Shopping Extravaganza

Remember last week when I said I was going to go shopping? Well, I made good on my blog promise.

I planned on shopping Saturday, but I got the delightful request to come babysit Allison and Jordy while my brother took Lauren to a tennis tournament in Lawton. Erin was at a women's retreat Friday/Sat so I drove up Friday night, picked Lauren up from tennis and stopped to get a steak sandwich at Braum's and treated the little tennis athlete to her favorite peppermint ice cream. I loved picking Lauren up from tennis. I remember when I was teaching the little ones, and they would have someone special pick them up from school and how excited they were. Bryan and the other girls got home from church and I was quickly serenaded with "Living on a Prayer" by Jordyn. She then decided to jump from the couch to the coffee table thing to the bean bag. Face first. See video below. Never a dull moment in this house.

We all got into bed early since Bryan and Lauren had an early start. I went to sleep in Jordyn's bed (she lasted in there with me for about 30 seconds after story time and then went to her daddy's bed) and woke up with Jordyn, Allison, and 3 dogs all in bed with me. We had pancakes for breakfast and went to the neighborhood park. After Allison got us slightly lost in the neighborhood, we were exhausted after we got home, went to Chick-fil-a for lunch and then put Jordyn down for a nap. Allison and I had a great time coloring and watching House Hunters International (her request).

Sunday I went to lunch at the new Chuy's in Tulsa with Sammi and Harlan. Highly recommend. That creamy jalapeno dip was amazing. And the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (chicken enchiladas) were bomb. I followed that up with a trip to Woodland Hills to walk off my lunch. I scored some cute stuff at Forever 21, cheap color block top and new black dress pants at Gap and my total for both items was $21. Hello, sale!

Cute bracelet from Forever 21: $4.80

I love this polka dot top. But I do plan on wearing more underneath it: $19.80

Marshall's out a Tulsa Hills also proved to be awesome. They usually are. I can always seem to find cute things there. I got a new pair of skinny jeans, a pair of adorable black pants for work, a pair of black pumps for work on sale for $22, and cute pair of color block heels on sale for $10.

Yes, I took my shoe off at work to snap this pic.

It must have been the display shoe cause the right one is slightly too big. For $10 bucks, I can deal with that.

Now, onto food. I made PW's Corn Cheese Chowder. Delicious. If you like corn cheesy chowder, make it.

I never said I was a great food pic taker. I always forget until it is time to shove it in my face

In other news, I love Aquaphor. I use at night on my lips since I have a small addiction to hydrating my lips. But it also comes in really handy when I get what Sammi calls "Monster Mouth". I have self-diagnosed myseld (with the help of my mom) and we believe what happens is a virus is in my body and its only way out if through my lips. They blister and swell and turn bright red and are so tender. It's quite lovely. But Abreva and Aquaphor are the only 2 things that I can manage to put on them for about 4 days. I am currently on the tail end of an outbreak and I have also found the fudgesicles soothe my lips. How convenient!

And to end, we have new pics of Henry. We are going out to Montana in June for his first birthday and I will get to experience Yellowstone. So excited for that trip!

Representing OSU in the mountains!

We call this one "knuckle sandwich"

Oscars Best and Worst Dressed

I love watching awards shows and seeing all the fancy dresses and imagining what I would wear if I were ever to be invited to such an event.

Here are my best dressed:

Michelle Williams- great color!

Virginia Madsen (random choice and some may hate, but I love the color)

Glenn Close- love the color and fits her great

Gwyneth Paltrow: looked much better once she took off her weird cape

Octavia Spencer- sparkles and creates a waistline for her

Milla Jovovich- one shoulder, sparkles and I love the color

Worst Dressed: (and there were plenty of them)

Shailene Woodley: why would such a young girl wear such a boring dress?

Stacy Kiebler: It pains me to put her on here, but that rose on her hip is ugly

Viola Davis: Great color, but too much going on with that dress

Emma Stone: I love Emma but that dress is too much material

J Lo: Skin tight, illusion cut out sleeves, almost nip slip

Meryl Streep: great actress, awful fashion

Natalie Portman: Her hair looks greasy and that dress has polka dots

Sandra Bullock: Sandy, what happened? This does not fit you well

Jessica Chastain: She is gorgeous, but I am not a fan of the black and gold

And just for kicks:

Brad and Angelina: her hair looked dry and a weird color, but look at that leg

Tom Cruise: I have loved him for as long as I can remember

Who were your best and worst dressed picks?

I Need Shopping in my Life

I would just like to tell anyone listening that I have been very good about not buying clothes lately. After color coding my closet last week, I realized just how many shirts I have. And I still made a stack of stuff to get rid of.

This is just a portion of the color coded closet.

But yet, I still want more. I am really trying to wear some items that don't get much use to see if I need to hang on to it or let it go. I rarely spend too much time/effort on my work clothes and I end up wearing either the same things over and over or just basics like a tank and cardigan or a plain sweater from Gap.

I have planned a shopping excursion this weekend and here are the things I have decided I need:

(Some of these I really do need, the others well....)

1. New black pumps/heels for work
2. New dress pants for work
3. New running shoes
4. Colored skinny jeans
5. Black tops for work
6. *New shorts for summer 

*All the good ones are gone by the time I start looking....in late July.

Seems pretty easy. I just hope I can stay on track and not be tempted by adorable things that I could never wear to work. Which pretty much happens every time I go shopping.

P.S.- Dillard's has 40% off their sale stuff right now.

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken

I might start referring to my crockpot as my crackpot seeing as how I am obsessed with it since I made this delicious chicken.

I recently became friends with buffalo sauce. I was always a little scared of it because it seemed...messy. And I never eat wings, and wings and buffalo sauce are like peas and carrots. But now that I have had it, I love it. And I want it in mass quantities.

So if you like buffalo sauce and chicken and crockpots, please keep reading.

I used:

3 large raw chicken breasts
1/2 cup Frank's Buffalo Sauce
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup yellow mustard

Put all that into the crackpot and cook on high for 5 hours. About 30 minutes before go-time, shred chicken, stir around and add more buffalo sauce if you are feeling...saucy!

Honestly, I think what made me the most happy was how easily the chicken shredded. It was like magic.

I ate this open faced on a whole wheat bun that I broiled first to make a different version of ranch bread. I topped it with some dill pickles and a slice of American cheese. And more buffalo sauce.

Original recipe found here

And just for smiles, here are my little gals skiing in Keystone this past weekend!

The text with this pic said: "Allison is a bit tired."

With their momma in front of the snow fort

When You Least Expect It

Tuesday night I went to get my oil changed after work. I went to my normal Jiffy Lube and walked into the waiting area with my book and planner and picked my seat. There was an older gentleman standing at the counter eating popcorn. I opened my book and started reading about Lisbeth Salander being rushed to the hospital (3rd installment of the The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series). Popcorn Man has now scooted closer to me and I was thinking. "Why are you standing so close to me and please don't talk to me." As they ALWAYS do, the Jiffy Boy comes in and says, "Miss Heather, this is your air filter. This is the air you are breathing in your car. As you can see it is dirty and you are not breathing clean air. I can replace it for $29.99." My reply, as always, "Yeah I know, I am going home to my parents house this weekend and my dad can just replace it for me."

I was so lying. I am not going home this weekend and my dad is not replacing my air filter. While I probably should replace my air filter, there is no way I am paying Jiffy Boy $29.99 to do it.

But here is where it got interesting. Popcorn Man looks and me and says, "I hope your dad knows how privileged he must be to still be changing your air filter. I lost my daughter to a drunk driver and I would give anything to change her air filter."

I replied with "I am so sorry to hear that." He goes on to say that she was killed 14 years ago. He showed me her senior picture that he carries in his wallet. Her name was Nancy and they adopted her when she was 30 days old. He went on to say that being her father was the greatest joy he had in life. We had a nice talk and for the first time, I didn't want my oil change to go so quickly. He paid for his car, and as he was walking out, he handed me his business card and said, "Please tell your father how proud I am that he raised you to be a polite young lady. And I hope he gets unending joy when he gets to change your air filter."

Best 15 minutes in a tiny Jiffy Lube waiting area that I will ever experience.

Valentine's Day Ramblings

Today is the day of love. And you know what I love? Snack day at work. We have these days about 3 times a year and everyone brings food and puts it in the kitchen and you just graze all day. My office is right next door to the kitchen. Awesome. I made lemon cake balls. Note to self: do not start that process at 8:30 at night. Unless you want to feel like sticking a fork in your eye because you are so tired and want to go to bed but those stupid cake balls still need to cool.

Did anyone see the reveal of the new Sports Illustrated cover? Kate Upton won the honor and they put her in the tiniest bikini ever. I mean the bottom of the bikini is almost non-existent. I bet she didn't indulge in snack day at work before shooting that picture.

Someone brought the most delicious dip today. Tabouli+cream cheese. Heavenly.
And believe it or not, while I am eating a small place of this dip, I am also looking at the menu for the place Kyle is taking me for lunch and picking out what I want. In my defense, I read somewhere that this helps you make smarter, healthier choices and you are less likely to make a spur of the moment choice when you get there.

Here is the recipe for the lemon cake balls. 
Here is the recipe for the wonderful dish I made Sunday night. 
Here is the recipe for what I wish I was drinking right now.

Happy love day!

Currently Loving

Thanks to Elaina I had to check out Old Navy yesterday and see what new items they have. While I often put items into my virtual shopping bag (I have 12 items in my bag as we speak), I rarely hit check out. Here is what is in my cart right now:

Striped Dolman(you know I love me some stripes): $24.99

Button Sleeve 3/4 pullover: $24.94

My all time favorite short in colors! $19.94

Back in the Swing of Things

I finally feel like I can get back into my normal schedule starting today! After almost 2 weeks of feeling off, I went to the gym last night and made my weekly lunch dish while watching the Thunder and all feels right in the world. This past Friday, my brother and dad took Lauren and Allison to a Father-Daughter dance at Remington Park in OKC. The girls got all dressed up, hair done by mom and nails painted and were ready to hit the town and cut a rug on the dance floor. 

Pappy and Allison at the start of the night

Pappy and Allison at the end of the night

I drove up to Edmond the next day to watch the girls play basketball. From what I have seen so far, they are the best team and actually know they need to dribble the ball! Their good friend Derek came to watch them, and brought a sign. Could be the cutest thing I have seen in a long time.

On Sundays, I usually pull up my Pinterest board and see what recipe looks good, and what I think I can stand to eat Mon-Fri for lunch. This week it was a beefy cheesy enchilada stack. I used low carb tortillas and only used a portion of the refried beans that it called for. I baked this puppy last night and cannot wait for 12:30 so I can go eat it. You can find the original recipe here.

1/2 lb ground beef- seasoned with taco seasoning
can of refried beans- I used about 1/2 cup
1 small can green chilis
5-6 flour tortillas- or corn or low carb..whatever floats your boat
1 can enchilada sauce
8 oz bag of Mexican cheese- I like the kind with Philadelphia cream cheese added

Brown the meat, and then start stacking. The amount of toppings will depend on how many tortillas you use.
The best part about this recipe is that there is no wrong way to do it. Bake at 400 for 40 min.

Before the baking

Look at all those layers

Cheese and enchilada sauce make me happy

Friday Night Blues

What do I do on a Friday night when my other half is out of town? Nothing is the answer. I have options: I could go to the gym for longer than the 45 min I squeeze in during most days. I could have dinner/drinks with friends. I could run the errands near Woodlands Hills Hell that I have been putting off. I could try a new recipe (wait, I actually might do that). But for some reason, none of that sounds like fun. I literally want to do nothing. I have zero motivation. I don't know if it is because I am out of whack schedule-wise or what.

Kyle has essentially been out of town since last Friday. He did come home for a few days to recover from his hospital visit, but it feels like he has been gone forever. And I know, we aren't married and we don't have to be dependent on each other but it IS different when the person you spend the most time with goes out of town. And you are left to entertain yourself and instead of coming up with an idea you become overwhelmed with the options so you choose nothing. That's were I am.

Also, I am trying to not spend any unnecessary money this paycheck. And doing things costs moolah. Whatever, I may still stop and get a (cheap)bottle o'wine and be besties with the couch and The Help tonight. I plan on getting up early tomorrow and driving to meet the fam in Edmond tomorrow so I really can base my lack of motivation to do anything on that. As for tomorrow night, I have no excuse.

Happy 30th!

Today is Kyle's 30th birthday! Unfortunately he will be boarding a plane in about 2 hrs to go to Phoenix for his annual sales meeting. I had so many ideas of how I wanted to celebrate his birthday, but that will have to wait until next weekend. I love to be kinda cheesy on birthdays and other holidays, so I got him a birthday balloon yesterday and left his present, card, and balloon out on the kitchen counter when I left for work this morning. My ultimate joy would be for him to tie the balloon to his wrist and walk around the airport with it, but I am fairly certain that won't be happening.

I have been house/dog sitting for Kyle since last weekend (and now through this weekend as well) when he went to Florida to see his family. His trip took a turn for the worse when he threw up in his dad's car on the way back from the airport. He continued to get worse, and by Sunday morning he was in the hospital. He had a bacterial infection in his colon, large intestine and stomach. He said it was the worst 3 days of his life, but after a round of IV antibiotics they let him go home. He was scheduled to fly out the next day and even though the doctor told him not to, he wanted to come home so badly and he didn't want to pay the $500 fare change. He has been improving every day but still isn't back his old self.

Last weekend while he was out of town, I went to A Taste of Tulsa with some friends. The event benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters and one of Kyle's best friends is on the board there so she was involved in the event. It was held at the Tulsa Convention Center and was a beautiful evening. Tons of local restaurants in Tulsa had appetizers, main courses, and desserts and you just grabbed a plate and took whatever you want. It was black tie optional which was fine with me since I will use any excuse to wear fake eyelashes and big earrings.

I was very pleased with my hair that night

I made a low-carb pizza last Sunday and planned on eating for lunch this week. I tend to make something on Sunday and then eat it every.single.day of the week for lunch. Boring but it saves me money and time. I wasn't that pleased with the result, but I don't hate it enough to throw it out.

Crust:

8 oz. package of cream cheese
2 eggs

Beat together and season with garlic powder and pepper. Spray a 9x13 with Pam, bake at 350 for 17 minutes or until the edges are brown.

Let cool for 10 minutes and then top with whatever pizza sauce and toppings you prefer. Bake another 10 min at 400.

The crust is just kind of "spongy". It was worth a shot to try, I suppose. Next time I will maybe just use a whole wheat pizza crust and eat smaller portions so I don't carb myself out.

A little gem I found this week is My Fridge Food and you check the ingredients you have, and it pulls recipes you can make.

Friday night, my dad and brother are taking the two older girls to a Father-Daughter dance. How precious is that?!