It's Been Too Long!

Hi everyone! And by everyone, I mean my 3 friends who read this blog. :) I haven't been posting much - it's been a busy month. I was lucky enough to find a great new job at the University of Arizona that I began on November 1 (my last day with Residence Life was October 22). It's been a good transition so far, but I feel like I have even less time to cook than before! And Mike is finally done with the Air Force and is officially a veteran now. He's going to school full time at UA to finish his degree.

To make this post even more off-topic, I'm actually going to be talking about Christmas cards. Yup, it's that time of the year. Is it just me or is it near impossible to do photo cards (a la Shutterfly)? It's so darn hard to find that one picture that makes you look super cool and thin and worldly.

I started trying to figure a card out last night on shutterfly.com  - I'm partial to them because a) I worked there, b) they have really cute designs that Creative works hard to create....in the summer, and c) all of my pictures from like, the last 7 years are uploaded to Shutterfly.

I'm kind of enjoying this card, because I could put 4 different pictures of Mike and I, with little captions of what we happened to be doing or where we have traveled this year. One downside? This is a folded card, which means I would have to think of something to write on the inside. That takes some effort, and if you know me, I'm lazy! Ugh, decisions. Guess you will have to wait with bated breath to see what I come up with!

Sweet Chocolate Christmas Card

Shop Shutterfly for elegant custom Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Things I Want That I Love (AKA someone gimme $300, stat!)

Have you guys ever heard of Mindy Kaling? She's an actress/comedienne/writer on NBC's "The Office" (she plays Kelly Kapur). My friend Nicole and I have celebrity girl crushes on her, and dream about being a trio of best friends on zany adventures. No, we're not 12 years old shut up. :)

Anyway, Mindy used to blog about stuff she bought that she loves. It inspired me to start posting here and there about items in a similar fashion. But, since I'm not a famous actress (yet?!? ha, please), I'm twisting it and writing about my virtual wish list. Maybe an anonymous benefactor will just send me everything. That happens sometimes. Right?

 

All-Clad 51125 All Clad Stainless-Steel 12-Inch Fry Pan with Lid According to America's Test Kitchen (they know things), this is the best one out there out of every brand...and it has the price tag to prove it! It's available on Amazon for $90, and at fancy department stores for double that price. I recently purchased a cookbook in which every recipe (including desserts) is cooked in the aforementioned fry pan. It would be fiscally imprudent of me to NOT buy this pan.

The Lenox "Chirp" holiday accent plates.  The original Lenox "Chirp" china is what my husband and I (or just I, who are we kidding) registered for when we got married. I love the design, it's vintage, yet modern, Asian inspired, colorful, and definitely NOT boring like the china everyone else had on their wedding registry. We only use it for holidays, so these new accent plates would be perfection for Christmas. Granted, I've never hosted a Christmas dinner because I still live in a crappy apartment in a different state than both of our families, but that's neither here nor there. When that day comes, I want to be prepared with fancy plates, darn it!