She's Only Happy In the Sun

I think I have Seasonal Affective Disorder. During the winter when it's cold and gray I'm just not as happy. So I feel like this song relates directly to my life.

Yesterday the weather was a little like this in good old Omaha, NE:

We didn't break the record though. 69° was in the record in the 1940's.

Since the weather was so nice we did a little of this:

Porch lounging with los chats.

Grilling aka Andy making a fire because he used too much lighter fluid.

I don't know if you can see it, but the neighbors set some sort of trapping cage in their backyard... it is worrisome to me. What are they trying to catch? Raccoons? Opossums?  The neighborhood cats?

Fruits of our labor. Grilled chicken topped with pepperjack cheese and garlic parmesan asparagus. I ate half my chicken before remembering to take a picture. Oops.

Today it is supposed to be 58° and it's going to stay around there for the next three days, and then get a little colder, but it's not supposed to dip into freezing temperatures at any point in the next 10 days.

Have you been having some unseasonably warm temperatures where you live? Do you love it or hate it? Do you have Seasonal Affective Disorder like I think I do? I'm pretty sure it's a real thing.

PS. Last call for February sponsors! Click here for more details.

Brand New Week

So it's Monday again, and I am trying to think of it as a brand new week. A week where anything can happen! Including getting all your homework done and cleaning your house! (Wishful thinking...)

This weekend was pretty darn lazy and I loved it. I watched a ton of movies, which is strange because I'm not really a movie kind of girl. Usually I want to go and DO something, but this weekend I was totally content with chilling on the couch. So my view this weekend looked a little like this:

I highly recommend this blanket. It's made out of sweatshirt material. So comfy! Los chats also approve.

First I had "girls night" (ie. the cats and I hung out while Andy was at a basketball game) and watched The Help. I had read the book last year and LOVED it and the movie lived up to my expectations. I think a few parts would have been confusing to people who didn't read the book (like the parts with Skeeter's boyfriend) but overall it was fantastic. If you haven't read the book, that should be at the top of your "must read" list.

Then I watched Forrest Gump, because it was on TV and it is a classic. Something about that movie makes me unable to change the channel when it's on. Also, I have been to a few Bubba Gump Company restaurants around the US and they actually have pretty decent food.

Then the pièce de résistance of our weekend... we finally got around to watching Black Swan. What a beautiful yet strange movie. So, so strange. There were quite a few parts where Andy and I looked at each other and were like, ummmm what? But overall it was a really good movie. I have a weird obsession with ballet inspired movies (Center Stage anyone?) so I really liked the dancing parts. I think the klutz inside me is  ealous of the dancers' grace.

Have you watched any good movies lately? Did you do anything awesome this weekend other than laying on your couch like I did? What are you going to do during your brand new week?

Is it Spring Yet?

I believe this to be 100% true.

Happy almost weekend! Also, happy last week of January! February means it's almost March, which means it's almost April, and April means that it's not going to snow or be bitterly cold anymore. Can you tell that I hate the winter? I didn't think so. But it's Friday... so you know what that means:

I have always wanted to highlight a part of my hair a fun color, like teal or pink. This shows you how to do it temporarily!

My blog buddy Ashley over at First Home Dreams tweeted this link earlier this week. AMAZING!

Alright. This is the part where you don't judge me. I can barely contain myself over the excitement that is the 100th episode/royal wedding episode of Gossip Girl on Monday. Watching this made me do that "eeeeeeee!" noise that I do when I get realllllllly excited. 

I want this wallpaper very badly for our downstairs bath. Can you say gorgeous?

I am going to try to do this in February. Will you join me?

I may or may not have bought these shoes. My feet just NEEDED them.

Sara from Sara's Organized Chaos has an awesome Etsy shop that you should check out. These cards are my favorite!

I need more desk space in my office. Seeing this desk makes me want to do an office overhaul.

This song has been on repeat in my car for the past two weeks. Their new album is awesome and this video makes me laugh.

I'm saving my pennies to buy this camera. I almost bought it on my store account at our local furniture megastore, but I restrained myself. Want. So. Bad.

What links were you lovin' this week? Do you have any big weekend plans? Mine involve relaxing and cleaning the Bungalow. Exciting stuff, don't be jealous.

Also, click here if you are interested in sponsoring Bungalow960 in February for FREE!

February Sponsorship

It's that time again for a February sponsor swap!

It's super simple and super FREE! You put my blog button on your blog, and I put yours on mine. Send me a little info on yourself, and I will introduce you to my readers in a dedicated sponsor post.

Want to join in on the fun? Email me at bungalow960 {at} gmail {dot} com!

I think I can, I think I can...

Sometimes I feel like the little engine that could. Except I need to change it I know I can, I know I can...

Let me explain. I work full time and also go to school. For some reason, there is a stigma attached to being an adult student. "Oh you're in school? Are you getting your masters?" Nope. Just working away at that ungrad. I recently had to switch schools so that I could even continue going to school. Having a "prestigious" university tell you that they no longer believe you can be a successful student in their program because you are an "adult learner" can really take a blow to your self esteem. At that point I wondered if it was even worth it anymore. But, I picked myself up, enrolled at a different school, and got myself back to learnin'. Looking back on the situation, I think it's going to be better in the long run. My new school has a better business school than the old, even though the old school cost 5 times as much to attend. Plus, it's only a mile from the Bungalow.

This semester I am taking 7 credit hours of online classes from the comfort of my home office. I'm enjoying it now, because I know I'll have to be on campus this summer and fall for classes. So if you need me, I'll be here:

Learning about Macroeconomics and Astronomy on my baby, Macbook Pro.

And when I do finally receive that degree. You better believe I am going to do a huge fist pump walking across the stage at graduation. Because I KNOW I can do this.

Aliases

Am I a Myrtle? Gertrude? Fifi? Ferris?

Yesterday I showed Andy a really funny real estate listing and he told me "beware the fancy pictures" (see here for that reference). I said we should write an article named that and distribute it to homebuyers, but Andy said realtors would probably put a hit out on us. I said that we needed aliases. Andy said his would be Gustavus Stevenson, without hesitation. I couldn't think of a good one for myself.

When I was little, my sister and I came up with code names for each other. Hers was Abolina Pat-Sajak. I don't even know how that came about. We did watch a lot of Wheel of Fortune during dinner time. I can't remember what mine was for the life of me.

Wouldn't it be fun sometimes to be someone else for a day? To pick a completely ridiculous name and see people's reactions when you introduce yourself?

My grandma grew up with some people that had some amazing names. Myrtle Worm, Adolf Fireizen, etc. There was a guy that used to call in with the weather on the news named Slaavy Vodenhal. A lady at our church is named Anita Finger. My little brother Dylan went to school with a girl named Rachel Zweiner. Also, when Dylan was in 1st or 2nd grade his class figured out what their names were backwards. I will never forget what his friend's was. Jason Stratman = Nosaj Namtarts. We still laugh about that one.

So what would your alias be? Something normal like Jane Smith? Or something outrageous? I wanted to be named Ferris Bueller when I was little.

Phobias

Last night I had an experience with one of my worst phobias. I will most likely have nightmares forever. I have some pretty weird phobias. My one "normal" one is spiders. I hate, hate, hate spiders. Unfortunately we have a ton of them at our house.

Found this one last fall. 

My "weird" phobias are really weird... 

I hate feet. I don't know if I would say I'm AFRAID of feet, but I hate them. I hate mine, I hate yours, I hate Andy's, everyone's. The only time I find it appropriate for my feet to be seen or talked about is when I get a pedicure, but even that took time. My least favorite is when people's feet are near me. If you have shoes on, I'm more okay with it, but naked feet in my face? YUCK.

I hate hair. If it's on my head, that's fine. But as soon as that hair leaves my head, game over. When I was little, my dad showed my sister and I what our hair did to the drain in our bathroom. I have been scarred ever since. That clump of wet nasty hair stuck to the drain ruined me. I can barely even clean my own hairbrush out now. I have to hide the hair in my trash can while gagging so I don't have to ever see it again. 

Now we get to the part about last night. We went to Lowe's to get a floor drain strainer replacement because the one in our basement had rusted and wasn't allowing very much water through when we ran the washing machine (the washing machine drains into the floor because our house is so old). I asked Andy to come help me change it out. I thought it would just be a quick flick of the screwdriver, pry it up, slap the new one on. WRONG. So, so wrong. I am thanking my lucky stars that I thought to bring a plastic grocery bag down with us to put the old one in, as I figured it would be wet. He pried it up, and about 6 gajillion years worth of hair, dryer lint, and who knows what else had formed a giant black sludge clinging to the bottom of the strainer. I immediately started screaming. I was holding the bag and Andy threw the strainer in there and I dropped it on contact. He is laughing, I am screaming, the cats go running from the basement in terror. He puts on the new strainer and I run upstairs in some attempt to compose myself. I told myself, "it's done now, we never have to do it again". Andy tells me that he doesn't think the one we bought is going to work, it's PVC and he thinks it's going to float. He needs to clean off the old one to put back down there. I told him he better do it when I'm not home because I CANNOT be witness to that thing again. Thinking about it right now makes my stomach hurt. Ohhhh gosh. Ew. I wanted to go take a picture of the new floor drain this morning but I could not bring myself to go down there.

Do you have any weird phobias? Are mine as weird as I think they are?

PS. Do you like the new blog layout? Any improvements or things you would like to see? Let me know!

my nose is frozen

Well the bipolar weather has just gone polar. Like polar express polar. Yesterday it didn't even get to the supposed high of 19° and it was 6° until at least noon. This morning it was a balmy 10° when I got in my car. I hate the heat, and I hate the cold, so I live in the absolute wrong place. I was watching Selling LA last night and I think I want to live in California now. This THRILLS Andy, because he has always said he wanted to live there. Or Denver. No thanks on the more cold and and snow. Also, Andy developed a man crush on one of the realtors on Selling LA. He had some suit jacket on that Andy was like OMG NEED. He also drove a really awesome old car. I'm pretty sure he was gay, so Andy might have a chance!

But, it's FRIDAY! Finally. This has felt like the longest. week. ever. It also means that it's time for some links that I've been lovin' this week.

Do you guys read HelloGiggles? You should. Because then you would have found this amazing thing and laughed as hard as I did.

My friend Janet at HouseFour posted this website on her blog yesterday and I died. This one is a particular favorite of mine.

Did you watch the Golden Globes? I love looking at best dressed lists. I just want to BE Nicole Richie. I love her.

Have you seen this? Did you get the giggles too? Oh man, after all these years I am still in love with that guy.

If this ends up happening, I will be on the first flight to London. I missed them when they toured last in the US. I just need a little spice in my life.

As an advertising major, I found this article super interesting.

Chelsey at The Paper Mama made the cutest paper terrarium this week. You can download her images to make one too!

The always amazing Ashley at Hudson's Happenings posted this outfit and I was in LOVE. I am so obsessed with the turquoise/teal color right now.

Andy had a pug before we moved in together. I'm allergic to the Dude (his real name is Beck but everyone calls him the Dude) so he lives with Andy's brother now. I still LOVE LOVE LOVE pugs and wish we could have him back. So every time I see something with a pug I send it to Andy. This made my day.

This is hilarious. I also used to really like that song when it came out, so that makes it even better.

Am I the only one who had a super long week, or are you with me on that one? Are there any links that you loved this week? Share!

Have a wonderful weekend!

love/hate relationship

I have been limiting my time on Pinterest lately. I saw this post this morning and could SO relate to it. I feel like every time I get on Pinterest, for every one good idea I find, I find twenty things that I want to improve in my house but can't. I see kitchens like this:

via

And I look at my kitchen:

Old listing photo, haven't gotten around to taking a new one. Just imagine it with more stuff everywhere.

I feel defeated. I need new lighting. I need a new backsplash. Can we add more windows somehow? Knock out a wall? Granite would look so much better. Or maybe butcher block? That watermelon looks amazing...

I tell myself, "you stop it right now!" I am 23 years old and live in a beautiful house. All of the major renovations (kitchen and bathrooms) were done when we moved in. We live in an awesome neighborhood and are surrounded by cute little bungalows just like ours. We are so, so lucky to live in the Bungalow. 

My mom was telling me that when she and my dad moved into their first house, they owned a couch, a mattress, and a card table. Andy and I are fortunate enough to have every room furnished in our house. Not exactly to our liking, but it works. My $20 dining set I got at a rummage sale when I was 19 is still kicking (although it's next on our list to replace) and the guest room is leftovers from apartments past, but once again, it works.

Pinterest gives me awesome ideas, but high and unrealistic expectations. So for now, I'm going to stick with the recipe I found for Crockpot Buffalo Chicken, and leave the sparkling white kitchens alone.

What do you think about Pinterest? Love it? Hate it? Both?

my boyfriend is talented

In addition to being a master of home repair, cat herding, and reminding me constantly where I put my phone, Andy has some pretty awesome talents. He is an electrical engineer and lighting designer by day, so he can do some really cool stuff. He also had plans to become an architect before he decided on being an engineer.

Yesterday, I mentioned how I would really like a drawing of our house. I was going to try to sketch it out on paper or try to make it in Paint (I'm too broke for Photoshop and Gimp confuses the heck out of me) to use as an ad for a blog I'm sponsoring next month. Within 5 minutes he had sent me an email.

Using this picture:

He had created these:

How cool is that?! I think I am going to hang a series of them in different colors in the Bungalow somewhere in addition to using them for the blog. I love them.

Does your significant other have any awesome talents? I'm always so proud to show off Andy's work.

finding joy

Guys, sometimes life is HARD! Things get turned upside down and inside out and you are stuck trying to figure out which way is up. This is when you need find things that bring you joy in your life. Today, these things are bringing me joy and keeping me grounded.

Andy (Not me. I'm too lazy to crop myself out.)

My parents.

My chats.

My Bungalow.

What brings you joy in your life today? It can be anything! The beautiful weather you're having (not here!), a special person, a kind act. If I had a grilled cheese sandwich right now, I'm pretty sure that would bring me joy as well.

and it's monday again

Happy 3rd birthday to the coolest little dude I know | Found this amazing thing while shopping for a birthday present for said little dude | Andy would not let me get these extension cords, I was very upset

We did a quick switcheroo of the light fixture outside the door to our porch. We had a scary break-in happen about a mile and a half away a few weeks ago that happened because the house wasn't well lit. We installed a fixture that stays on half brightness all night long, and then turns on full brightness when it detects motion. Plus it looks SO much better than the old one.

Old fixture installed | It didn't even have a top on it, so it used to collect water when it rained

So much better!

I headed over to my parent's house for dinner last night and ended up watching the Golden Globes with my dad. Hilarity ensued.

Red carpet commentary:

"I don't like that dress. She looks like a sausage."

"I do NOT like Angelina Jolie."

During the show:

"You sit down! You're boring!"

"Oh. Jake Gyllenhaal. I like him."

"That guy! He's my favorite actor! I don't know his name. He was in that war show I watched."

"Is she going to bed? What kind of dress is that?"

"She has a nose like David Schwimmer."

And then this gem came from my mom while watching a makeup ad:

"I just want to go somewhere that I can wear false eyelashes."

I love my family.

Did you have a good weekend? Did you watch the Golden Globes? Zooey Deschanel and Michelle Williams were my favorites.

the weather needs bipolar medication

Truth.

The weather is bipolar. Tuesday it was 60° here in good old Omaha, NE. Wednesday it dropped to the 20's and snowed. Then iced. Yesterday the high was 19° and I don't think it ever got that warm due to the horrible winds. It also snowed a little again. In my car this morning the temperature read 1°. Sunday it's supposed to be 52°. Something is terribly wrong with this place. BUT! It's Friday and that means it's time for some links that I've been lovin' this week!

This video made me laugh so hard, especially the part about the chalupas. So, so true.

I can't even begin to say how funny I think this is. Grease is my mom's favorite movie so I've seen it a bajillion times. Also, you should click the conversations tag at the bottle of the post to read even more funniness.

I have clicked refresh on this too many times to count in the past few days. The one popped up while I was opening it to get the link was "Maroon Palm". Hilarious.

Have you read Mandy's post about getting a bra fitting? I've never had one and now I'm inspired.

My blog buddy Janet has been featured on a bunch of blogs lately with her awesome kitchen transformation. You can check out her amazing work with her original post here.

Started taking these this week. GAME CHANGER. My energy level is so much higher and I am way less snappy to people at work when they tell me dumb things. It benefits everyone!

I am a big Harry Potter nerd so this made me laugh. So, so true.

I love this. It's how I became a lover of reading.

I need this bikini. Is it summer yet?

I got full bangs a few weeks ago and this tutorial is super helpful to get them looking like they did when I left the salon.

Do you have any links that you're lovin' this week? Would you be interested in linking up each Friday for a "Links I'm Lovin'" post? Let me know!

Have a fabulous weekend!

klutz

via

Swap the Mr. with a Ms. and you'll have me.

Yesterday, I slammed my finger in a drawer at work while simultaneously shutting said drawer. I tried to pull my finger out while still shutting the drawer. This resulted in the now missing huge chunk of my left index finger. It involved blood, pain, and embarrassment while I said ow and possibly some four letter words over and over.

This was reminiscent of the time when I was a senior in high school and managed to cut my thumb (after many "BE CAREFUL SHANNON" reminders from my teacher) with a 1/4 inch carving tool that I was using for a print making project in art. There was a lot of blood. A lot of blood. My dad convinced me that he didn't need to pick me up to go get stitches and I should go back to class. I did. I now have permanent nerve damage around the scar. I could burn my thumb and never know it. I make sure my dad doesn't forget this.

To say I was not any good at sports involving moving objects (ie. most) would be an understatement. I finally found my niche with cross country and track. Although, I did fall down the side of a mountain once at cross country camp. I cannot be expected to gracefully hop over trees and rocks. It's just not gonna happen.

In my second week at my current job I cut my foot opening a door. I don't even know how. My boss freaked out and was all "are you okay?" etc. I told him that this is not the first, nor the last time I will injure myself at work and he should probably get used it it. My coworker knows that if I am cursing at my desk, I most likely spilled something. Once, before even seeing what I had done, she yelled over, "do you need paper towels?".

These are just a few examples. My mom swore to me over and over growing up that this was just a phase and I would grow out of it (she also likes to call me Grace as a joke). Guess what? I haven't and I am pretty darn sure that I never will. This is worrisome because at a certain age you can easily break a hip when you run into a door because you didn't realize it was closed (not that I'm speaking from experience or anything...). I've learned that it's just who I am, and all I can do is laugh when I trip over a curb in broad daylight.

Are you as clumsy as I am? Do you know someone that is? Aren't we a special breed?

extreme! couponing

via

Imagine these two carts full of peanut butter.

I made a quick stop at the Target by my work the other day over lunch. I was walking across the store to check out near the entrance that I was parked by when I noticed something that made me stop in my tracks. I made myself look busy by checking out the DVD sales by the register so I could get a better look. There was a man with two entire carts full of peanut butter. Skippy peanut butter. Both chunky AND smooth, in case you were wondering. The man standing near the register had a binder with him, and he was carefully pulling little scraps of paper from it. There were three Target employees bagging the peanut butter and placing them into yet another cart. I had read about these mythical creatures and had seen them on TV, but never in person. I was witnessing extreme couponing in it's finest form!

Now, I'm all about saving money, but I think extreme couponing is weird. Unless you are the Duggars or are running some sort of shelter, what in the world are you going to do with 100 cartons of yogurt? The non-perishable goods make more sense to me. Yes, you will have need eventually for the 500 rolls of paper towels you just bought,  but first you have to store them. I live in a small house and I have to think a little bit more about space usage, but from what I have seen, these people need whole rooms (if not multiple rooms!) to store their finds. If I have a coupon, you better believe I'm going to use it, but not to buy as many of the item as I possibly can. 

What do you think of extreme couponing? Awesome or weird?

a bungalow tour: the living room

I finally got around to taking some pictures of the Bungalow. Well, one room at least. Our house is in no way "completed", we've only been in the house 5 months and have a lot left to add and change. We spend most of our time in the living room, so here it is. (Once again, sorry for the cruddy cell phone pictures, I'm working on a plan to acquire a new camera)

The front window looks onto our porch currently. We have plans to rip out the enclosed porch and have it be open air, like it originally was when the house was built.

You can see the scratches on our beautiful wood floors from where the previous owner cut carpet for the stairs. We're hoping we can refinish the floors and buff them out. 

Looking towards the hallway that leads to the kitchen, downstairs bath, and bedrooms.

The side windows overlook our neighbors house (the rental house). We are installing a fence this spring/summer.

So that's our little Bungalow living room. Not overly spacious, but perfect for the two of us right now. We are planning to paint it soon in an effort to un-beige our house (every room is painted this color except for the dining room and the guest room). My favorite contender is a celery green color. 

Also, can you spot the Abby cat trying to get in two of the pictures? She really like her time in front of the camera.

breaking in

You can get on the porch, but you're not getting inside!

When we moved into the Bungalow, I was always concerned about the safety of the house. We have the original windows and doors, and to me that screams "HEY I'M SO EASY TO BREAK INTO! JUST TRY!" On top of that, our side door had taken to not latching, and therefore not locking. All you had to do was push hard and you could get in without a key. It needed to be fixed but with the down payment on the house, the fact that the window air conditioner in the bedroom just went out, AND the washing machine just broke, there was no money to fix it.

We invited our friends over for a celebratory barbecue to christen our new grill, thus we needed to make a quick run to the grocery store for supplies. As I followed Andy out the door to the car, I asked "do you have your keys and wallet?" (that's what girlfriends do, they nag you about things all the time). Andy looked at me, and then jammed his hands in his pockets, looked back at me and said "no, do you?" Well of course I didn't, I wasn't driving and we were only going to be gone a couple minutes, so I didn't even have my purse or cell phone with me. Wonderful.

The house should be easy to break into, right? All my fears were actually just enabling me to get into my house if such a thing as getting locked out happened! I went to the side door and gave it a shove, like I always did to get in. Nothing. Gave it another hard shove. Nothing. Had Andy give it a hard shove. Nothing. It picked that exact moment to fix itself.

Next we tried the windows. They're 88 year old windows, should be super easy right? We'll just slide them up from the outside. No dice. We tried every single window to no avail. (I learned later that a previous owner had installed little latches on the inside so that you couldn't slide them up from the outside. Smart lady.)

Front door! I had it unlocked earlier! Surely it must still be unlocked. Nope, locked tight. Well, we're in big trouble now.

We didn't have enough money to fix the door, and now we're going to have to shell out some hefty cash to get a locksmith over here. We hadn't even lived in the house for two weeks before locking ourselves out. As I was ready to admit defeat, I had a genius idea. I had given my mom a spare key! Just a quick call to her and this will all be behind us.

I forget that my parents now live a half hour away. My angel of a mother dropped what she was doing and drove all the way to the Bungalow to let us in. There may or may not have been some heated words exchanged between Andy and I during that half hour wait about being responsible and not forgetting things all the time. She let us in, we went to the grocery store, and had fun just like we had originally planned.

I worry significantly less about people breaking in now. If two well educated people can't find a way to easily break in without breaking a window or something, I'm pretty sure we're okay. The door also still latches.

Lessons learned? Our house is safer than I thought. Always check to see if you have your keys and wallet BEFORE you leave the house. My mom is amazing.

 Have you ever tried to break into your own house? Were you successful?

countdown to the weekend

My life today. 

Happy Friday! It has been a long, long week and I cannot wait until I can take a nice long nap after work today. Waking up at 5:30 AM on Fridays really can drain the life out of you.

Here are some links I've been lovin' on this week.

This video was cracking me up. The part with the angel food cake especially.

I bought this baby at Costco this week. It is a life changer.

When you live in an old house, stuff goes wrong constantly. This list has a bunch of quick and cheap fixes for common problems.

Do you follow this Twitter account? I laugh so hard reading her updates.

So freaking funny. Gotta love mason jars.

These necklaces that Kate made over at DiscoverCreateLive.

I am in love with these canisters. My old glass ones need to be replaced.

I am currently reading the third of Jen Lancaster's memoirs. Have you read her blog? Hilarious.

I am in love with this! I already do the top knot on a regular basis, but this makes it so much more fun!

So I may have squealed when I saw this... no judging!

What links are you lovin' this week? Have any big plans this weekend?

january sponsor swap

I am so happy to introduce these lovely people that are participating in my January sponsor swap! Please show their blogs some love.

	Hey There! So first a quick thanks to the awesome Shannon for having me on this Sponsor Swap. This is my first time so please go easy on me! My name is Lindsay, pleased to meet you!~ I'm from the good 'ol southern state of Georgia and am in love with life. I am extremely family oriented, graduated last year, landed and am working my first big girl job, am in my first apartment, and learning to live an awesome life on a budget. Whew. I know I know, alot to take in. But I would just LOVE the chance to meet you. You can find me at Lindsay Nicole where I put in a little bit of everything. Hope to see you soon! blog | twitter
	Welcome! I am a Momma of a little boy and a wife to a wonderful man. We tried 5.5 long years before we got pregnant with J and lost 3 little ones along the way. I love photography (learning to use my SLR although I always end up on my iPhone), I love crafting and I am just trying to do it all! Hope you stay awhile and thanks for visiting! blog
	Hey everyone! We are Kyle and Lisha from One House One Couple. We bought, fixed, and sold our house for a profit during the recession, and we're finally documenting all our hard work on our blog (mixed with some personal posts about life). Come on over and stay awhile. We love getting new visitors! See you soon! ~ Kyle & Lisha blog | twitter

gettin' my betty crocker on - caprese style chicken and rosemary red potatoes

I am chugging along on my New Year's Resolution train. Last night (even after a sick day!) I whipped up some super easy and super delicious dinner. I give you:

Caprese Style Chicken and Rosemary Red Potatoes

Anyone want to donate to the "Shannon really needs a new camera so she can stop using her cruddy cell phone" fund?

For the chicken, you need:

4 skinless thawed chicken breasts

fresh buffalo mozzarella

fresh basil leaves

balsamic marinade

Balsamic Marinade:

1 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tsp minced garlic (you could use less if you are not huge garlic fans like Andy and I are)

Throw those chicken breasts in a gallon sized zipper topped ziploc bag with all the marinade ingredients. Shake it around a little to combine the ingredients and let it hang out in the fridge. I usually let them sit for two to four hours, readjusting them half way through to recombine marinade and coat evenly.

Preheat oven to 375°F and cook for 25-28 minutes. Remove from oven and place basil leaves on top of chicken and top with sliced buffalo mozzarella. Put back in oven for 5 minutes.

For the potatoes, you need:

red potatoes

salt

butter

rosemary

Boil red potatoes in salted water for 30 minutes. Toss in butter and rosemary. Serve whole with skins on.

This is one of our favorite quick and easy recipes to make. So easy you can do it even with a migraine! I always make 4 chicken breasts so we can take some to work the next day for lunch, but you can easily multiply or half this recipe. We also aren't huge tomato fans at the Bungalow, so we forgo the traditional sliced tomato on top, but you could definitely add that. My other idea is to roast a red pepper and put that on top. Maybe next time.

Did you cook something delicious this week? I want to hear your recipes, I need ideas people! This resolution isn't going to happen on it's own!

sick day

This post is brought you by the comfort of the nap room (aka what I call our guest room).

I get some bad mother-blanking migraines. The ones that make you want to crawl to your momma and beg her to help you. I also get the kind that just nag at you for days, saying "I may or may not cause you severe pain in the near future". Usually a dose of Imitrex solves my problems, but sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes (like today) it just doesn't go away entirely, and you are left to take a vacation day and spend it in the nap room recovering.

So that's where I'm at today. Cuddling with los chats and trying to keep my brain inside my skull.

Nap room photo booth session.

Anyone else suffer from migraines? Do you have any tips or tricks that will change my life?

P.S. Email me if you're interested in doing a sponsor swap. We swap buttons for the month of January and I will do a post introducing you, and vice versa. It will be fun!

sponsor swap

Hey dudes! I am doing a sponsor swap for the month of January. Interested? Email me.

Click to email me!

holy cow it's 2012

When I had to write "2012" for the first time this morning at work, it hit me that it really IS a new year. I'm not usually a big resolution person, but I'm going to try it this year to see how it works out. HERE WE GO!

Keep bloggin' on

Ever since I started this blog, I have been so surprised at how much I like to write. I have never written something that wasn't for a grade. Writing about my life is so much easier and fun than writing about communication strategies within client relationships. I hope you guys stick around for more of my insane ramblings!

Be authentic to my feelings

I recently received this awesome advice. When you feeling like punching someone, don't act like everything is sunshine and rainbows. Not that I am advocating punching someone, but what this essentially means is that feelings matter, that's why we have them. When we choose to ignore them, we create bigger problems. In that same light, if you're happy, don't be afraid to show it!

Get my butt to the gym

I know, totally cliche, but this isn't a weight loss thing. I just want to feel healthy. Exercise endorphins = good! I'm not talking marathon training (see here), but I want to be able to stretch and not pull a muscle in my neck. (This may or may not have happened this weekend...)

Be more creative

I recently completed some paintings for my mom and sister. I forgot how much I love to paint! I also made my Pinterest creation earlier this year (see here). It feels good to see something I made on my wall every day. Plus, painting and doing other creative things exercises a different part of my brain that I don't use all day long. Yay for being well rounded!

Cook dinner at least 3 nights a week

And I mean really cook. Not throw a box of pasta in some water and throw some canned sauce on it. I recently discovered that I really enjoy cooking. So in addition to getting to do something I enjoy, Andy and I will be eating healthier, homemade options. I wish I could cook everyday, but with school and work and everything else, there's just not enough time. I think 3 nights a week is a good start. Stay tuned because I will start sharing my recipes!

What are your resolutions for the year? Do we share any of the same ones? I want to know!

P.S. Completely unrelated, but I was going through pictures with my grandma this weekend and found this gem of my cousins and I. Check out my 4 year old thug face. Perfecting that early in life is key.