we spent at my mom's house with the fam. Mom made a delicious pasta meal (twenty mile pasta- bow tie pasta, pine nuts, sun dried tomatoes, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, artichoke hearts, and red pepper flakes - DElicious), with a yummy salad and warm bread. Kestan was in his high chair practicing throwing food on the floor and saying "ah oh". We had some intense, very fun games of ping pong. And my brother bought me the biggest balloons I have ever seen. It was a very fun night!

inspi(red)

this is a picture i took on a road trip that my sister and dad and i took a little over a year ago. i have a whole series of run down barn pictures that for some reason i really enjoy. it intrigues me to think who built this, bought this, and left this and it's a little sad but yet with a puffy blue sky up above it, it still seems beautiful, and peaceful. i am putting some wedding planning aside (we don't have too much to do at the moment anyways) and trying to dive back into art. writing, drawing, and organizing my photos. i look forward to it, and this is a good reminder for me to go mess with some of it right now. thanks.

balentime's day

that reminds me of a previous student i had in one of the classes i assisted, everything he said just sounded cuter. happy valentine's as they say. as cliche as it sounds i don't really care about valentine's day. truthfully if i find myself in the grocery store the day of and see a group full of middle aged men with a panicked look on their face, roses and fake chocolate in their hands... it makes me feel annoyed. why do you have to spend money on a particular day to show your partner you love them, secondly if you love them why are you frantically searching for the closest, reddest thing you can find as if it would perfectly describe your feelings? weird. i enjoy the simple, sweet things (any day) but even on valentine's day. this picture was from about three years ago, matthew and i made shrimp rolls from scratch (UNbelievably tasty) and he knows i love bamboo so he got me the heart shaped kind. now that's cute. we might be spending this holiday with a great group of friends, the game nighters with another fun filled evening of hilariousness. to you and yours, whatever you decide to do or not do, i wish you a good weekend.

october 17th, ya'll

yep, we picked the date and couldn't be more excited!  we have our venue... which chose to have the ceremony and reception at the same location. it is rustic, sharp, unique and fun.  now on to catering and picking a photographer... i know it's just one day and i know it will be here before we know it... but the thought of having all our favorite people in one place is just overwhelming awesome, oh yea we started looking at honeymoon places too so if you've got a suggestion send it our way.

we had a nice weekend, nothing was planned, at all.  i really love those saturdays you sleep in (at least till 8:30 until the dogs start moving around) and you have nothing that you "need" to do. a few errands here and there, maybe out to lunch, house chores, and then from the afternoon on you can do whatever you feel like it. the simple things, i guess. 

my sister came over for  the bachelor night on monday night, yes we watch it and yes it's mostly ridiculous.  but i don't think we have ever had a night where just my sister comes over to our house, eats dinner, and enjoys some quality catching up time.  it makes me really appreciate the time we do get to spend together whether it's alone or with every member of our family. 

now i sit here with the kiddos watching them play... take toys from one another, checking out every inch of the room, and occasionally stopping to rest a head on each other's backs....  all their exploring really wears them out.

lastly, we started listening to a new artist, at least new to us. her name is kate nash. i think she is british, all i know is her voice and lyrics are funky.  you got to listen to them at a higher level to truly enjoy the funk, you can't resist dancing to it either.

looking forward to 60 degree weather tomorrow and playing at the park.  peace.

great chili recipe

yo. matt and i enjoy making tacos, all sorts of tacos. we have recently made some new types of chili as well. our last bowl of chili we made was the best, ever. i took a picture and it just never looks as good as it tastes.... so here are the words instead. we cooked some cage free no hormones added deliciously fresh chicken, than we added in a big pot pinto beans, small tomoatoes (1 can), sliced bella mushrooms, cilantro, splash of fresh lime, half of a red bell pepper and green pepper, then stir in the cooked chicken and let it simmer for ten-ish minutes. for real, delicious.

monthly game night

last night we went to our friends dj and lori's house for our continued game nights... everyone taking a chance to host, new food and different games. such a fun easy concept. it was really nice getting together with a good group of friends, catching up, getting a little competitive, and lots of laughing of course. we've had a lazy sunday and it has been wonderful. we are about to go celebrate my nephew's very first birthday. i can not believe it has been one year that he has been with us! he is so entertaining and it is amazing watching him develop into the cutest, sweetest little boy. matt and i are ready to make our decision on our venue and date... so exciting! i bought my dress yesterday, i love it. and i love that i don't have to worry about getting it, or the shoes, got those too. peace out.