Easy Appetizers

One of my best friends (and former big sister in my sorority) and I were chatting yesterday afternoon and she said she needed a couple of quick and easy recipes for some appetizers for a party she is going to. So I gave her two of my favorite (and REALLY easy) ones and figured I would share them with you too :)

The first one is just a corn salsa and all you do is mix the following 4 ingredients: 

1 can black beans (drain and rinse)

1 can yellow corn

1/8th cup of italian dressing (I like the zesty italian dressing) 

and then add salsa, I start with about a 1/2 cup and then usually add a little more as long it doesn't make it too runny. 

Then serve with fritos scoops. 

(like I said, super easy and really cheap to make!)

The second is one of my personal favorites and every time I take it somewhere I always gets lots of compliments. I actually made it last night for a game night we had at our house, so I have a picture of it too. 

Wasabi Dip: 

start with a block of cream cheese and cut in half (the long way) 

then spread a layer of wasabi** on one half and then place the other half on top like sandwich

cut a cucumber in really thin slices and put in a circle around the cream cheese

pour soy sauce on top of the cucumber slices (so that some of it runs down onto the cream cheese too)

Then sprinkle some seaseme seeds over everything

Serve with water crackers. (put some the cream cheese/wasabi on the cracker and then place the cucumber on top of that) 

**For the wasabi, there are a couple different types and you can really use whatever you want, but I have tried it a few different ways and this is the type that I like the best (you can usually find it in the Asian food aisle of any grocery store) 

It really is SO good, definitely give it a try!

Ty's Favorite Things

I was looking through my camera tonight and I realized that about 90% of my pictures are of Ty. (I can only imagine what it will be like when I have kids!) Since I really have nothing else to do with all of these pictures, I figured I would share some of them on my blog. (lucky you, lol)

So, here are some of Ty's favorite things to do ;)

lounging on the back of the couch

 

giving daddy kisses

barking at the scary stuffed dog

playing with his favorite toy... an empty water bottle (at least it's cheap! haha)

getting his belly rubbed

watching the neighbors

and relaxing with mom after a long day (being a puppy is a really hard job..)

And all of these are just the past week or so (imagine how many I actually have!).. 

Hope you all have had a good week! I am sure we are all glad tomorrow is FRIDAY! 

I will be on a ski trip for work so since I wont be posting tomorrow I just wanted to say HAPPY WEEKEND blog friends, hope you have a good one :)

Wishful Wednesday

This weeks Wishful Wednesday topic:

'I wish' .... I could spend three minutes in _____'s shoes!

This was actually a pretty easy choice for me...

I wish I could spend 3 minutes in KELLY RIPA'S shoes! 

I have always really liked Kelly Ripa. I think it would be so much fun to live her life even if just for a little bit.

I mean come on, she is gorgeous, she is married to Mark Consuelos (that alone should be enough of a reason!), they seem to have a really happy family and she gets to have a talk show and interview celebrities every day.

What could better than all of that? ;)

gosh, he really is pretty..

Now it's your turn, join in the Wishful Wednesday posts at http://kelseyandgabriel.blogspot.com/ and tell us who you would pick :)

Not Me Monday

I am not a little grumpy today because it is a rainy Monday. blah..

I did not have a really good time this weekend with Vince and some of our friends. We did not get a little competitive while playing video games at Dave and Busters until 1am. We did not use our points at the end to buy Ty a stuffed dog that is 3 times his size. He did not growl and bark at the stuffed dog the first half hour we bought it home. 

Vince and I did not spend Saturday afternoon shopping, looking at houses, and driving around singing loudly to old rap songs (ex. Nelly's air force ones). 

We didn't spend the rest of the night at home watching 2 movies, drinking wine, and playing games either. It was not the perfect and relaxing alone time we needed after usually having weekends packed with random things we have to do. 

I do not have a very thoughtful mother-in-law who showed up at my house yesterday with 4 dresses she got me on sale at Lord and Taylor, I was not super excited when they all fit perfectly. I will not be wearing them for all of the different weddings we have this summer. 

I am not looking forward to the ski trip I have been planning for work on Friday. I will not be making a big pitcher of bloody mary's for everyone riding the bus to the mountain. I do not think that it is awesome that this is the kind of thing I do for a living. 

I am not a little nervous about the new workout routine Vince and I are starting tomorrow morning. (mainly because I know I am going to be pretty sore the first few days haha)

I am not glad that Monday is almost over so that it is one less day until the weekend rolls back around ;)

(join in the "not me! monday" posts at MckMama's blog)

Oh Friday, I love you.

I have come to realize I really do live for Fridays. Counting down to the weekend is what gets me through every week. (kind of pathetic, I know.) Thankfully though, this week went really fast (and I didn't even have off on Monday like most people!). I have been really busy at work planning a ski trip for some of our clients next week and going to some luncheons and other events lately, so that has helped make the time fly by!

This weekend is going to be pretty relaxing... tonight there are 8 of us going to Dave and Busters which should be a good time, and then Saturday and Sunday we have NO plans and I LOVE it!

Well anyways HAPPY FRIDAY to all of you, hope you have a great weekend!

Also- I saw one of my favorite bloggers Carrie @ Laugh, Love, Eat Ice Cream posted this couples survery, and I always love surveys so I figured I would fill it out too!

So here are some little facts about Vince and I if you're interested ;)


1. What are your middle names? Nicole and James

2. How long have you been together? Since October 2000 (almost a DECADE!)

3. How long did you know each other before you started dating? I met him freshman year in high school, so I guess about a year, but we weren't friends until the very end of that year.

4. Who asked who out? He asked me to homecoming our sophmore year.
 
5. How old are each of you? both 24 (his birthday is in April and mine is in June)

6. Did you go to the same high school? Yes

7. Are you from the same town? Yes

8. Who is the smartest? I think we are both smart, just at different things. (I lack in the common sense area sometimes)

9. Who majored in what? I majored in Marketing and he majored in Sociology.

10. Who is the most sensitive? Definitely ME.

11. Where is the furthest you 2 have traveled? we have traveled to Mexio/Dominican/Virgini Islands together, but I guess technically california was the furthest from here.

12. How many children do you two want? hmm.. not too sure yet. I used to say I wanted a huge family with like 5 kids, but now I am thinking more like 1. haha, who knows!

13. Who does the cooking? Mostly me, but Vince cooks for me occassionally too.

14. Who is more social? Vince, he can make friends with anyone.. it's actually one of my favorite things about him.
  
15. Who is the neat freak? Both of us kind of. I am a little crazy about the house being clean and things being organized, but he gets weird about everything in the garage or basement having to be organized just right.

16. Who is the most stubborn? That would have to be me.

17. Who wakes up earlier? Usually Vince, but it really depends on the day.

18. Where was your first date? Well we were 15 so we couldn't even drive (that's a little embarrassing haha), so his parents dropped us off at Chili's and we had dinner there and then walked over to the movie theater. LOL :)

19. Who has the bigger family? Vince, his mom was one of 9 kids so there are lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins

20. How do you spend the holidays? Well both of our families used to live here so we would go to both houses, but since my family moved we will have to start spliting up holidays here and there.

21. Who is more jealous? Actually I would have to say neither of us. We both USED to be jealous (especially when we were going to colleges in different states for 4 years), but honestly that has changed so much over the years. Guess we finally grew up! haha

22. How long did it take you to get serious? thats an interesting questions... I mean how serious can you be in high school? We didn't really talk about marriage or a future until our senior year in college, so I guess that's when it actually became more than just dating.

23. Who eats more? Vince  

24. What do you do for a living? I am a marketing rep (I am not allowed to put the company name online), I plan all of the events for the offices in PA (there are about 70 a year!) and go to a lots of events for other clients companies. Vince works as a clerk at the courthouse, but is actually in the process of changing jobs. (more on that later!) 

25. Who does the laundry? We both do

26. Who's better with the computer? I would say me, but Vince may disagree. 

27. Who drives when you are together? Almost always Vince

28. What is your song? "Me and You" by Kenny Chesney.

It's the little things..

..that matter the most.

The past few weeks I have really been trying to be grateful for all of the little things in my life, especially all of the simple and sweet things my husband does for me...

He knows just how I like my hot tea and makes it for me at night when I'm cold.

He cleans off my car when it snows and washes it when it's dirty.

He lets me tuck my freezing cold toes under his warm legs when we go to sleep.

He watches the bachelor and project runway, and even picks favorites just to pretend to be interested because he knows I like it.

He doesn't complain if I come home after a long day and want to lay on the couch all night watching one tree hill episodes... (and went to buy me the next season when I finished the last disc, without me even having to ask)

He knows my favorite foods to get if I'm hungover on a Saturday morning. 

Or like tonight when he remembered from a couple of weeks ago that I saw a commercial for yoga pants on sale at old navy and picked them up on his way home from work, just because he knew I wanted them.

It's not about big gifts and money, it's about finding something to be happy about on a day to day basis. No marriage is perfect, and it sure as heck is not always easy. There are always going to be ups and downs, good days and bad days.. but in the end it's about knowing what's important and learning to cherish all of the little things <3

Wishful Wednesday

'I wish' .... I could have worn the gown that Olivia Wilde wore at the 67th Annual Golden Globes Award!

I really like this sparkly Gucci gown that she wore with Tiffany's jewelry and Jimmy Choo shoes. (I also wouldn't mind having her body too!) I think it's fun, sexy, and glamorous all in one. Plus my FAVORITE part of her dress is that she auctioned it off after the event and the money she gets for it is all being donated to HAITI. So it's fashionable and charitable... can't go wrong with that ;)

Now it's your turn, join in the Wishful Wednesday posts at http://kelseyandgabriel.blogspot.com/ and tell us whose dress you want :)

Not Me Monday

I was not jealous this morning when the alarm went off and Vince got to stay in bed while I had to go to work. I did not think about calling out and staying home with him instead... and once I got to work I was not glad that I went instead of wasting a personal day (I don't have very many).

Vince and I did not stay in Friday night and watch Grey's Anatomy (we didn't get a chance to watch it Thursday) and then decide to spend the night cleaning and organizing our house. We did not both agree afterwards that we were happy we stayed in and did things around our house instead of going out with friends. Nope we are not that old and boring.

I was not happy Saturday morning when I woke up and realized I had already finished all of my chores for the weekend and could spend the rest of the time relaxing.

I did not have a LOT of fun saturday playing games until 3am with some of our best friends. I have not decided that game nights are better than bar nights. 

I was not disappointed with the movie The Lovely Bones. I did not think that it was extremely drawn out. The book was not SO much better than the movie. 

I did not get excited Sunday after having a meeting with our realtor. I know that we have to sell the house before we can actually move and I would never get my hopes up like that. Nope, not me. 

I am not getting ready to go out to dinner with Vince for the second Monday in row because I don't feel like going to grocery store right now. (but in my defense I did cook every other night last week!)

Hope everyone has a good week! At least Monday is already over :)

(join in the "not me! monday" posts at MckMama's blog)

Sunday Funday

It's Sunday and I'm really sleepy. (Guess playing games with friends until 3am will do that haha) Vince and Ty are actually passed out on the couch next to me right now, but I know if I fall asleep now I wont want to get up to go to Sunday family dinner.... sooo I am blogging instead to help keep me awake haha.

And I just saw that today Keely is donating 25 cents to the Red Cross for Haiti relief for every person who joins in the Sunday Funday and answers the questions below! So, make sure to head on over to her blog and play along!

So here are today's questions...

1. Hair color..Au naturale..or not?

um, I don't even know what my natural hair color is anymore haha. kidding. My natural hair color is a dark  blonde, but it's very blah so I get it highlighted every few months.  (and sometimes I like to try something new and will play around with colors, but typically I just get blonde highlights haha)

2. If somebody has food in their teeth or lipstick on their teeth do you tell them?
I usually do, but I can't honestly say that I always do.

3. Would you rather have a million dollars or your vision of the perfect body?
 That's an easy one.. a million dollars. I don't have a perfect body, but I don't hate it so much that I would pass up a million dollars.

4. Favorite magazine?
Well I used to really like Domino (a home decorating magazine), but they went out of business... so the only other magazine I read regularly is People ;)

5. Bra style..lacey or plain? 

well I think lacy bras are pretty, but not comfortable so I go more for plain I guess.... BUT I don't like boring white bras.  I like either black or bright colored bras.  (I think a white one makes me look even more pale than I already am, especially in the winter lol)

6. If you walked into Victoria's Secret..would you most likely come out with something sexy or comfy?
Sexy. I usually just like to shop there for special occassions, and sometimes just getting cute new underwear for a night out with the hubby can make me feel sexy ;)

7. Do you fake and bake?

I used to, especially in college... but about a year ago I decided it was time to give it up. (I don't want to start getting wrinkles at 24!) I still might go every now and then if I am in friends weddings or something like that, but for the most part I am done tanning.

8. What's your favorite body part on a man?
Arms. I like a guy with nice toned arms, skinny little arms don't make you feel safe when they are holding you the way muscular arms do. BUT just to clarify, I don't like it when their arms are overly huge and muscular, that's just a bit too much. haha

Our Wedding Album.. FINALLY!

 After 14 long months we finally got our wedding album in today, and it was well worth the wait! I am so happy with how it turned out. In fact I am so excited about it that I was a loser and took pictures of some of the pages to send to my family who isn't here to see it haha.

So, since I have some pictures of what the album looks like I figured I would share them with you. Don't worry I did not take a picture of every page, just a couple of my favorites(there are 50 pages in the book)..

the outside of the album:

Inside cover:

my hubby:

 

The ceremony:

outside the reception:

the reception:

first dance:

speeches:

the cake:

OK so now that I have completely bored you with pictures of my wedding pictures (man I really am lame lol), I am going to go make something for dinner and spend the evening relaxing and watching Grey's. So glad tomorrow is FRIDAY! :)

Not Me Monday

I did not have a great night out Friday with friends. I did not originally say I wanted it to be an early night and then end up staying out until 2am. I was not completely exhausted the next morning and it was not totally worth it. 

On Saturday I did not drag Vince to a bunch of stores looking for something to wear to his work party. I did not pout or get in a bad mood when I couldn't find anything, nope not me.. I am way more mature than that. I did not eventually find something to wear. (thank goodness!)

I was not very disappointed that the Eagles lost again this weekend.

Vince and I did not both pass out yesterday afternoon on the couch for 2 hours after looking at houses. It was not a much needed nap, I do not wish I was taking a nap right now.

I did not drive around to 6 (yes actually 6!) stores looking for season 2 of One Tree Hill on DVD. I was not super excited when I finally found it at Best Buy. (even though it was a lot more expensive than it would have been at wal-mart and target had they not been sold out) 

I am not looking forward to a date night with my husband tonight. I do not feel like it has been awhile since we have gone out just the two of us and it is not much needed. We are not going out to one of my favorite restaurants followed by watching the Bachelor. I do not love watching that show (even if it is Jake.. ugh), nope I would never waste my time watching something so cheesy. 

I am not already looking forward to the weekend when it's only Monday.  


Hope everyone has a good week!

(join in the "not me! monday" posts at MckMama's blog)

Longest Week Ever

I can't even explain how glad I am that it is finally the weekend. It has been an extremely long and emotionally draining week and all I can say is TGIF!

I am so looking forward to a relaxing evening tonight. We are meeting one of my best friends and her husband out for dinner and drinks. They just moved back home after 7 years of being gone and I really could not be more excited to have her back in my life! (we have done a really good job of keeping in touch the whole time, but it's not the same as being able to get together whenever we want.. so it will be a nice change!) And then Vince and I will be going home and maybe watching a movie, or maybe just going to bed early for the first time in a week.

Tomorrow night Vince's work is having a party for his boss who is leaving. (which sounds to me like a good excuse to go buy a new outfit tomorrorw?!) His work doesn't normally have get togethers or parties outside of the office, so I have only met his co-workers when I have stopped by to say hi (maybe twice in the past year haha) or met him for lunch. So, I am hoping it will be a good time and a chance to actually meet everyone and not be one of those awkward work parties (you all know what I am talking about!).

And Sunday we are going to church and then we might go to a movie, we might go to lunch, or we might just do nothing at all... not sure yet, but I do love days with no real plans :)

Happy Friday!

"A couple of hundred years ago, Benjamin Franklin shared with the world the secret of his success. Never leave that till tomorrow, he said, which you can do today. This is the man who discovered electricity. You think more people would listen to what he had to say. I don't know why we put things off, but if I had to guess, I'd have to say it has a lot to do with fear. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, sometimes the fear is just of making a decision, because what if you're wrong? What if you're making a mistake you can't undo? The early bird catches the worm. A stitch in time saves nine. He who hesitates is lost. We can't pretend we hadn't been told. We've all heard the proverbs, heard the philosophers, heard our grandparents warning us about wasted time, heard the damn poets urging us to seize the day. Still sometimes we have to see for ourselves. We have to make our own mistakes. We have to learn our own lessons. We have to sweep today's possibility under tomorrow's rug until we can't anymore. Until we finally understand for ourselves what Benjamin Franklin really meant. That knowing is better than wondering, that waking is better than sleeping, and even the biggest failure, even the worst, beat the hell out of never trying." - Meredith Grey, Grey's Anatomy

Wishful Wednesday

This week's topic is ..... 

'I wish' .... I had _____ hair/hairstyle!

 

My Answer: I wish I had Jessica Simpson's hair!

It doesn't matter if it's long or short, up or down, straight or curled.... it always looks perfect. (and I am SO jealous haha)

And if I can't have her hair, I guess would settle for an appointment with her hairstylist Ken Paves..

yea, I wish... lol

Now it's your turn, join in the Wishful Wednesday posts at http://kelseyandgabriel.blogspot.com/ and tell us whose hair you want :)

My Newest Obsession..

One Tree Hill.

It has always been one of those shows that I will watch here and there if nothing else is on, but never something I watch consistently. Until recently that is. I started watching it more frequently on SOAPnet lately (one of my favorite channels by the way) and got completely hooked.

So, I decided rather than watch the reruns on TV, I would go buy the seasons on DVD so that I can actually see it all from the beginning. It was a fabulous idea. I get excited to watch a couple episodes after work while I make dinner and relax. It has since moved up from a show I kind of like, but have no idea whats going on to a show that I love and can't wait to watch.

If you aren't already a fan, I definitely recommend you watch a couple episodes.. but I must warn you it's easy to become addicted ;-)

Not Me Monday

I did not have a great time in the Poconos celebrating New Years. Vince and I were not so exhausted when we got home Saturday night that we went to sleep at 9:30pm.

I have not become obsessed with playing games. I was not super happy when everyone decided to play catch phrase on Friday night. I also did not get competitive later this weekend over a game of scrabble with Vince. I am not a sore loser at all. 

I did not enjoy going house hunting yesterday afternoon with Vince. I do not get excited thinking about putting  our townhouse on the market so we can actually buy a new place. (i really do love our house now, but we always planned to only stay here for a couple of years) I did not have dreams all last night about moving and decorating a new house. Seriously who does that?

I did not really enjoy the movie Avatar yesterday. I do not recommend that everyone go see it in theater in 3D asap. 

Today was not an extremely busy day at work, I was not proud of myself with how much I got accomplished on a Monday. I was not so tired by 5pm today that I almost decided to lounge on the couch instead of going to my zumba class. I was not glad that I changed my mind and ended up going.

I am not now currently on the couch wearing my snuggie, drinking tea, laying with Vince and Ty and waiting for the Bachelor to start :)

(join in the "not me! monday" posts at MckMama's blog)