It's Friday, high five!

Happy Friday!  Glad this week is coming to a close; my husband hasn't been home before 830p once this week, so looking forward to a weekend together.  Another busy weekend planned though...but at least we'll be spending it together instead of me watching the clock waiting for him to get home!

I'm linking up with Lauren from The Lauren Elizabeth to share my five favorite moments of this week. 

Here we go!

1. As I sit here and complain that my husband worked a ton, I'm also very thankful for that.  Two months ago Ryan made a major career change and we are so fortunate that it has been successful.  He is happier, I am happier, so life is good.  The late nights still get hard, but lucky for me I'm very much an introvert so I honestly don't mind the time alone with the dogs.  I'm just grateful that this opportunity came along and that Ryan is loving it.

2. I got to see this little beauty this week :)  One of my good friends has a 6 month old daughter and she is absolutely ADORABLE.  I mean, look at those eyes?

3.  We finally were able to have my family's Christmas this past weekend.  Why, you ask, are we having Christmas in mid-January? That would be because every single person in my family had the flu (as in influenza, not the stomach bug) over Christmas, and this is literally the first weekend everyone has been well.  Talk about a rough Christmas.  Have you ever had influenza?  It's literally the worst thing, ever.  I'm all for some Rylee time though! 

 

4. My dogs were playing tug-o-war and it was just the cutest thing.  If you look closely, you can see Hudson staring up at the camera.  His face is so dark, and he has the brownest eyes, so sometimes it's hard to see him in pictures!

 

 

 

5.  I made this recipe last night for Ryan and I.  Seriously, can you go wrong with a Pioneer Woman recipe?  And then to top it off it's a grilled cheese sandwich?  Can't get any better.

 

I thought it was delicious.  I was hesitant to put the egg on it because I just felt the yolk would be too dry (I'm not an egg yolk person anyways) but it was delicious.  Ryan thought it was pretty good, but for Ryan that translates to "I love all food, so yeah it's good, but I won't be upset if you never make it again."

 

Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend.

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The Boy Behind the Blog

I thought it'd be fun to participate in The Boy Behind the Blog link up!  I love having Ryan participate in the blog, and I secretly think he enjoys answering silly questions :)

Below is a picture of Ryan and his BFF Hudson.  We have three dogs, and he loves them each equally, I know he does, but he holds a special place in his heart for Hudson.  We always say that it's fate Hudson is with us because we adopted a puppy from a breeder before Hudson, who ended up being very sick (because he was raised in a puppy mil, don't even get me started.  Actually, please do, I'd be glad to enlighten you on the absolute horrifying ways puppies and dogs are raised in those places.  But, that's a different post. :) ). 

Cooper passed away, and a few months later we got Hudson (who is the same breed and color that Cooper was).  So Hudson is Ryan's buddy, and I have many, many pictures of the two of then cuddling.

So, without further adieu...The Boy Behind the Blog!

My answers are in italics underneath Ryan's answers.

1. What was your favorite movie of 2013?
Horrible Bosses

For the record, Horrible Bosses was not released in 2013, it was actually released in 2011.  But, we literally watch this movie weekly.  It's probably my favorite movie, and that's saying a lot!

2. What is your all-time favorite movie quote?
"Big gulps huh? Welp see ya later!"

Dumb and Dumber, what can I say.  Do you see a trend with our sense of humor and movie choices?  We both can literally recite every line to this movie.

3. What is your favorite type of movie? (Action, scary, comedy, etc)
Comedy

Of course!

4. What is your New Year's Resolution?

Lose weight

:( Ryan lost about 20 -25 pounds before our wedding because he had a second job that he worked from about 8pm to 3am, and then went to his full time job again at 8am.  I was student teaching during this time so we needed the income, and I have the most amazing husband to get a second job working CRAZY hours.  Because he had no time to do anything other than work and sleep 4 hours a night he lost weight, putting him around 200.  (He's 6'3").  He was so lean and thin, and since then has gained that weight back, plus maybe 5 pounds.  He's very unhappy with himself, but for the record, looks pretty damn amazing to me.  He's not overweight by any means, but he's very health conscience and wants to lose that weight again.

5. Finish the sentence: This year I will....

Lose weight.

 

 

Recipe Review: Pork Cutlets with Cranberry Wine Sauce



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Holy delicious.

This meal was so yummy.  Super easy to make and my husband was raving over every single bite.  Ryan likes anything you throw his way, but for him to ooh and aah over every bite says something!

I must admit, I hate working with raw meat.  In fact, in our house it's just known that Ryan handles the meat.  I really am not a big meat eater to begin with so handling it is definately not my thing.  This recipe however, wasn't bad and didn't bother me too much.  There was no cutting of the meat involved, so I was good. 

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

+ 1 tablespoon olive oil

+ 4 boneless pork chops, 1/2 inch thick

+ Salt and Pepper to taste

+ 2 cloves garlic, minced

+ 1 1/4 c dry white wine *

+ 1 1/4 c whole berry cranberry sauce **

+ 1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh sage leaves

+ 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

+ 1 tablespoon chopped Italian flat leaf parsley

* I read a review that said the sauce was too thin, so I used about 3/4 c white wine instead.  This was perfect for the consistency we desired.  Just slowly add the wine in until you get the desired consistency.

** I made the cranberry sauce from scratch, as opposed to buying it in the can.  So much healthier and better for you!

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the pork with salt and pepper.  Fry in the oil until browned on each side, 2 to 3 minutes.  Transfer the pork to a baking dish, and place in the preheated oven.

3. Reduce heat under the skillet to medium and add the garlic.  Cook and stir until fragrant.  Stir in the wine and cranberry sauce.  Simmer for a few minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.  Stir in the sage and thyme.  Return the pork to the skillet and turn to coat with sauce.  Place on plates to serve and garnish with fresh parsley.

Cranberry Sauce

+ 1 c sugar

+ 1 c orange juice

+ 12 oz. bag of cranberries

1. In a medium sized saucepan over medium heat, dissolve the sugar in the orange juice.  Stir in the cranberries and cook until the cranberries start to pop (about 10 minutes).  Remove from heat and place sauce in a bowl.  Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.

Golden Globes Recap

In honor of the Golden Globes this past Sunday, I thought it would be fun to highlight some favorites (and not so favorites) gowns and moments of mine.

 

Am I the only one who loves watching these awards shows, and seeing what everyone chose to wear, winners, and the occasional awkward acceptance speech (hello Jacqueline Bisset..)?

 

Side story:  I'm slightly embarrassed to admit this, but I'm kind of known for knowing all there is to know about anything celebrity related.  I just have a fascination for it I guess?  I'm constantly going to People.com, or Usmagazine.com and checking out the new news.  I just enjoy reading about entertainment, what can I say?  Don't even get me started on the royal wedding...I'm slightly obsessed with the royals and everything London in general.  Case in point, for our honeymoon I chose London.  Why wouldn't I?

 

Anyway, here's some gowns (and a few men..) that stood out to me this year at the Golden Globes:





Lupita Nyong'o

I honestly have no idea who this actress is, but she looked stunning.  That dress with her skin color is absolutely gorgeous.  Best dressed by far in my opinion.

 

 

Emma Watson

 I actually loved this ensemble Emma Watson wore.  I always love what she wears, she takes risks and I think that's great!  From the front the dress was kind of plain, but when she turns around, it's so fun and pretty!




Aaron Paul and wife

My husband and I are obsessed with Breaking Bad.  The week of the finale I kept hearing about everyone being so upset that the show is over, so Ryan and I decided to watch the pilot episode and see how we like it.  If we are intrigued, we'll keep watching.  If not, we won't.  Let's just say intrigued is an understatement.  Since Ryan works 65-70 hours a week we don't have much time during the week to watch, so we've dubbed Sunday's our 'Breaking Bad' day. 

 

For this reason I of course had to put Aaron Paul on my best dressed list!  He's such an amazing actor and I wish he would have won his category, but I'm happy Bryan Cranston did, and the show won as well!  How gorgeous is his wife as well?!

 



Margot Robbie

I thought this gown Margot Robbie wore was beautiful.  Simple and elegant and plays up her features nicely.  Plus, I chuckled out loud when she and Jonah Hill were introducing a clip from their film and the wrong script was put on the teleprompter.  They recovered so nicely!

 

Kate Beckinsale

Ok, so every couple has celebrities that they would allow their spouse to have a cheat day with right?  Mine would be either David Beckham, or JT.  My husbands is Kate Beckinsale.  I mean look at her.  She's stunning in everything she wears.  I absolutely love this dress.  The color and design is so fun, and the cut is gorgeous on her.  Well played Ryan, well played. 

 

I say "Cheat day" in good fun of course. :)

 

 

And for a few 'I would have chosen differently' dressed...

 

 

Paula Patton.  If you can't walk in the dress, don't get the dress! Especially if you're presenting!

 

 

 

Juliana Margulies.  The dress has potential, I like the color combo, but I'm not really wow'ed by this. I do like the neckline, but that's about it. 

 

 

 

Sandra Bullock.  Oh, Sandra.  I always love what she wears but I just wasn't a fan of this dress.  I'm just not a fan of the color combination or the material.  It just looks kind of bulky on her small frame.

 

 

----------------------------------------------------

 

 To be completely honest, there wasn't anyone that I felt looked awful or made me say, 'What in the world were they thinking?!", which is why I named that the 'I would have chosen differently' category. 

 

Up next, the Grammy's!

 

 





Gallery Wall

I've had the itch to do something with one of our walls that's pretty blank.  Since we have such a tiny house we have little room to work with.  I'm trying, Lord am I trying, to slowly take on this house and view it as ours, instead of Ryan's. 

(Ryan bought this house 5 years ago when he was 21...we were together but definitely wasn't viewing it as an 'ours' thing back then)

Now that we're married, I'm trying to really take pride in this home we share together, all 700ish square feet of it.  Small homes can be quaint, and I'm determined to make it that!

Here are some walls that are inspiring me to do a gallery wall in our home:

 

The one below is my favorite.  Maybe it's because it already has a 'W' in it, who knows ;)

I have some ideas I'm throwing around in my head to what to use in the gallery wall.  I want a theme of Ryan and I as opposed to random prints (which I love as well!).

-framed wedding photo
-framed honeymoon photo (landscape)
-letter 'W'
-map of some sort that means something to us
-marriage license
-framed key of first home we shared together
-framed photo of our dogs

The list could grow on and on, so I'll have to play around with that.

I will update as we work!

Resolutions

Am I the only one who has a dislike for the whole "New Year's Resolutions" concept?  I have yet to meet someone who has fulfilled their resolution  for the entire year.

I think it's the pressure you put on yourself to succeed that intimidates a person which ultimately results in failure of completing the resolution...that and life just gets in the way, am I right?

Last year I decided my "resolution" was going to be to take one picture a day and document on the blog (a whole different blog).  I did this for five whole months and then got tired.  I look back on the fact that I made it five months and get more upset with myself that I quit after five months...I was almost half way done!  But that's life isn't it?  Hindsight is always twenty-twenty, they do say.

This year I'm taking a different approach.

 I'm not setting one massive resolution, I'm setting several goals for myself.  Realistic goals that don't have to be practiced daily, because let's be honest, daily sets a lot of pressure, and I don't like pressure.

I thought about it and looked at parts of my life that I want to improve on.  Things that can make me better, for me. 

1. Keep up on household chores.
I will be completely honest, I SUCK at being a housewife.  I am not the wife who has laundry done at all times, I am not the wife who wears an apron while making dinner (although I do make dinner!), and I'm not the wife who dusts and mops and cleans every day.  I wish I was.  In fact, I've thought about going to see a hypnotist to see if they can make me that wife.  Don't get me wrong, my husband and I are clean people, but we're messy people. 

I fully believe it's how we were raised; both are parents worked full time and never made it a priority to keep a mess-free house.  I have friends whose parents did make it a priority, and now in their married lives, they have the most perfect, well put together homes.  I envy them.

Long story short, I need to be better at this.  I think our biggest set back is the fact that if we let one room get out of hand, then we let them all get out of hand.  That, and we live in a 700ish square foot house, with THREE, count them three, dogs.  There is simply no room to put anything.  No basement, no garage, no useable attic space.  No room!

2. Be better at making and bringing my lunch.
I've pinned so many great lunch ideas and I want to be better at bringing my lunch so I don't catch myself running to Subway or Burger King every other day.  More than anything I want to save money!  Fast food ads up to amounts you'd be ashamed to see if you knew it.

I will be better at this.

3. Exercise.
This is a hard one for me.  My husband works 65 hours a week so it's up to me to work out.  We had a gym membership this past year and in an effort so save 55 dollars a month, we cancelled it.  I'm afraid to renew anything because I don't want to get roped into spending money every month if we're not using it. 

Of all my goals this year, this one will be the most challenging.

4. Save money.
Ryan and I are spenders.  Again, I wish we could be those people who save, save, save, and only buy when necessary, but that's just not the case.  We work hard for our money, so we want to spend it.  I've looked into different methods of saving and we've decided to try the 52 week money challenge.  Heard of it? 

Here's the gist:

The idea is depending on the current week is how much you put in a jar for that week.  So, this being week two, I will put in two dollars this week.  Look how much you'll save by the end of the year!  Ryan and I hope to take it one step further by saving more than a couple bucks on these easy week. It will get harder I'm sure but by saving more early on we can help ourselves out a little. 

5. Attend church regularly.
I love attending mass with my husband.  He is Catholic, I'm not, but I love going and doing something together consistently.  We are homebody's that love to just hang out on the couch on Sundays, so getting up and ready for church can be challenging.  But I know how important it is to Ryan and his family so it's something we hope to be better at. 

Five goals, that's it.

Here's to 2014 and a wonderful new year as a wife. 

Cheers!