Blog Tag

The awesome Julia (aka Mrs. Lioness) over at Dr. Princess recently tagged me in a post and I thought it would be fun to keep it going!  I had the chance to meet her and her husband Dave when I went to New Orleans right before our wedding last year (and right after their wedding) and they are one of the cutest couples I've ever met :)

So here's how it works:

1. Post the rules.   
2. Tag up to eleven bloggers by posting links to their blogs, and let them know.
3. Create eleven questions for the people you’ve tagged.
4. Answer the questions your tagger posed for you.
5. Have fun!

So here goes with the questions that Julia asked:

1. Why did you start blogging?

It all started with a random link that lead to Weddingbee and a little wish to become one of the bloggers.  With a 25 month engagement, blogging became a great way to document the wedding plans without boring my friends and family with every in person conversation.

2. What's your blogging routine?  Do you just post whenever the inspiration strikes? Or do you have a schedule or system worked out?

I like to think I have a mix of both.  If there is an activity or outing that could be interesting to read, I'll blog about.  I also plan ahead when it comes to projects, taking a lot of pictures to be used for posts.

3. What's the best food you've ever eaten?

This may sound weird, but the best meal so far had to have been our meal at Le Cellier steakhouse in Disney World.  Chris and I still talk about that meal and would go back in a heart beat on any future trips to see the Mouse.

 

4. What kind of travel plans do you have for the rest of 2012?

Well, as you read this we're cruising to our first port in Cozumel! This cruise has been in the works since last summer and I better be enjoying it to it fullest.  In August, we'll be heading out for our annual birthday trip.  Just need the flight prices to get better.

5. What's your favorite thing about the the city where you live?

We're staying with my parents right now as we prepare for the house hunt.  It's a little weird to be back in the house/town that I went to high school in but crazy how much it's changed since 2001.  I'm really diggin' the newly built area with stores and restaurants.

6. When someone asks you where you're from, do you tell them the place you were born, the place you grew up or the place where you currently live?

I always seem to fit in two answers when asked this.  I start off with Dallas, TX but always add in that I'm originally from Philly.

7. What project are you most proud of? It could be anything from crafting to home renovations.

As of right now, I would have to go with all of the projects that went into making our wedding.  I was so proud of how that one day turned out.  Hopefully we'll have some home renovations to be proud of in the near future.

8. What are some of your favorite blogs to read?

This changes as my interest change.  I was all over wedding blogs when I was planning and right now I'm really into crafting and home renovation blogs.

9. What's your favorite book?

One of my favorites was The Westing Game which I read way back in elementary school.  I would check it out so much that I finally ended up purchasing the book so I wouldn't have to turn it in.

10. What are you most looking forward to about this summer?

I really excited about this summer!!!  We plan on starting the house hunt in a couple of months and I'm looking forward to being able to actually see houses in person rather than just online like I do now.  The Summer Olympics in London are another bright spot this summer.

11. What kind of exercise do you enjoy most?

Lately, it's been getting out and taking the dog on long walks.  Working from home can get tiring looking at the same walls/windows everyday.  It's nice to get out, get some fresh air and look at the area around here. 

Now for the fun, here are some of the blogs I look forward to reading every week (that weren't already tagged in Julia's post)!

- The Handcrafted Life

- Fresh Brioche

- Licorice and Olives

- Everyday Adventures

- Silver Pencils

- e. louise

- This Casita

- Our Wired Lives

- Sincerely Sara

- her new leaf 

- I could do a lot in fifteen minutes

And now the questions:

1. When did you start blogging?

2. What was the destination of your favorite vacation?

3. If you won the lottery, what would be one big splurge that you would make?

4. What is your favorite movie?

5. What is your favorite meal to cook?

6. Are you more of a winter weather or summer weather type of person?

7. What was one of your most memorable dates?

8. Can your favorite color be found more than 5 times in your house? (Clothes, dishes, decor, paint color?)

9. Do you have a pet?  If so how did you come about naming him or her?

10. What was your favorite board game to play as a child?

11. Do you have any hobbies or collections?

Can't wait to read the responses when I get back :)

Five For Friday

1. You're an efficient packer coming in well below the weight limit. (Which is great in case I need to throw more things in your suitcase)
2. After getting 8 out of 13 remaining classes registered, you're holding out hope that the right classes will be offered next spring so you can graduate.  (I'm keeping my fingers crossed!)
3. You were there to look for icy hot and tend to Gypsy when I had the strain in my thigh.
4. You randomly bring home gummy bears.
5. It's time for vacation!!!

In front of the ship for our 2009 cruise

Sausage Pinwheels

I first tasted sausage pinwheels at a book club meeting and went right home to locate a recipe (found at Take a Bite of My Life)!

Ingredients:
- 1 Roll of Sausage (I used Sage Sausage)
- 1 Tube of Pillsbury Seamless Dough Sheet
- 1 Package of soften Cream Cheese (I used low fat)


Cook and brown the sausage then combine it with the cream cheese.  Similar to the pesto rolls, roll out the dough sheet and spread the mix onto it.  Roll it up length wise and place into the freezer to firm up.  We left it in for about 30 minutes, sliced it up and baked in the oven for 15 min at 375 degrees. Perfect for a snack, or for us a tasty "I don't really want to cook" dinner paired with a spinach salad.

Travelin' Tuesday: Hot Springs

Hot Springs, AR is another road trip within a good driving distance from the DFW metroplex.  Chris and I headed up there for his birthday in 2009 to stay at the beautiful bed and breakfast owned by the former minister at my family church (she also officiated our wedding last year).

The property is lake front and absolutely breathtaking.

Our room was spacious, had a great private bath and a spectacular view of Lake Hamilton.

We spent most of our time relaxing, but did fit in a boat ride on the lake and a trip to the famous bathhouse row.

One of the things that Chris wanted to do for his birthday was to take a hike in the Hot Springs National Park.  I'm not going to front and say I enjoy hiking, but it was something he wanted to do and great way to burn some calories from the food we were eating.  I'm so glad we had a massage planned for after that hike.

We finished off the trip with a tasty steak dinner in town for the birthday boy.

Are your trips more of the relaxing type, or do you like trips with activities planned?

Five For Friday

1. You barely batted an eye when I came home stocked up from Bed Bath & Beyond (had to make good use of that 20% off entire purchase coupon).
2. You didn't think I was crazy for laying out all of my clothes while trying to decide what to pack.
3. You were right there with a big hug when I was stressed out over a work project.
4. You picked up frog tape so I can work on a DIY project, now I just need to get one last piece to the puzzle.
5. Loved talking the whole way home from the theater about the Hunger Games movie and how we think they'll split up the next 3 movies.

One of your favorite pictures (me trying to tell you to smile for the camera, you had other ideas)

Elephant Love

If you followed me on weddingbee you know that my interest in elephants actually started back in elementary school when I wrote a report on the animal to win a papier-mâché version of it.

Vegas 2008

In all honesty, I really wanted to be Miss Zebra when I was first accepted but I'm so glad that I ended up with that cute little blue icon.

Wanting to incorporate a couple of elephants in our home decor, I was on the look out during a recent trip to Ross and Home Goods with mom. There was no shortage of options, but I was sadden that I couldn't find the elephants that I spotted late last year.

Maybe they will restock these

I narrowed it down to one larger ceramic white elephant...

 or two smaller jeweled elephants...

and left it up to Chris via picture texts.  He liked both options, but thought the pair of two would stand out more unless we painted the ceramic one.  After coming home and looking at these pictures, I decided to go back and pick up that white one too.  I think it could really make an impact in another room of our house and would be so fun to spray paint a bold color.

Have you incorporated any animals in your home decor?

Travelin' Tuesday: Fredericksburg

Wine is something I grew into after college (you know, the years of liquor and beer) and I was ecstatic that Chris planned a weekend trip to Fredericksburg, TX for my birthday in 2010.

It's a little over a 5 hour drive down to the hill country, and it's like a night and day change in scenery from our everyday.  The area is beautiful and so relaxed and was just what I needed during all of the wedding planning.  The best part of the trip was that Chris planned it all.  As a planner, I love to plan out our vacations - where we're going to stay, places to eat, what activities we're going to do.  But this trip was such a refreshing change where Chris did all of that, all I had to do was pack and enjoy.

We stayed at a cute little B&B, where Chris had arranged for champagne, chocolate covered strawberries and a couples massage.

We toured a couple of wineries and even had the opportunity to stomp some grapes!

We ate delicious breakfasts at the B&B, and Chris planned some fabulous dinners out around town.

Of course we couldn't leave without a couple bottles to go.

I love this birthday tradition of ours and hope to keep it going as long as we can!

Are you a wine drinker?  What is your favorite type of wine?