A FEW THINGS I'VE BEEN EYEING

I love this pillow. I feel as though it is the very essence of me...naa not really I'm just trying to justify wanting a $100 pillow. *from Design Public

Love the pop of red on this one. I'm not sure where I'd put it, but I still think it's uber special. *Again from Design Public

This chair just makes me Happy...maybe someday I'll get the willingness to actually purchase it. For now I just log onto Urban Outfitters and gawk at it.

I just think this is so pretty. Plus I really need something to hang my necklaces on...they're getting all tangled in my jewelry box. *from Urban Outfitters

Here is the fore mentioned Bath rug and Shower curtain. I got a 20% off coupon so I think I'm gonna splurge and get them...before I'm unable to afford any other pretties because of you know leaking what. *both from Bed Bath and Beyond

I've been wanting one of these for a while to put in our bedroom. This one is from West Elm...although I did see one at Target the other day.

I think these would look fabulous in our bathroom or anywhere in the house for that matter...I just loves them! *from West Elm.



Just a Blonde's Take

Bridget

Water Woes Update!

Well, there is good and bad news. The good news first? Water is no longer leaking into our garage when we use the dishwasher and sink. Bad news...in order to make it a permanent fix, we are going to have to hire the camera guys and more than likely jack hammer some concrete. It seems as if there is a crack or break in the pipe that is located in our slab in the garage. Hopefully (keep your fingers crossed) That they will be able to access this problem pipe from in the garage and not our bedroom or kitchen...which that would mean tearing up the hardwood floors or cabinets, respectively. But the Sewer guys bought us a little bit of time yesterday by unclogging the pipe which was making the water back up out of the crack and into our garage. And so now I'm trying to de-stink my house for a party on Saturday (my cousin is getting married and his fiance and all our friends are coming over to put together their invites). All that unclogging and water in the garage has made the house stink like dirty sink/sewer. I may go ahead and spring for that new shower curtain...it's looking like it might be the last fun thing I purchase for a while.

Water Woes

Instead of spending my hard earned dollars on buying fantastic throw pillows, or that new shower curtain I've been eyeing at BBB I'm being forced to have to pay for plumbing issues! Yay! I love when my dishwasher water leaks into my garage! Ha, NOT! Oh, yes anything I pour down our sink or that comes from the dishwasher is leaking into our garage! And the problem just keeps getting worse and worse. First my dad tried to come to the rescue and tried to figure it out, but alas it's still leaking. Now he's over at the house with a plumber who can't figure it out either, so now I have a hole in my bedroom wall (no other way to get to the suspect pipe) and the problem still remains. We think there's a clog in the suspect pipe, but it would seem like that's not the only problem. So what's a girl on a budget to do? Well, call the sewer guy and have him unclog the pipe first (cross our fingers and pray that's it) and then call the pipe camera guys and pay $250 bucks to have them JUST fish their camera in there and locate the problem, only to have to have someone else come out and fix whatever is wrong (which is probably under our slab foundation somewhere). Super swell! Needless to say this is not what this Blondie wanted to deal with in these harsh economic times. Anyone else have any homeowner horror stories?

Loves it!

The Black Bean and Sausage soup was a hit! I was so delicious and so comforting. Here's the recipe in case you all are interested:

Black Bean and Sausage Soup

1 medium onion, chopped

1 large carrot, peeled or scrubbed, chopped

1 stalk of celery, sliced

2 large cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 medium potato, peeled, diced

2 cups beef or chicken broth/stalk

1 28oz tin, diced tomatoes

4-6 oz lean kielbasa sausage, cubed
1 19oz tin black beans, or your favorite canned beans

Nutritional Info

Fat 5.0g

Carbohydrates 41.0g

Calories 273.9

Protein 18.8g

1. Heat large pot with low fat cooking spray. Add onion, carrot and celery; cook and stir over medium heat until vegetables begin to soften.

2. Stir in garlic, oregano, potato, broth and tomatoes; heat to boiling. Stir in Kielbasa. Cover and simmer gently for at least 1/2 hour to blend flavours.

3. Drain and rinse beans. Add to soup. Heat until hot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with crusty bread. (Even better the next day)

From the original recipe:

** We love this soup. You can prepare it ahead for a gathering and instead of simmering for 1/2 hour, put it in your crockpot on low and add the beans. By the time you are ready to eat (try to make it at least a half an hour) it will be ready to go. Great for potluck as it only gets better the longer it sits.

Number of servings: 6

****Recipe and Picture taken from Spark Recipe's website

Homesick

Is there a way to be homesick, without being away from home? I'm finding myself homesick these past few days, except...I'm not away from home. I guess the better term would be drummersick? I'm missing the drummer a lot and when he's gone there are times that our home doesn't really feel like home. I'm there the dogs are there, but he's not. He's such apart of our lives and whether he's driving me crazy or making me fall in love even more, he's missed. Sometimes I feel like a "single mom" with just me and our doggie children. I spent most of my Saturday this weekend in bed. It just felt comforting to be in. Then to make my drummersickness worse, I rented Nights in Rodanthe. I love Diane Lane and my girl again didn't disappoint. I hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday. I'm trying to get rid of a headache, but looking forward to our weekly girl's night! It's Black Bean and Sausage soup and salad tonight! I can't wait, it's a new recipe and in addition to sounding delicious, it's healthy too! I'll let you all know how it fairs.

Just a Blonde's Take
Bridget

OK, I KNOW...I SUCK!

Ok, I really suck at this whole blogging thing. I have been absent for so long and I have only my lazy and unimaginative mind to blame. Sometimes I find it almost impossible to think of ideas and topics to blog about...I really think I'm too hard on myself to come up with some brilliant post that will dazzle all when in reality I just need to write about what I know and what's going on. So as a new resolution...I vow to post more, even if it seems like it's nothing. I feel writing is good for the soul and it helps my already bad grammar and spelling issues. And I find it funny that I get so upset when others don't have a new post. I'm a total hypocrite in this regard. I want all my favorite bloggers to post everyday and yet I go months without a word. Oh the shame (don't worry, I have Catholic Guilt I feel bad enough for everyone)! So here we go another post of randomness to catch you all up on what's been going on and I vow to post more frequently:

Ok, so the trip to NYC was great and not so great! We got to see about two things on my list and we had such a terrible time trying to get around that we spent most of the time frustrated about which way was north and why aren't there any hot dog stands around when we need one. I don't think you really can prepare yourself for NYC, I went to Paris last year and thought that that big city experience would have helped in the Big Apple yet it didn't. It really is the city that never sleeps. The whole reason for going was to see Butch Walker perform in Hoboken and that definitely was AMAZING! FYI Butch was on the Ellen DeGeneres show in early February with Pink and it was awesome!

Our garden, or should I say roped off dirt space...our dogs have totally ruined our garden. Half of what we planted was either eaten or trampled to death. We're gonna have to start again in the spring. We love our dogs, but man do they tear up a yard.

Speaking of which we FINALLY found out what our precious Axel is...datdadadaaaa:
Great Pyrenees
Daschund
Rhodesian Ridgeback
Rottweiler
Airedale Terrier
German Shepard
and I think there was one more but I can't remember...Can you say MUTT! Some were really unexpected, but it's fun knowing our doggy child's heritage.

Also, I was promoted this year. I am now an AVP (Assistant Vice President) of the bank! It sounds cooler than it really is...I mean I'm super pumped and it's a great honor, but I'm not making millions. And I will be the manager at our newest branch that is in it's final stages of construction. Yay, can't wait for new building smell (Side Note: I love new building smell, I think it has to do with the paint lacquer or wood stain fumes...gets me excited, however I feel the complete opposite about new car smell...ahhh gross makes me gag just mentioning it)

The drummer and I (check out that grammatical correctness!) are still going strong. I have gotten word that a proposal may be within this decade. Here's hoping. He's working out of town even more than usual. Now he's gone for two weeks at a time...I only get to see him every other weekend and then he's off again. Boo!! But I'm happy and thankful he has a job in this lovely economy, I know others have not been so fortunate.

Oh and more news on one of my favorite Photags...her home is being featured on Apartment Therapy as one of the 2009 home tours! It makes me want to slit my couch arms at how wonderful it is. Go check it out!

My most favorite French person is coming to visit at the end of March!! She's one of my best friends and lives in Paris as a musician (it's hard being her). Anyway, this will be the first time she's seen our house so of course I'm trying to get it all ready and have her room looking fantastic for when she stays.

And I've been trying to GO GREEN this year. Yet another resolution, however this one I've been better at sticking to so far. I use all my own bags when I shop...it's kind of become a new addiction (there are too many cute ones out there), I don't buy paper towels anymore. I bought a bunch of towels and flour sacks to clean up messes. I try to eat organic as much as possible and I'm looking into starting a compost bin! I'm trying to add one new thing a month so that by the end of the year I'll have 12 new things that I'm doing to help SAVE the Earth. I think new month is starting the recycle bin thru our trash service.

That's about all that I've been up to lately house, work, drummer, friends...life can't get any better. I'll catch you all next week, the drummer took the laptop with him so no posts this weekend...I'll let you know when I get my new couch pillow in!! I DIE!

Just a Blonde's Take
Bridget