Well, HELLO!

I won't even bore you with the, "I'm so sorry, I promise to post more" rant because quite frankly, I am not sure I can keep any promises like that these days! Work's been so busy and soawesome - so I guess if I can trade being happy in my job for having abundant time to write in my blog - then that's a fair trade.

But what I did realize is that when I don't post, I don't read your posts, either. So, shame on me - I've missed out on so much! So many beautiful babies and happy friends - it's so great to catch up on the lovely little details of my friends' lives.

So what's going on in my world!? Hmm. Let's see:

Well, my precious NIECE was welcomed into this crazy world on May 31, 2011. She's absolutely perfect and I have already seen her 3 times in her 5.5 weeks of being alive (Aunt of the Year, 2011). Everything went really great and my sister made it all look so easy! I look up to her so much and I know I'll rely on her VERY heavily when it's mine and Justin's turn. Her advice will be so precious to me. Here's her pretty little face:

And pretty her little belly:

And lets see, what else.....well, me and Justin have been having a blast together. He makes me laugh and I enjoy his company every day. Here's his pretty little face:

And as for our house, we're "completely done" as Justin would say, and "almost done" if you were to ask me instead. We have a landscaper coming to our house tomorrow to assess the Owen/Fletcher damage in the backyard and hopefully we'll have a lovely little space to entertain in a few weeks...I DO promise to post pics, once we see some progress.

But in the meantime, here's Fletcher's pretty little face (he's mad at me in this picture because his dog friends just left our house):

But in all truth, I hardly have time to look at the news on weekdays anymore - unless it's the day they announced the Casey Anthony verdict - so blogging has definitely taken a backseat. But I enjoyed spending a little time with each of you this evening, even if just through blogging, and I look forward to doing it again soon (hopefully).

All my best to you & yours...

Silence is golden...right?

I've only posted once in APRIL!? It's ALREADY April 22!?

My OH my, how time flies when you are busy at work. Which has been crazy busy - but crazy great, too! I had a great opportunity to move teams, so I started training this week and it's been really great so far. I am thankful to be expanding my skills and knowledge at Swift and I really see such a bright future there right now.

And it's not like I take work home with me (not too often, anyway) but I do have to say - that's about all I have to report! We've been layin' low for a few weeks and this weekend we're off to Arlington to visit my immediate AND extended family for Easter....which will be great because my dear husband has never met my dear GRANDMA! Crazy, right? It's a long story - but I am truly glad that he will have the opportunity to spend time with my family, in its entirety.

Oh - and- I'll try to take some pictures of my dear sister's baby bump because it's definitely picture worthy. Just less than a month 'til the little rug-rat makes her debut! And Auntie Kit can't wait (to be pronounced Awn-tee Kit - fyi).

Happy Easter to you & yours!

To Grandmother's House We Went

I've been out & about for the last couple of weeks and I feel like I've been run ragged! First, I jetted off to St. Louis for work, then back to Houston for a weekend (that went by in a blink), and then off to Fredericksburg for a mini-vacay with my Mom and sister!

We had a really (and I mean really) lovely time....I told Justin when I left that I was afraid I wouldn't be able to put work on the back-burner and just enjoy being on vacation - but the trip was SO relaxing that I actually forgot I even had a job by Tuesday!

So we drove up on Sunday and all met on afternoon for shopping & lunch. I thought some of the stores might be closed on either Sunday or Monday, but luckily we got to hit up everything. Some stores a few times (i.e. this store which I happen to be obsessed with).

Here are some pics of our short, but sweet, time together:

This was the house we stayed in...it was so cute and cozy.

We took long strolls in the evening

so we could drool over all the other cute houses in the neighborhood.

Such a sweet, little Texas town.

Me and my sister at lunch one day...

This is the only picture of ourselves that we took the whole time.

OOPS.

We had lunch at the Brewery - and I think it was one of my favorite meals...

Just simple, tasty and served with a side of local beer.

This was the chandelier I fell l-o-v-e with at Red.

Justin even played along and told me solid, logical reasons why we didn't need this...

(and I'll admit, he was right)

Still better than a simple, "NO!"

We did make a special day-trip to Llano to visit my grandma's house...

Mimi passed away a few years ago and we hadn't been back to her house since.

So many great memories...

I did buy this "antique frog carrier" and I am in l-o-v-e with it, too.

I actually got this in Llano while visiting Mimi's old house.

Can't you just imagine some little freckle-faced kiddo in overalls, out collecting frogs...

I might one day let my little boy collect frogs and keep them in here,

but til then, it'll be filled with candles.

It was fun & it was relaxing.

It was everything vacation should be.

But! Now on to the next adventure.

Have a great weekend!

Um Excuse Me!?

I'm travelling for work this week and I've chosen to waste my alone time on surfing Twitter, E! Online and Facebook....and when I saw this news story I'm about to share, I almost fell over off of my king sized bed here at the Hampton Inn!

So, my answer to this question: Uh, YES!

Not even just YES but ABSOLUTELY!

I mean, I knew I was indulging in some trashy content, but...that's a bit much. I don't even want to learn about that, "natural part of motherhood", as they call it, and I'm actually approaching my baby-makin' years! I'm going to go ahead and side with the critics because I think some things are better left to be discovered.

But then again, my sister and I had the baby doll that you were supposed potty train and we loved that doll.

Ya? Not the same? I know. But still weird that someone invented a doll that you potty train. Or breastfeed, for that matter.

Anywho! Now that I'm all caught up on the weird things happening in the world, I'm off to rest my poor, borderline abused brain so I can at least pretend to be intelligent during client meetings tomorrow.

Have a good one.

Soup's On!

Justin and I are big soup lovers and this soup (which happens to also be weight watchers friendly) has everything we love in it. Chicken - check! Avocado - check! Cilantro - check!

We made it last night and it gets 4 thumbs up from us. It's fresh AND it's filling, which is not always a likely pair. Here's the recipe and the link to the source (Stolen from Skinny Taste).

Chicken and Avocado Soup
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 1 bowl • Old Points: 5 pts • Points+: 7 pts
Calories: 285.8 • Fat: 16.8 g • Carb: 14.4 g • Fiber: 7.5 g • Protein: 22.1 g

• 5 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups shredded chicken breast
• 1 tomato, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-1/2 cups scallions, chopped fine
• 2 ripe hass avocados, diced
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped fine
• 4 lime wedges
• 2 tsp olive oil
• salt + fresh pepper to taste
• pinch cumin
• pinch chipotle chile powder (optional)
  

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add 1 cup of scallions and garlic. Sautéabout 2 minutes then add tomatoes and sauté another minute, until soft. Add chicken stock, cumin and chile powder and bring to a boil. Simmer, covered on low for about 15-20 minutes.

In four bowls, fill each with 1/2 cup chicken, 1/2 avocado, remainder of the scallions, and cilantro. Ladle 1 cup chicken broth over the chicken and serve with a lime wedge

To save time, we used a rotisserie chicken from Kroger. And the only thing I'll add next time is crushed red pepper when you're cooking down the veggies with the olive oil (or use more of the chile powder). We love a little kick to our meals and so if you like some spice in your life, it wouldn't hurt. Oh! And I added a can of drained black beans to bulk it up a little bit!

Bon appetit!

The lesson I learned today...

Justin and I were talking last night and were talking about how hard it is to find time to work out with our schedules. If you know me, you know I journeyed through a huge weight loss "experience" a few years back and since I've started working in the "real world" it's been really hard to fit in a work out. We leave for work at 6:45 AM and we return after 6:30 PM or so...I hate to make excuses, but it's super hard to be motivated.

So to combat this issue, Justin and I decided to try working out together in the wee hours of the morning. We both kinda laughed when talking about it, because it's SO early...and we already get up really early as it is.

But we decided to do it.

We can do this.

The alarm's set.

Ready to go.

......until Justin remembers that he has some big presentation to prepare first thing at work and he decides that it's not the day to try working out in the morning.

"Well, I'm still going to try to go," I say with heavy hesitation.

Then my alarm goes off at 5 AM and...I, of course, decided not to go. However, FLETCHER hears my alarm and starts barking. And barking. And barking. Time to get up, MOM!

Insert valuable lesson here: When my alarm goes off at 5 AM and I decide to indefinitely postpone my work out, that's fine. I could go back to sleep. But guess who won't!? Fletcher Dearest. So now I know, if I plan on setting the alarm for 5 AM to work out, I can just assume that I am getting my butt up, because there is zero chance of going back to sleep. As a matter of fact, I should have gone today because this girl has been wide away since 5 AM, with no workout to show for it. And now I have to go tonight.

If you're the praying kind, pray for me to listen to God's little pushes to go work out and make wise eating decisions - instead of being a slave to my selfish desire to indulge and not pay the price for it. I don't want to back track on all the work I did and I want to be an active, healthy girl. Just need to find a creative way to work activity into my lifestyle.

Suggestions welcome!

Hope y'all have a good week.

Much love.

Happy Anniversary to Us!

A few weeks early....anyway.

But hey, exactly one year ago, we were in the throws of planning a lovely little farm wedding - and that's worth celebrating! Plus, I'm notorious for celebrating my birthday from August 29 (Justin's birthday) all the way until the actual date, September 21, and I don't see why we can't celebrate our marriage during March...all of March!

My friend Emily invited us to attend the Endymion Extravaganza in New Orleans, which is a black-tie event where the Endymion parade rolls through once it has rolled through the streets of New Orleans during Mardi Gras.

We had been talking about taking a trip to New Orleans to celebrate our anniversary so the timing was perfect. Since it was Justin's first time to go to Mardi Gras, we decided to make a big deal of it and stay all the way through Fat Tuesday. We spent the first half with Emily's family and then got a hotel room downtown by the French Quarter for the second half.

Here's some documentation of our trip for your viewing pleasure:

Before the ball...all dressed up!

All the girls

Me & Justin at the ball before the parade

Haha - Justin watching the parade - waiting for some beads

Our loot we collected from Endymion Parade

More Loot from parades on the street!

Okay I'm not big on the Charlie Sheen hype, but this was funny nonetheless.

Enjoying the wonderful weather at the Zulu festival

One of the dogs from Barkus, the dog parade!

We had a great time...if you can't tell. Emily's family was so gracious to host us (and so many other couples!) and we really enjoyed the time away together.

So here's to another year together! It's been the best year of my life and I look forward to celebrating all of March, each March, for the rest of our life together!

All the best to you and yours!

On the go......

I feel like this sums up my life for the last few weeks:

Except I've only actually gone on one flight....haha.

But I went to St. Louis for work to visit our lovely contractors and he weather was perfect - crisp & chilly. I always love travelling for work because it's a great way to break up the week - but I swear - I've been playing catch up ever since...

We also recently went to Austin to visit Justin's sister while she's doing her internship. It was so fun - we shopped, ate, saw live music - life was grand. And while we were there we also toured the Capitol, which I had never visited! Now I feel like a good ol' fashioned, bona fide Texan.

My Texas Boy

And, I learned how to play Texas Hold 'Em - which also boosts my status as a bona fide Texan, I might add. This was ACTUALLY one of my [winning] hands:

Everyone agreed that Justin better book us a ticket to Vegas while I'm hot!

But that's a little summary of our busy little life.

Thankfully, next week we're taking a few days off to celebrate our First Anniversary together in New Orleans! I won't give too much away about it so I can blog about it next week! All I'll say is there are evening gowns, tuxes and beads involved...

That's it from me - take care! Oh, and Les Bon Temps Rouilles!

Wired Over...

When Kat & I went to Canton, we kept seeing these old wire baskets...big and small, beat up, loved on...they all had so much character. I fell in L-O-V-E and I can't stop thinking about them.

I've been this close to buying some, but I don't really think I have any reason for them. I know what will end up happening is I will talk myself out of buying any, right up until the point where they're not as easily available anymore...but oh well. Maybe my husband will thank me for resisting the temptation. Especially an unfounded temptation.

Anyway, here are a few that I'm pining over:

Gymnasium Shelves

Stacking Shelves

Fun wire cage...

(these first 3 are from Urban Outfitters - Online Only - which means I can't just stroll in and buy anything on a whim - it would have to be a concrete decision.)

And one from Design Sponge!

I love them. I just do. But I guess it would make more sense if we had little unruly children in our house, who needed their little unruly lives to be organized by stylish wire baskets.....

At present I only have an unruly puppy...who....wait!......needs a basked for his toys! So maybe I can get one? Just one?

Doesn't this face need a wire basket for his toys?

I think so.

Have a good weekend!

Update

Made with Love

I brought this little chocolate treat (made with love) to work today for my team and none of us have had the guts to bust into it yet. Well except the bottom point of the heart (guilty! I had to taste my own creation, right!? ). Odds are, once we cut into it, it's a goner, so the odds are even greater that this little treat will look the exact same at 5:30 PM today.

But I must say, the icing smells delicious. I don't mind the company one bit.

On another note, I'm thinking I need to work out tonight, haha. My "holidays" have stretched way further into the year than I had hoped so maybe some activity would do me some good.

So my Valentine's goals are as follows: don't eat that sweet treat to my right and take Valentine Justin and Valentine Fletcher on a family walk tonight.

Oh, if it be to choose and call thee mine, love, thou art every day my Valentine!

-Thomas Hood

Much love to you! Yes, you! Happy Valentine's Day, love.

Today I'm thinking of....

My future niece...Presley

A few weeks back, Justin and I were talking with a couple-of-couples about going on a dreamy trip to Belize the first week of June. But...then I remembered, "wait! Our niece could be born while we're gone! We can't make plans like that!" Not that I forgot, it just seems so far away until she actually arrives and I hadn't made the mental calendar note to make plans around her debut!

But now I can't stop thinking....there's going to be an actual baby girl one the other side of that baby bump my sister has grown! I wonder, will she be shy, like my sister was? Or will she be bossy like her Auntie Kit was? Well, we know she will be tall, because that's just science, but will she be athletic like her mommy and daddy both are? Will she be a daddy's little girl or a mommy's girl? Haha, if karma exists, she will probably give mommy a run for her money...but only time will tell.

I can't wait to love on her, spoil her, steal her away for weeks at a time and let her break all of the rules....I will introduce my children to this little girl; God willing, my children will have a very special and strong bond with THIS LITTLE GIRL. That little girl right there in that picture!

....Little Miss Presley will be a huge part of life as we know it. It's funny to think that in a year's time, we will look back and not even KNOW what life was like without her.

Seriously, it almost brings me to tears to imagine knowing and loving this little girl.

I already do so much.

Major Overhaul on the Peltier Household

Well, this weekend was nothing if not productive. I didn't stick exactly to my bullet points from Thursday, but I think the things we did were more productive than watching Teen Mom; it was more than I imagined we could do in a weekend...Justin was so helpful and such a good sport and we really both felt really good about everything we were able to do!

Here's a peek at what all we did:

Half Bath Overhaul (before)

We replaced the light fixture a while back and hadn't patched up the spot yet (I could tell you it was because we had this project on the horizon, but that's a lie).

This was the bathroom vanity that was originally in the bathroom - nice, just not our taste

...and this was after we removed everything - my clean slate! Isn't that awful!?

Half Bath Overhaul (after)

My plumber...

the finished product! A new vanity/sink and a fresh paint job did wonders.

...and I finally hung these Pottery Barn boards I've had for over a year and couldn't find the right spot for them...now they're over the toiled.

Do you ever do that - love something so much you can't commit to any ONE spot??

Now on to the next project:

Entryway Chandelier

...out with the old

My Electrician

...and in with the new!

I love the way it looks at night - very ranch/country house

And the last project:

Guest Bathroom Cabinet Redo (before)

I wanted to get a better "before" shot but my eager construction worker had the cabinet sanded before I could take one...and I definitely think that having someone sand it for you is better than getting a good "before" shot

Guest Bathroom Cabinet Redo (after)

the first coat of paint on the cabinet

...and with the doors & drawers in! (the sink faucets are next...)

This is the hardware I've picked out, but Hobby Lobby only had 2 and I needed 6 so I'll pick up more today.

That about sums it up! This little guy was a great helper too:

Sorry for the longest post ever...but it was all well worth the work and we look forward to sharing future projects around the house!