Where did November go?!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Here are a few pics of the lovely holiday my family & I just had...

 

Ben & I and the pups :)

 

Mom, Dad & I

 

 

Isn't my Mom just so beautiful!?!

Finally here it is...the before and after of the Craigslist dresser that I got for $0.  Not too shabby, huh?  I would say more shabby chic!  This project took me a little longer than I had planned, as the weather had been chilly in Denver during the weekends in November and its not good to paint and wax in those temperatures.  After about 4 coats of paint, some sanding/distressing and a clear coat of wax this dresser was totally transformed! 

 

What will my next project be?!  xo- S

 

 

So many projects...so little time!

As B says..."you are wearing yourself ragged"...and as such, I came down with a horrible, flu-like cold over the weekend and am still recovering.  I can't help it...I jam pack my weekends, because I sit in an office for 45 hours a week, and I have so many things I want to do when I'm not at work!  What I really want to do is blame the Madonna concert for getting me sick...which, I guess that was another event in my packed schedule.  I mean...you only live once!  Make it count.

Quick download on MDNA....Thursday night (10/18/12)  ----
Arrive at the Pepsi Center around 8:30pm (show was scheduled for 8pm).  Her opening act started late around 8:30pm and played for almost 2 hours.  He was awesome and totally got the crowd dancing and ready for the Queen herself.  However, after he wrapped up his gig it was about an hour until MDNA graced us with her presence.  ----News Flash--- Endless anticipation kills all the excitement, especially at a concert!  Which is exactly what happened.  Before the show even started the crowd started booing and I'm sure some people walked out.  Madge finally starts the show right before 11pm.  Overall, it was what I expected, much darker than her last tour...but still the Madonna I have loved since I was 3 years old, dancing to True Blue with my big sis in the living room.   I am lucky to have now seen her twice in concert...something I never thought would happen. Ok, so we ended up leaving around 12:45am before the show was even close to being over...and I got into bed around 2am.  Thus, I am blaming MDNA for the late night, which I truly believe gave me the crappy flu-like cold I am curreently recovering from. 

Moving on...
I stumbled upon a free furniture ad on Craigslist on Friday...so made Ben come with me and picked up a dresser and the nice lady I got that from also gave me a chair.  A post of the before and after of the dresser to follow soon (I hope).

I also need to finish this table...after photo coming this weekend (again..I hope).

 

 

My parents are coming to town for Thanksgiving, so I also to get my house clean clean clean before their arrival.  The list could go on...and on....

 

Here's hoping I can accomplish some of the things on my list soon!!!

Carol's Creamy Chicken Recipe

Hey ya'll!  It's that time of year again...casseroles and comfort food!  One of my all-time favorite recipes is my mom's dish that I like to call "Carol's Creamy Chicken".  This is a dish Ben & I make as often as we can...and especially when we have friends over or family in town.  Its really easy to make, and doesn't cost much...plus its delicious...so win, win, win.  ;)  See the recipe below...

Ingredients

1 lb chicken breasts, cut into cubes
2 cans of cream of (whatever you like) chicken, mushroom, onion, celery...you could also mix two types together
1 package of Havarti cheese slices
1 small package of Pepperidge Farm herb breadcrumbs
1/4 cup of white wine, or you could use milk
1/2 stick butter- melted
Nonstick spray oil
Dash of salt & pepper
1-2 cups white basmati rice
(Optional- add veggies...carrots, peas, broccoli, etc...if you want!)

Directions

Preheat over to 350

Spray casserole dish with nonstick spray oil
Mix 2 cans of cream of whatever you want in mixing bowl
Pour in 1/4 cup of white wine or milk
Add dash of salt & pepper
Add cubes of chicken, mix well, make sure to coat chicken with soup mix
Pour chicken/soup into casserole dish
Cover with slices of Havarti cheese
Melt butter and mix with Pepperidge Farm herb breadcrumbs, I usually just eyeball the breadcrumbs...use as much or as little as you like
Pour breadcrumbs over the cheese

Bake for approx. 45 min.

Serve over rice

Serves 4-5 people, and you could have leftovers ;)

Enjoy!!

My new 2nd room!

Ben & I had a home office, but we never used it.  It was basically our "catch-all" room that I could never keep clean... and it was always one of those rooms that I wanted to keep clean, but didn't have the time. So, needless to say I wanted to turn this "eye-sore" of a room and give it more purpose.  Since we were also no longer using our desktop computer (our laptop & ipad is all we ever use these days...) I decided to re-make this room into my own haven if you will....a place where I can sit down, put my make-up on and dry my hair...a little place I like to call...my 2nd room! ;)  I packed away the computer...and decluttered the space and now its a little piece of heaven!  See pictures below of the transformation!

 

 

(I hired a painter to paint this vanity...I would have done it

myself, but she was much faster than me!)

 

 

 

(Small table I am refinishing for the room! Craigslist- $30)

 

Vanity, Chair, filing cabinet- Craigslist & painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

Walls painted from green to Kalspar "Possibility" (a very light grey/white color)

Lamps- TJ Maxx

Mirror- Kohls.com

Misc. Accessories- Antique/Vintage Finds

Rug- Joss & Main  (Great home site...

join here! http://www.jossandmain.com/invite/C19770)

 

Muah! -S

I'm back!!

So...after a long hiatus this summer, I am finally back on the blog.  I have no real excuse, except that I got lazy.  ;)

Interested in a quick recap of what I've been doing?  Sure you are!

Drinking beer...watering flowers...going to concerts...drinking beer...spending time with friends..drinking beer...spending time with the pups...trying to be outside as much as possible...and the list goes on!

Some pictures from the last few months!

 

Go Rockies!

 

My lovely annuals!

 

A couple of pictures from Tour de Fat Denver!

(aka Rides bikes around the city and then drink beer! yes!)

 

 

 

Drinking beer in the wilderness...

 

 

A night out with the ladies!!

 

 

 

More to come soon!!  Muah! -S

 

Ready for the HOT weekend!

Its going to be hot, hot, hot here in Denver this weekend!  Both Saturday and Sunday will probably be around 100 degrees.  I know the whole country is really going through a heat wave right now.  I mean, where is the pool?!  On Sunday I will be volunteering at the Tour de Poudre Champion Tree Classic bike ride that Ben is riding in. The bike ride is approximately 70 miles. This event supports a great cause that will not only help out the Colorado Tree Coalition, but the funds will assist in the horrible wild fires that Colorado is experiencing right now. 

Link to donate: http://www.coloradotrees.org/tourdepoudre_reg.php

News links on the High Park wild fire:  http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/31216619/detail.html
http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2012/06/high_park_fire_photos_videos.php

Stay cool ya'll

xo-S

Outdoor Living Space

The weekend after we returned from California we got straight to work on some outdoor home improvement!  We love our deck and back yard area, but it was in need of some serious improvements.  First, Ben repaired the stairs that come off the deck.  Second, the deck needed a fresh coat of paint, and third we need some serious outdoor lighting, because after the sun sets it is pitch black out there, with the exception of one little light.  The first two parts of this plan are complete, and I am hoping to get the lighting installed this weekend if we can make it work! We were also able to find some time to plant some annuals! xo-S

 

California Road Trip!

I am way overdue for this post, as I have been anxious to tell you all about our trip to California (as well as share some photos)! 

Our trip started in San Diego.  We flew in and rented a Camero Convertible :)  We only spent a day in this gorgeous town and definitely want to go back some day!  We walked around the city near the water, saw the USS Midway, checked out Seaport Village, the Convention Center, the Gaslamp District and Balboa Park.  Our night ended at the Karl Strauss Brewery and Restaurant.  Here are some pictures that highlight our time in San Diego...

Balboa Park

Ben in front of the USS Midway

The next day we made our way up the coast to Carlsbad, CA.  On the way though we stopped at several breweries and enjoyed some tastings of some great beer!  We stopped at Ballast Point Brewing, Stone Brewing World Bistro, Gardens & Brewery, Lost Abbey Brewing and ended the night at Pizza Port Brewing in Carlsbad.  What a day!  Here are some pics...

Lost Abbey Brewing

Pizza Port Brewing

Then we were off to Santa Monica!  This part of our trip wasn't about the breweries...more about seeing Santa Monica & West Hollywood, a stop to In-N-Out (since I had never been ), beach time, and dinner with my cousin Amy and her husband Joey.  See below for pics!

The Fairmont Miramar

My cousin Amy & I

TrueBlood!!

In-N-Out! Yummy!

After two nights in Santa Monica we headed inland to Paso Robles for one night and some good quality time at the Firestone Walker tap room, brewery and restaurant.  Our hotel in Paso Robles was beautiful!  We stayed at the La Belaserra boutique hotel, great place and only two minutes from Firestone Walker.  Here is a pic of Firestone Walker!

Firestone Walker Tap Room

 

From there we headed north through San Franacisco, made a quick stop at Muir Woods and then to Santa Rosa for a visit to Russian River Brewery, which also has a tap room and restaurant.  This was probably Ben's favorite part of the trip, as he LOVES Russion River.  They do have amazing beer!  :)

Russian River Brewing Taster

After Santa Rosa (and might I add a beautiful drive through wine country!) we headed back to San Francisco for two nights before heading home.  We stayed right in the heart of Union Square at the Grand Hyatt...fantastic location and hotel!  I love San Francisco, and this was probably my favorite part of the trip.  Saturday, June 2nd was my birthday, so we rented bikes and rode over the Golden Gate Bridge to Saulsalito and then took a ferry back to Fisheman's Wharf.  What an amazing excursion and the perfect experience on my bday.  Other than that, we just toured the city during our time there...China Town, Little Italy, North Beach (Rogue Public Ale House anyone?!), Union Square of course and the Yerba Buena area.  More pics below...

Carousel at Fisherman's Wharf

Golden Gate Bridge

Union Square

 

Great vacation...one to never forget! xo- S

Never too old to accessorize!

During my garage sale last weekend, a customer and I were chatting and I said to her "you are never too old to accessorize" and she said "I don't know about that"...well, I do know, and I am right.  Both of my sweet grandmother's still accesorize each of their outfits, and if I live to be 83, you better believe I will be dressing my best and accessorizing all my fits!  Here are a few gems I found on shopruche.com...and BTW they are having a 15% off total site sale for Memorial Day!  Use code MEMSALE15 ;)

California Adventure!

It truly feels like forever since Ben and I took an actual vacation, just the two of us, more than a week, somewhere we haven't been (or at least I haven't been...).  California here we come!  I will make sure to post pics upon our return!  xo-S

Garage Sale Success!

Our garage sale was a complete success this weekend.  We made around $250, and we couldn't be happier!  It rained here on Saturday, which surprisingly didn't put too much of a damper on the day, we took our yard sale into the garage and the hard core garage sale shoppers made their way to our sale in the rain!

A few tips: 

• Price things a little higher, as people LOVE to bargain
• I put a up sign that said "All Sales Final", just so there was no confusion
• Have music playing in the background, helps to allow people to chat about items without being overheard
• Make sure your sign is visible from both sides of the major street where you put it

Chimay- Our garage sale side kick and guard dog ;)

Friday Style Picks!

Since we are having the yard sale tomorrow, what better time to do some shopping to replace the items I am selling?!  Here are some of my favorite online style picks...Happy Friday ya'll!

All items are from shopruche.com

Yard Sale this Saturday!

Ben & I spent the whole evening last night working on our yard sale for this Saturday, May 19th.  I'll just say I had a good work-out!  This is our very first yard sale, and I am super excited.  I can see how this can be addicting to some people..just wondering through my house picking up items that I don't need and might be a treasure for someone else...I like that.  I posted the yard sale on craigslist.com and yardsalesearch.com. 

Click below for my posts about the yard sale! 

http://denver.craigslist.org/gms/3018191676.html

Find garage sales in highlands-ranch on yardsalesearch.com



More pics & yard sale tips to come!

Baby Succulant Cork Planter

Saw this on Pinterest and I showed it to Ben.  He made it right away for me!  Its a small succulant planter.  It took about 5 minutes to make :)

Here are the two finished planters with

baby succulants that we had on hand!

Running of the Roses 2012!

 I got to go to the 138th Kentucky Derby this weekend...here are a few pics from the big day!