Home Sweet Home

The Vince Lombardi trophy is back where it belongs, and I cannot be more thrilled!

The Green Bay Packers are SUPER BOWL CHAMPS!!!!!!!!! I love Aaron Rodgers. So much so that I frequently tell my fiance, that Aaron will one day his children's stepfather. What? That's all I got for today :-) I'm also self medicating myself through this week (aka lots of wine nights). FI comes home sometime next week!

What's For Dinner-Weeknight Edition

This week has been crazy busy for me. I've had to study for 3 tests in one week. Did I mention it's for the same class?? Our teacher is letting us retake two of our lowest tests so I should really be thankful to him. Tonight is the first night that I've been able to workout all week and it really helped. I also set aside some time for a quick trip to the grocery store and to make myself dinner. I've been craving something very flavorful. Something warm because winter is officially here in Chicago (and has no signs of leaving anytime soon) and something comforting and soothing to the soul. Tonight I bring you what I like to call a squash & turkey mashup bowl. It was so simple, quick and so so tasty that the first bite got an official, "Hmmm!"

There is no official recipe, I kind of just threw stuff together that sounded good. I baked a small butternut squash, cut it up and mash it in a bowl. Then I cut up an apple and some green beans, pecan halves, put a little bit of olive oil in a pan (just enough to coat it) and put the apple, green beans and pecans in the pan along with some cinnamon. I let it cook up and then added some left over turkey to the pan. Sprinkled some seasoned salt. After the turkey got warm, I poured a splash of red wine into the mix and a little bit more olive oil. Let it cook and then added pure maple syrup and poured the whole thing in with the squash. HEAVENLY!! And the whole thing probably took about 20 minutes tops.

Now, Oliver and I are sitting here watching Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice. Our favorite thing to do on Thursday. He can be such a good t.v. watcher.

I saw this commercial and got really excited! Not because of the flawless models parading around in lingerie, but because this commercial was filmed at the Milwaukee Art Museum and in Chicago...my two fave places!!!



Good job VS marketing team! Didn't Adriana Lima just have a baby?? I will never understand.

Thankful

Today after work, I'm driving WI to stay the night with my sister. We're, hopefully, making it to church, then dinner and drinks out. We have to thank the Big Man Upstairs for everything he's given us. Honestly, though I am definitely ready for 2011. 2010 hasn't been the greatest of years.

This weekend will be filled with lots of family time and wedding fun! I'm so excited :-) On Friday, my mom and I are going to meet with the florist and on Saturday invitations. We are also having our family Christmas since my grandparents are in town and it's the only time that we're all together.

In honor of Thanksgiving, I have compiled a small list of the things that I am most thankful for.

1. My faith
2. My health
3. The 3 F's...Family, Friends, Fiance
4. Skype. An essential in any long distance relationship
5. Grapes. Because they make delicious wine
6. Oliver. Because he keeps me company/busy/pre-occupied while LC's away
7. My mom. For everything she does, including NOT passing down the celiac's disease gene to me. I love bread too much.
8. Christmas songs the day after Thanksgiving
9. Black Friday. Not because of the specials but because I have off of work :-)
10. My legs. Because I can run, walk, and climb stairs with no problem. It's the small things people.
12. My readers. Because I love comments and reading new blogs :-)

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and gets to eat lots of wonderful food!!!

What are you thankful for??

Diamonds...a Girl's Best Friend?

I used to think of myself as a unique and modern girl. When I set out to look for my engagement ring, I had a goal in mind of getting something "different". I didn't want the traditional solitaire and I didn't want the"trendy" princess cut. So when I got my beautiful, round halo style engagement ring, I was a happy girl. I didn't know anyone else who had this ring. It was just wanted: unique. Until a few months later, I saw it popping up all over the place. Turns out, I'm not as unique as I thought. I still love my engagement ring, and all things sparkly, but there's a new, but rare, trend that I wish I would have considered...the colored stone.


This is my all-time favorite version of the colored engagement ring. The yellow diamond. Absolutely beautiful. Carrie Underwood's engagement ring is by far my favorite of all the recent celebrity engagements. The setting closely resembles mine, except for the fact mine is a fraction of the size of hers and it's a near colorless diamond.


The newly engaged, Jessica Simpson, is sporting a red ruby engagement ring. I'm not so much a fan of this one for two reasons. One, I don't red and two I'm not big into yellow gold. I didn't even know she was dating anyone!?

Last but definitely not least, Kate Middleton. This ring reminds me of the Titanic's "Heart of the Ocean". I love the fact that Prince William gave Kate his mother's ring so that she would have part in their special day. This ring is gorgeous and definitely fit for royalty. I've been stalking people.com to get the deets on their wedding planning. Theirs will definitely be the wedding of the year, right behind mine and LC's of course :-)

This Could be Heaven

photo c/o

A few days after our wedding, we will be spending 7 glorious days in St. Lucia. Neither one of us can wait to lay on the beach, RELAX and drink tropical drinks and explore this part of the world. I've heard nothing but good things about St. Lucia. We were up in the air about where we would spend our honeymoon, but came to an agreement and I don't think neither one of us will be disappointed. It's all coming together!!

Here Comes the Bride

The one thing that I love about the church where we are having our ceremony is that we're not limited to "traditional" wedding music. Even though I love Canon in D and always thought that would be my song, it's overplayed. After doing some research, and thinking about my favorite songs, I came across this you tube video. My heart melted and I got chills. This is my song! I love Taylor Swift, but never thought I'd walk down the aisle to any of her songs for the fact that it was too "pop". But this version of 'Love Story' makes the song a million times better. This will be played while my bridesmaids are walking in and I will come in between 2:30-2:50, just as the song's tone changes. I'm so excited and cannot wait!!!! Music has always been a big part of my life and I'm really happy that I get to incorporate some of our favorite songs into the ceremony.