Lesson 34-Our New Wheels

Saturday was a very exciting day. We made our first big purchase as a married couple! It wasn't a house...cause we already have one of those. It was a new car!






Well, we already had some of those too. It was very sad for me to give up my Toyota Highlander (the brakes worked just fine, thank you!). I got that car in college and had some amazing times with friends and sorority sisters. But like all things of this world, memories stay with you whether or not the object does. I just have to keep telling myself that. And I know that Brady and I will have just as many happy memories in our new vehicle.

It's so pretty!

Lesson 33- Awesome Chicken

Sometimes Husband is a little bit of a picky eater. Sometimes it's hard to tell whether or not he'll like something. So when I kind of created this recipe, I was a bit nervous about how it would be received.

* 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
* 1.5 tbsp lemon pepper seasoning (approx.)
* 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
* 1/3 cup milk

Place chicken in an oven safe dish and sprinkle with lemon pepper seasoning. In a separate bowl whisk soup and milk till completely combined. Pour soup combination over chicken. Bake at 375* for 25 minutes or until juices run clear.

Super simple. And when I asked how dinner was he said "Awesome!" From a sometimes picky eater, I'll take that as a good sign!

Lesson 32-Nesting

I decided it was time to put another wreath on the front door. We haven't had one since Christmas and our front door looks so boring--not that anyone uses that door, but that's neither here nor there.

So with Easter right around the corner and occasional Spring weather, a birds nest was my inspiration for our Spring wreath.



* plastic Easter eggs: $1.99 Target
* wreath: $3 Michael's
* beading wire: $3 Michael's
* twine: already had from earlier projects

I picked out about 11 eggs in six different colors and threaded the wire through the holes at the top and bottom of the eggs. Next I attached the eggs to the wreath and twisted the wire to keep the eggs in place. I attached a small piece of twine to hang the wreath.



Nice and Spring-y, don't you think?

Lesson 31- Saving My Marriage

Ok, so maybe the title of this post is a bit on the drastic side. My marriage is definitely not on the rocks. But that does bring me to the rocks on my ring finger. I have a beautiful wedding ring--not that I'm bragging. But it's really pretty. Unfortunately, it is turning my finger really ugly. Not in a Husband bought a cheap-o ring and my finger's turning green ugly, but in a red, irritated skin ugly. Either way, it's no good. I wanna wear my wedding ring, but not if it's going to make me feel like my finger might come off.

So I needed to come up with a solution to clean my ring and disinfect it. So I came up with this quick and easy solution.
* 1/2 cup water
* 1/2 cup Windex
* soft bristled toothbrush

I put the water in a Pyrex bowl in the microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds, till nice and hot. Then I added the Windex to the bowl. I let the ring sit in the water for our 4 minutes. Next I scrubbed and rubbed the ring to get all the gunk off of it. Finally, I left it on the counter to air dry. And it looks so pretty and shiny!

As for my finger, I've been putting Rosebud salve on it. I love that stuff. My grandma introduced me to it and I feel in love instantly. So my finger looks and feels a lot better. And I know Husband will be relieved that I can still wear the beautiful ring he gave me.

Got any other jewelery cleaning tricks? Or remedies passed down from grandma's? Has anybody else suffered from wedding-ring-gunk-itis?

Lesson 30- A Green Tablescape

I like decorating for the seasons or holidays. But I don't like things to be too cliche, with four-leaf clovers or leprechauns and pots of gold everywhere. Subtle and festive is how I like to roll. And that's how I put together our table for March, or St. Patrick's day.



* table cloth: $15 Wal-mart
* placemats: $0.89/ea. Bed Bath & Beyond
* napkins: $1/ea. Dillard's
* table runner: $5 IKEA
* vases: $3/ea. from an earlier project
* flowers: $2.50/ea. Michael's

What about you? Do you like decorating for each and every holiday? Do you like your holiday decorating subtle or prefer boldly displaying your love for the Irish?

Lesson 29-A New Twist on a Usual Vase

After buying some 50 vases for various uses for our wedding and giving the majority away post-wedding, Husband is naturally a little wary of me purchasing any additional vases. So when I saw these at Wal-mart for $3 each, I knew I would have to make them different than every other glass vase that's passed through our hands in the last 9 months. That's when I remembered the left over twine from a project I did last fall. And with a little bit of double-sided tape (love that stuff!) these little babies were born.

They're pretty simple...place lots of double-sided tape around the vase and then just wind the twine around and up.

Pop in some pretty flowers and the normalcy of every glass vase you've ever seen is gone--and the Husband had no room for complaints! Victory!!!

Lesson 28-A Mini Getaway

This last weekend Husband and I escaped the desert and headed to the beach in San Diego. I realized it was our first little trip since our honeymoon--family visits excluded. And it was a much needed long-weekend together.

We had fun just hanging out, enjoying each other's company, visiting friends, and not doing too much. I thought I'd share some of my favorite pictures from the weekend.

Lesson 27: Our New Addition

A few weeks ago Husband and I went back to my home town to pick up our new puppy, Oliver.
Last time we saw him he looked like this. Now he looks like this .

After having Oliver at the house for a few weeks we've learned some helpful things about preparing for our new baby.
Here's our list of necessities:
1. A crate. We found ours at Petco for a whoppng $27 (on sale from $150!!!)

2. Puppy food. We bought the same stuff he was being fed with Husband's aunt.

3. Water and food dish.

4. Puppy bed.

5. Puppy training treats. These have made house training so much easier!!!

6. Carpet cleaning solution and Lysol.

7. Toys. Oliver's favorite is a squeaky monkey.

8. A collar and leash.

We also bought training pads. Those were essentially $16 down the drain. Oliver hated the sound they made when he walked on them and never used them.

But the most important thing we've given our puppy is a good home with lots and lots of TLC. He's so fun to snuggle.