28 February 2011

tasty tacos

In my family taco night is a pretty big deal. Not only do we fry our own shells we usually make a bunch of tasty sides as well. My grandmother has taught the entire family well so I am happy to share with you taco night Daniel and I had the other night. We had spanish rice, grandmother's recipe along with homemade fried shells. I would have loved to had beans but the hubs isn't into them so they didn't make an appearance, but over all it was yummy!

This week I am heading to Birmingham for one of my great friends wedding so I will not be around. Have a great week! Until next time...

25 February 2011

It's Rodeo time

This weekend is the start of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The bbq cook-off is what gets it started and my hubs and I couldn't be more excited. The rodeo was a huge part of my life growing up so I am ready to be a part of it again. We are heading out with the little man on Saturday to see the sites and enjoy some bbq.

This is not your ordinary rodeo, this is the world's largest livestock exhibition and one of the best ways to experience Houston. Not only does the community get involved by volunteering on different committees (shout out to the Rabbit Committee), Rodeo Houston is the opportunity for young people to receive scholarships and further education. This year it starts March 1 and runs through March 20. Check out their website hlsr.com for a lot more that I didn't mention and see the line-up of country artist coming this year, I'm going to Rascal Flatts!

In honor of the rodeo I wanted to share the delicious pulled pork my hubs made this past weekend. Since we have lived in Texas he has been missing his beloved pulled pork bbq from Alabama and has been wanting to make some himself. I must say, it was so delicious and I am super impressed with his bbq skills. Here is a step by step of what he did...

1 :: brine overnight


2 :: add the rub


3 :: smoke on the pit for hours


4 :: pull the pork


5 :: eat!


Way to go Daniel, it was awesome and I am looking forward to many more of you pulled pork sandwiches. I hope yall have a great weekend... I know I will!

23 February 2011

organic gardening

So I have decided that I want to give gardening a whirl. Will it happen this season? I'm not sure but that's the plan. There seem to be a few options and strategies to gardening and I found a few websites that were helpful for me. Burpee is a great place to purchase seeds [burpee.com] and Organic Gardening.com is a great place to learn how to get started and explains all of the important details you need to know [organicgardening.com].

After doing some research I decided that raised beds would be the best because if you want it to be organic your yard can't be fertilized for quit some time and since I have no idea what happened in our yard before we got here, this seems to be the best. Also, raised beds are suppose to yield twice more than a regular bed and they look pretty too!

Here are some images of some pretty raised beds...

[via beekman1802.com]

I would just love if my raised beds could anything like these. So what I would love to grow lots of herbs, potatoes, tomatoes, squash, bell peppers, corn, cucumbers, onions, and possibly strawberries and watermelons. There is a large "to do" list when you are first starting out and it can be a bit costly, especially when you are wanting to garden to save a little bit of green!

If you have a green thumb and have some tips I would love to know them. Hopefully I will get this started and let you know of the progress. Also, I have almost finished Melah's quilt so get excited...

11 February 2011

Calling some art...

As I said before, I have a commitment issue when it comes to making design decisions for my house and that for sure goes with art on the walls. I have been living in my house since last May and I only have 1 painting hanging in my house. It happens to be a wedding gift from our great friend Bridget, which I love!

I think my struggle is wanting things to go together but not be too matchy matchy, I just need to get over that. Every time I research people always say, "what you love is what goes together" and I just need to jump on that train.

I also try to take my hubs in consideration and that is difficult for me but some things he loves also needs to be hung. For example, Auburn prints of football plays that he LOVES and wants me to hang them and I have to be honest, its really hard. If we had an office space for him I would be all over it but our office space is in the living room, enough said.

So here are some things I love and Happy Weekend!

[via Lonny Mag]

[via Lonny Mag]

[via Lonny Mag]

[via Lonny Mag]

[via Lonny Mag]


09 February 2011

Under construction...

Please bear with me while I make some changes to my blog...

08 February 2011

I need stripes on my floor!

Check out this awesome floor! I found it on Apartment Theraphy Ohdeedoh. There is nothing better than painted floors and multicolor stripes. Combining the two is just brilliant! I am not going to lie, I am kind of obsessed and really want to do this. Hmmm, now I need to convince the hubs...

The original image is from Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

Whoa, what a weekend!


So this past weekend was great. You've got to love some football even when its the NFL. I'm more of a college fan myself, War Eagle! Anywho, it was great because Ridge sat up by himself on Sunday ( of course I was on stand by if he decided to face plant). I can't believe that he is a little over 4 months old now, time is flying!

So here he is sitting up... way to go my little man!

04 February 2011

Happy Weekend!


The weather man called for snow today but it didn't happen... sad day. I am happy to say that the hubby got to stay home because of it and I am thankful about that. I do think it's funny how Houston completely shuts down because its cold and icy.

Anywho, here is a picture of my two men in my life from Christmas. It was awesome that it snowed for Ridge's first Christmas.

03 February 2011

Eye candy, pinterest style


If you love browsing blogs you will love this website called Pinterest. It is a collection of beautiful things people find and pin on their virtual pinboard. Check it out and get pinning!

02 February 2011

I love architectural lamps

Check out these beauties from Pottery Barn. I love everything about them, the burlap shades to the rustic feel they give me when I look at them. One of these would be great for my work space in my master bedroom.

On a different note, It is a really chilly day here in Houston and the weather man is calling for 3 inches of snow on Friday! That is crazy talk my friends.


01 February 2011

It's research time!

There is something about the new year that I really love that most people don't. It's tax season time and this year we are looking forward to our tax credit. I am excited to be able to fix up are little home so that means its research time.

I am always looking for lovely things to put in our home but now I don't just have to look, I get to buy...yes! I could not be more excited.

When we first moved in last May I was able to paint the majority of the house before Ridge came and I am thankful that I did. We still need to conquer the kitchen, guest bedroom, master bath, and I need to repaint the guest bath because lets just say it looks terrible.

I am trying to focus a lot of my time towards the master bedroom because I want it to be the little place to get away to and it is also going to be the space I am going to work. If you didn't know I graduated from Auburn with a BFA in graphic design so not only am I a mom, I do freelance as well.

Something else you should know about me, I am not quick to make decisions because I love so many things and when I make up my mind I can very easily change it for something else...uggh, its kind of annoying! With that said, here are a few images of pretty things that I would like to emulate for our master bedroom.

I am loving this bedding and the pillows at the foot of the bed. I need something to go at the foot of my bed because my labradoodle Stroud loves to rub all over our bed and it drives me nuts!

I love this throw on the bed, I think it spices up the white bedding and a must for a girl like me! With always changing my mind about things this is a non-committed fix to add color and a bit of texture. Speaking of texture check out those pillows. Not really a fit for me and my hubby but it definitely adds some personality. I love an awesome throw pillow, just ask my husband!

This seems like something I would be able to achieve, sconces on either side (check), upholstered headboard (check, my hubby and I DIYed one last year before we moved), using a patterned fabric for the headboard and skirt, adding a throw, and the ottoman at the foot of the bed ( I can make those happen).

I am digging the entire feel of this room. I am loving the rug and would love to find one similar to this but wait, its tough to find an awesome huge area rug on a budget. Any ideas where to find one?

So I am loving the black and white and for now this is what I am trying to go for. I am a lover of all things gold so I need that lamp and the side table for that matter. I already painted my bedroom grey so I would need to add the blue color in a different way. Maybe curtains or even some throw pillows. Got to have those ikat pillows and instead of a black throw I would go for something else but I just haven't found that quite yet.

One last thing, I love this quilt and would love to have this for my bed. It has a little something for me and a little something for the hubby. If we lived in a barn in the woods this is what my room would look like for sure and my hubs would be so happy if we did, maybe when we are really old...

So I am still trying to find a desk, I am thinking an antique writing desk that would be accompanied with an ornate gold mirror and a lovely lamp for my working spot. If anyone has any great places to check out that has great deals please let me know! Until tomorrow...

I am sad that say that I am not exactly sure where all of these images came from. I have been collecting them for about a year and unfortunately didn't take note from where they came. I am sorry for that and next time I will be more diligent to give images credit where needed.