Spring Break Shenanigans

Happy Spring! It's 7PM and I can't believe how bright it still is outside! We are loving the extra daylight in the evening. It's definitely motivating for us and gets us to be productive and get extra things done around the house.

Since Colt had his Spring Break last week and my Spring Break was this week, it was a little bit of a bummer. This meant that we would be on opposite schedules and most likely wouldn't get to see as much of each other as we would like since Colt would be in class, study group sessions, group projects, etc during the week. This also meant no trip together since we didn't have a full week off together. 

Originally, we had planned for me to fly out to New York to meet up with Colt the Friday I got out of work for SB. That plan got nixed after I had a difficult week at work due to some unfortunate news I received. Besides, the week before SB was hectic as usual. Teachers had to prepare for Open House night as well as trying to still teach and keep 22 5 & 6 year olds actively engaged who are looking forward to having 9 days off from school! That my friends is no easy task!  By Friday at 3 PM I was so exhausted. My feet and back were killing me and I couldn't imagine dealing with packing luggage, driving in traffic to the airport, flights, and all the other normal stress that comes with traveling. Sometimes you have to listen to your body when your body is telling you it needs REST. So that's exactly what I did. Sort of... 

Colt ended his SB in The Big Apple. We have heard nothing but wonderful things about flying Virgin Airlines and we were thrilled when Colt told me he would be flying to NYC on Virgin. How cool! 

First time flying Virgin Air

Birds eye view of Manhattan

Times Square

Colt spent a few days in NY doing business with his Capital Markets Club. While they were there they were hard at work visiting the New York Stock Exchange and Bloomberg Business. TCU has given Colt and his peers so many opportunities. I am so proud of all my husband has accomplished in his first year of Business School or "B-School" as the cool kids call it. 

Colt's view from the top level of the Bloomberg building

Doing great things at the NYSE

Luckily for Colt, it wasn't all work and no play! While in New York, Colt had a chance to meet up for drinks and food with one of his good buddies from high school! We don't get to see much of our friend Graham since he lives and works in NY. I was happy to hear that they were able to have some guy time and catch up. 

Cheers to good ol' high school buddies. Graham and Colt. 

While Colt was in NY, I met up with my best friend, Coree for dinner. Unfortunately, due to our schedules we haven't been able to see much of each other. Having dinner together, talking and laughing was a great reminder that no matter how busy life gets, it's important to make time for friends. Especially for friends who are like family. It's definitely good for the soul. 

On the Monday of my SB I woke up and got this bright idea to redo my kitchen cabinets. I had been wanting to redo them for a couple of years now and I thought this was as good as time as any to get them done. I woke up, watched a few tutorial videos on YouTube then headed off to Home Depot. I love any chance for a DIY project. Little did I know what I was getting myself into! 

Redoing my cabinets was definitely a lot more work than I imagined it was going to be. Unscrewing and taking all the doors, hinges and drawers off was hard work enough. Then I had to scrub and wash off all the grease on each drawer and door. 9 drawers and 17 doors later I wanted to call it quits! I hadn't even started painting yet! We have a small kitchen so I figured it wouldn't be such back breaking labor but boy was I wrong! Next it was on to painting the first coats on the cabinet boxes, doors and drawers. It takes 2-3 hours for each coat of paint to dry. I soon found out this project was going to take longer than a day. I decided since I was on break to not kill myself trying to get the cabinets done quickly. I took plenty of breaks, naps, snack times and tv watching during this kitchen project. Which is also why this project pretty much last all week... 

Before

In progress

Even during all this work I managed to cook at least ONE healthy dinner this week! Go me! 

Buffalo Cauliflower Bites were a hit with the hubby!

My vision was to give our kitchen a "brighter" look. I think the light color of the cabinets makes our kitchen look bigger, light and airy. I was going for a vintage, "antique" look and I'm pretty satisfied with how they turned out! 

Why yes, that is a Marilyn Monroe cookie jar

After

Even after long days at school, Colt was kind enough to drill and add the hardware to our drawers. We are still waiting for our knobs to be ordered and delivered. I think the drawer pulls and knobs will really complete the look! 

I can't say enough how glad I am that this project is complete. It looks very nice in the natural sunlight that shines in through the windows. We also hung up our new kitchen menu sign that has been sitting on our kitchen floor for 562773923002486 days. I find that keeping a weekly menu helps to keep us on track with making smart food choices and less likely to order food or eat out. Being organized is my favorite! With my full schedule and Colt's full schedule this really helps us. It also keeps me from stressing out after work trying to figure out what we are going to eat for dinner. 

Random news: I was able to take a break from painting and snag a free cone on free cone day at Dairy Queen. I call that a win! 

This week we also got to dog sit my family's dog, Benji. It was fun having a furry family member in the house. Benji absolutely adores Colt and cuddles up next to him any chance he can get! 

Friday and Saturday were spent shopping all day. Friday my mom and I headed to Southlake for lunch and cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory. We tried the Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake for the first time. If you have never tried it I highly recommend it!!! Afterwards we shopped around Southlake Town Square until late in the evening. After shopping, Colt met us at my parents house for homemade enchiladas and family time. Lots of laughs were had by all. 

Saturday morning my mom and I headed out for breakfast and an 11 AM movie. We went to see "Miracles From Heaven". If you're looking to for an inspiring, motivational and uplifting story, this movie is for you! Don't forget to bring some kleenex though, it's a tear jerker! Since we were already at the mall, we decided to make a day of it. We shopped at NE Mall the rest of the day. We had an early evening dinner before I headed home to meet up with the hubs. Colt and I spent last night hanging out and enjoying some quality time together. 

This morning we had our friends, Shane and Alyssa over for brunch at our house. Shane goes to school with Colt. Shane and Alyssa were recently engaged while in Chile during Christmas Break and were finally able to have them over to celebrate! 

Waffles, bacon, breakfast casserole, fruit and mimosas were on the menu this morning. I picked up these adorable bunny ear napkin rings and I was so excited to use them. I totally forgot to get a pic of all of us and didn't realize it until after Shane and Alyssa had left. 

A little bit of Easter front door decor

Chicken Tortilla Soup is cooking in the crockpot for dinner tonight as we prepare for a new school week. Our goals this week include getting to bed early and have enough hours of sleep, manage our time wisely and think positive! 

Feeling very rejuvenated after a much needed week off and having the chance to unplug and unwind. We are looking forward to what the new week has in store. I only have to work 4 days this week because we are off on Good Friday. Wishing you all an exciting new week as well! 

We love you all! 

We've Got Gadgets and Gizmos Aplenty

Saturday mornings are my favorite after a hectic work week! This morning, I was able to sleep in and it felt great! There's nothing better than having nowhere to be on a cloudy morning except under the blankets in your comfy bed. Our bed is like sleeping on a heavenly cloud. 

It was fun to hang out in bed this morning, take a mid morning nap,and play around on my phone before heading downstairs to make brunch. My sister was over and we were trying out a new recipe. We prepped all the ingredients and we were literally about to slide the food into the oven only to have the power go out... for 2 hours. What. This entire week has been tornado like winds with strong rain yet no power outage. Today it's been partly cloudy and a little sun. Ironic. 

This past month we have been acquiring a few new gadgets and gizmos for our home. 

I wrote a post awhile back talking about how I had ordered a product I had seen on the show, "Shark Tank". It took 2 months before arriving on my door step. It finally arrived and I was so excited to try it. It's called "Piper Wai" and it is a completely all natural deodorant. 

I have been searching far and wide for a product like this. I have moved away from deodorants containing aluminum and other harmful ingredients over a year ago. When I saw this on the show, I knew I had to test it out! It comes in this tiny jar and its a gray colored mud like consistency. You can use your hand or a makeup spatula to apply it. It has no harmful ingredients and it smells so refreshing. Even after working out, my underarms feel and smell fresh. The scent is a light minty lemon scent. I love getting a whiff of my underarms throughout the day! Hah! I've seen a couple of people on Facebook post pictures of this and they too had positive reviews. It's a 2 oz. jar and I paid around $20 or so for it. I'm interested to see how long this jar will last me. I'm thinking I will get my monies worth though! 

Colt and I are Amazon Prime fanatics so it only made sense for us to snatch up a few of the Amazon Dash Buttons. When we saw these little things make an appearance online we couldn't wait to order them. Colt ordered a couple of dash buttons to start off with. These buttons are genius! The buttons connect to your wi-fi and Amazon account. When you run out of a certain product, you simply press the dash button and your product will be reordered and delivered to your door! How awesome is that?! To start off, we thought we would start with the necessities: dishwasher tablets, toilet paper, trash bags. We haven't run out of these products yet, but as soon as we do, I can't wait to push the button! We placed them in the garage, under our kitchen sink and on the door under our bathroom sink. It's crazy to me how far technology has come. So convenient! I hope they eventually have more of a selection for groceries and/or produce. Still, so cool. 

You probably already know that I am a clean freak. I love organizing, tidying things up, cleaning and disinfecting. It's so fun to me! With me being a clean freak and Colt being a germaphobe... it can get a little ridiculous. Don't get me wrong, we are by no means perfect. Our kitchen gets dirty and piled up with dishes from time to time. Laundry can pile up quickly on the bathroom or bedroom floor. Ya know, things like that. Still, I feel my best when my home is neat and clean. 

I have been begging Colt for a Roomba Vacuum Cleaning Robot for quite some time now. I just couldn't believe how cool this thing looked when I saw it. It is a little pricey, but I felt like it was worth it. Let's be honest... when I come home from a long day at work, I just do not feel like vacuuming! I figured it would cut down on my cleaning time too. I just had to somehow convince my darling husband that we needed it. After months to no avail, I gave up on this pipe dream. Finally, last month, Colt was sweet enough to surprise me with this fun gadget! 

Having this little guy zoom around the floor really does help!  The first time I used it, I have to be honest, I wasn't too impressed. But then, the more I used it and the more I figured out how to use it, the more I LOVED it! I try to run this little guy daily and I see a difference! I feel like my carpets and floors have never been cleaner. What's even better? I don't have to do a thing. It runs itself and when it's finished, it docks itself back on the charger to charge back up! Genius I tell you!!!! Now, if only they made one that steam mops too...

Speaking of cleaning, we are still loving the "Basic Life" all natural cleaners. They are free of those harmful ingredients and they smell refreshing. They are safe for kids, pets and our environment! I find that I don't have to wear gloves to protect my skin from the harsh ingredients like other cleaning products. Colt has very sensitive skin, so when he would use certain cleaning products to clean the bathrooms and such, his skin would break out in a rash and become itchy. This is much more gentle on his skin! We also love the fact that our home doesn't smell like bleach or any other strong scents after cleaning. We aren't breathing in any harmful fumes and that makes me sleep better at night. I know we could probably make these cleaners ourselves with essential oils and recipes from Pinterest... but we ain't got time for that! Someday, I would love to make my own natural cleaning products for our home. Until then, these products are just perfect! 

Today has been a great start to Spring Break. I am off to meet up with my bestie. It's beautiful patio weather for Mexican food and drinks!  

Be blessed. 

We love you all! 

Life Lately

Life around here has been full of little adventures. Colt and I have been keeping up with politics lately. Every morning, I turn on the TV to CNN while we get dressed for school. I have decided that this election year I want to be a more informed voter than I have been in the past. We've been doing our best to research and really get to know all the candidates and what they stand for. This past Tuesday was "Super Tuesday" so we were so excited to get out and exercise our right to vote. I was both surprised and proud to see how many voters had showed up at our voting poll. 

Proud Voters! 

Wednesday was Dr. Seuss's birthday, which is also known as, "Read Across America Day". I was out at a training for school half the day but I was able to return in the afternoon to celebrate with my students. I found this little idea on Pinterest to make "Cat in the Hat" cheese sticks and it was a definite hit with my kiddos! They loved them! Pinterest for the win once again! Seriously, how did any of us live without Pinterest?!

How adorable are these?!

Thursday after work I met up with my friend Michelle for dinner and cocktails to celebrate her birthday. We met up at Houlihan's where she recommended I try the "Stuffed Chicken Breast". The chicken breast is covered with Panko bread crumbs and is stuffed with garlic herb cream cheese. My mouth is watering just typing this. It was so delicious! 

Friday after work I headed home to meet up with Colt for a dinner and discussion date night at church. I had been wanting to attend one of these sessions for quite some time now. Unfortunately, due to our schedules we just haven't been able to make it. We were both excited to take some time out for each other and our marriage and attend this session. It was an enlightening experience. The church provided a catered dinner from DeVivo Bros. and we got to sit with other couples and discuss topics related to marriage and our faith. We also watched a quick video regarding marriage and how it's a Sacramental Bond. It was such an interesting night. I really enjoyed getting to hear Colt speak on the topic as well as hearing from the other couples that were sitting with us. The other couples sitting at our table had been married 12-15 years and we enjoyed hearing their views, opinions and advice on marriage, family and faith. I hope we get to attend another session like this again. 

Saturday morning, I woke up early and was looking at "Buy Sell Trade" on Facebook. I've had several friends find some good deals and sell things on this site so I thought I'd finally give it a chance. I had nowhere to be that morning so I decided to look for a small couch for my classroom. I stumbled across a couch that was for sale literally down the street from where we lived. I was beyond excited! I quickly ran to our bedroom to wake up Colt. I wanted him to take the measurements and see if it would fit in my car. I was bummed to find out the couch was too tall and I begged Colt to drive me over there any way so I could at least take a look at it. When we arrived at the house, the guy who lived there was so friendly! He suggested tying the couch to the top of my car. Colt was uneasy about the idea but I was ready to do it! The guy let us borrow his straps and he even put the couch on top of my car and strapped it in! We took the back roads to my school and made it there without the couch flying off! Woo hoo! 

So lucky this guy puts up with me and my crazy ideas I have on a whim!

Afterwards, we drove out to Roanoke to meet up with our friends, Edgar & Sarah, who we haven't seen in such a long time. They brought their little boys, Archer and Mateo to lunch as well. We all enjoyed "linner" at Babe's Chicken and then had dessert at Hey Sugar down the street. Archer is starting Kindergarten in the fall and it was fun to talk about how he will soon be starting his own new adventure! The weather on Saturday was just perfect for being outside. We loved spending time with good friends in the fresh outdoors. I'm glad we were able to take advantage of this gorgeous spring-like weather. 

Hey Sugar is nostalgic for us because this is where we took our engagement pictures!

After fun with friends, we headed home for an early evening nap. Except for the fact that our nap lasted for 19 hours... Don't worry, we did wake up around 4:30 AM to shower and take out my contacts! Hah! We debated on going out for breakfast at IHOP but decided to hop back into bed where we slept in til about 10 AM. Who knew two people could sleep for so long! I still can't believe how tired our bodies were! 

We woke up for the second time this morning, got dressed and headed over to my parents house for brunch with the fam. Mom's cooking is always delicious and I was craving some homemade waffles. I stayed a little later at my parents while Colt met up with one of his TCU buddies to go out to the shooting range. 

Shooting range shennanigans

My mom and I headed out to Bath and Body Works to pick up a few things I needed for the house and then went grocery shopping for the week. I don't know about you, but I hate having to stop for groceries after a long day at work! It's the worst! So glad to get that out of the way. 

I finally updated our kitchen chalkboard. It hasn't been done since January. Yay! 

Last weekend I picked up these items. I am really loving the Micellar Water! It's so gentle on my skin and really cleanses. I love how it washes away all my makeup and impurities. Not sure if I like it more than my makeup remover wipes. I need to use it for a little while longer before deciding for sure. The bottle says no need to rinse it off, however, I still like to wash my face with my facial cleanser and Clarisonic before bed. That's just my night time routine. 

One of my hobbies includes buying things to update our house even if it's just in a small way. I found this adorable "Dream" pillow at Kirkland's the other day and thought it made the perfect addition to our guest bedroom. I think it was the final touch we needed for the guest bed. My goal was for it to look comfy and inviting. I know Colt thinks we do not need another throw pillow but how could I pass it up?! It was the finishing touch in my opinion. 

Well folks, that about sums up our life lately. We hope you have been staying healthy and happy. Colt is on Spring Break this week so it's going to be extra hard waking up early this week while he gets to sleep in! Just another 5 teaching days for me and then it's my turn. Wishing all of you a very blessed week. 

We love you all!