pinterest projects {2 knockout recipes}

I have been pinning things for a very long time, and I have just recently started to go back and look at my old pins to see what we should have for dinner.

Last night I tried two different recipes, and they were both AMAZING.

First up:

Pizza Quesadillas
via Snixy Kitchen

photo also via Snixy Kitchen

These were the bomb. I loved them, and while he liked them, Sam would have preferred additional "toppings", but I thought they were fine the way they are.

Basically what you do is buy some pepperoni (I got ours from the deli counter and thought this was better than the prepackaged kind). Pan fry the pepperoni so it's crispy, then brush pizza sauce on two flour tortillas, throw on some cheese, and put the pizza sauce sides towards the middle and then crisp in a cast iron skillet (3-5 minutes on each side). Super easy, super delicious.


Next:

Mini Halloween Oreo Cheesecake
 via A Bitchin' Kitchen 

Not the best picture, but ohmigosh you guys, these are SO GOOD. Sam gave them an A+. I would give them an A+++ if that was possible.

Instructions are on her website, and trust me, you'll want to go make these ASAP. I suggest making them when you're going to have company or a work potluck, because it's torturous to have them sitting around your house and to try not eat them all day.




What kinds of things are you cooking up these days?
 

absence makes the heart grow fonder?

I've never really believed that saying, to be honest.


I apologize for my absence in the blogging world to the two people who read this blog and depend on it to stay updated on my life.

Here is what I've been doing:

1) Cleaning our apartment on my days off
2) Doing laundry (does it EVER STOP!?)
3) Working. Working. Working.


How is it possible that I feel like I work more now that I work 3 twelve hour shifts than I did when I worked 5 days a week? I miss 8-5. I miss hour long lunch breaks (and lunch dates). I miss sitting at a desk instead of running my ass off for 12 hours.


I should have written this sometime OTHER than before I had to go work two shifts in a row.

All whining aside, nursing is pretty baller. There are days when it's slow, there are days when it is fast, and every SINGLE day I feel like I exert every brain cell I have in my brain. The patients & families I work with are pretty fabulous and that makes it pretty much worth it. Even on days like this: 

via Pinterest

Anyway, between items 1-3, this is what else I've been doing, through what else? Instagram.

my "morning alarm" set for when most people are leaving work for the day.

I made another "school spirit" wreath for my mom...

and then one for Sara.

We found a turtle in the road

and reunited for a home game in our beloved Columbia.

This "little one" turned ONE!

I bought a new car.

and spent some time with my pups.

And in addition to cleaning and doing laundry, I've been doing a lot of cooking.

What have I missed in YOUR lives while I've been away??

so what...

...if I'd rather watch ABC Family because The Princess Diaries is on instead of watching the Mizzou-Georgia game?


...if I admit to actually watching The Princess Diaries quite frequently? 


...if I had a long to-do list for my first day off in a very long time and instead I watched Sweet Home Alabama and then read one blog (Rockstar Ronan) for 4 hours and bawled my eyes out?


...if I instantly judged the guy at the grocery store from a local med school because he was wearing his white coat at 8:45 in the morning? Dude, you're not impressing ANYONE in this grocery store right now. In fact, you probably just made yourself a target.


...if I made a cake when I knew I'd be the only one home today?


...if I don't love my job every. single. day?


...if I cried last night because Sam burnt my grilled cheese? (I did, and it was totally irrational, and even while it was happening I thought to myself, you're lucky you have someone who will make you dinner at 9:00 when you're exhausted and grumpy and won't even tell him what you want).


...if I make up reasons to go to Target because it has the closest Starbucks to our apartment?

life through instagram: 8/31/12.

coffee date w/ Sam

obsessed with this packaging

my babies

a moment of calm in the storm

my mom got some new wheels

my snuggle bug

new sea lion exhibit at the STL zoo

baller seats at the cards game

two things: love this guy, and look at my hair. it is so long.

bros

sam's last first day of school

damn my parents for instilling the need to have dessert after every meal.

sunday chores leisure activities.

raining on sunday.

no filter, creepin on my workaholic.

diy: {hangover kits}

I mentioned in this post that I made "hangover kits" for A's bachelorette party. They were super easy to put together, mostly because I knew I was going to do this so I started buying things whenever I had to go to Target, CVS, or Wal-Mart for something else.


First up, what I put in them!

Clockwise from the Sprite: Sprite, Tylenol, Tums, Lifesavers Mints, Orbit gum, Makeup remover wipes, a travel first aid kit, and some mouthwash.

Then, I printed out this little saying and cut it out with my circle cutter.

This was way harder than I thought it would be. I was terrible at centering the saying in the circle.

I then punched out some more circles and wrote all of the girls' initials on them so they'd be a little more personal.

And then tied the bags up with some cute ribbon!

What do you like the morning after a bachelorette party? My drugs of choice are a bottle of water and a bowl of plain white rice. Random, but I swear it works!


PS: Welcome those of you who found this post on Pinterest! Leave a comment below and let me know what you would add (or take out of!) these bags!!

crockpot cooking {taco soup}

Sam's parents recently redid their kitchen, and when his mom was reorganizing everything, she found an extra crockpot and graciously gave it to us, since the one we had was tiny. Since she gave it to us (like a week ago), I've been obsessively scouring the web for crockpot recipes! Since I have to work such long/weird hours, being able to throw something in the crockpot is essential if we want to not eat out every night.

This recipe is so easy, it took me less than 10 minutes to prepare (seriously).


Two cans of each of these...

 Two packets of each of these...

Brown some meat (not pictured, because it grosses me out), chop some veggies...

...and voila!  A hearty soup, and super delicious.


"Slow Cooker Taco Soup" 
via AllRecipes.com

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 2 packages taco seasoning mix
• 1 2 packages ranch dressing mix
• 1 2 cans diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
• 1 2 cans corn, undrained
• 1 2 cans black beans, undrained
• 1 (15 ounce) can sliced black olives (sick, omitted these)
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup tomato juice (I really don't feel like you need this because it's soupy enough if you don't drain the cans).

Serve with sour cream, cheese, and chips.

As you can tell, I doubled most of the recipe, because we both love this, so I wanted to have leftovers. I'm trying to decrease the amount of red meat we eat, though, so I didn't double the ground beef!

pinterest projects {mizzou wreath}

We have a lot of school spirit around this apartment...some more (Sam) than others (me). Even though I am not the type to sign on to PowerMizzou for hours or follow all of the Missouri Tiger Football/Basketball players on Twitter, I do bleed black and gold and am always so proud to say I went there.


Football season kicks off next weekend, and I'm super excited I get to go to the game (even more excited that my BFF Sara will be there with me!), so in the spirit of things, I scratched another Pinterest Project off my long to-do list.


Here's some Pinspiration:

via

via

I had a general idea of what I wanted to do, so I went to Michaels (they just built an AMAZING two story Michaels about 10 minutes from our apartment--it's in an old Borders, Rest In Peace, and it is HUGE) and browsed for all of the materials.


This is where I made one of my few mistakes of the project. I looked at the Michaels ad online on Thursday and saw all of their ribbon was on sale for 40% off, holla! I thought to myself "make sure you go get this before Sunday!" and then I went on my merry way today (aka, SUNDAY) and was shocked when the ribbon wasn't on sale anymore. Ugh. Work is messing my mind up big time! I decided since I was there anyway I would just go ahead and buy it, but it was pricey and I kind of regret being impatient. Story of my life.

Ah, one of my favorite color schemes!

 I also picked up some gold paint, black letters, and a sheet of wooden pine to use to affix the letters to the wreath.

There are a LOT of different wreaths at Michaels. I got this one because I knew I was just going to cover it in ribbon, so it didn't really matter what it looked like underneath. This one was only $3.50, whereas some of the other floral wreaths were $9, $10, or $12.

On my way to check out, I found these little Christmas ornaments in the dollar zone! 

I started trying to wrap the thick black ribbon all the way around the wreath, but only got halfway around before it ran out. Here is mistake #2. When you buy ribbon, check the yardage. Some of the ribbon I bought were 3 yards long, some were 10. I ran out of ALL of the 3 yd ribbon. 

Instead, I spaced it out a bit. It turned out totally fine. 

 I then cut some ribbons into equal length and started tying them at random around the wreath, making sure to cover up the straw parts first.

 I then painted the pine gold and hot glued the letters to it, then hot glued the pine to the wreath.

I then attached the ornaments at random to polish it off! I think it turned out pretty well :). 

In fact, I love it so much, I hung it on the INSIDE of our door, so I can see it all the time (and no one can take it!). 

Are you ready for college football season? Who are you going to be rooting for?