Highs & Lows

Here is a rundown of what my highs and lows were this week.  It is a blog party that was started at one of my personal faves: Life, Crafts, & Whatever.  Its simple, give your "Highs" & "Lows" of what happened the previous week.

For the HIGHS...






Since the first plant I bought from Home Depot died in a matter of TWO days, I returned it and got a new one (different kind this time) and it is loving its new home.  The cool thing about these flowers are that they "sleep" at night, closing all of their petals and opening back up in the morning when the sun comes out.

I started painting again.  I haven't done one just for fun in a loooong time so I picked up a brush on Friday.  Still a work in process,  A LOT of cool things to do to it yet

Today Spencer and I went to our local farmers market and look what I found...FUZZY EYEBALLS!!  It's real name is Rambutan, an unusual tropical fruit that I had for the first time in Bangkok, Thailand.  They are so yummy and I have never seen them in the states (They are not a shippable fruit).  I about fell over when I found them because I have not had them since the last time I was in Thailand in 2007. YESSSSSSSSS!!!

And for the LOWS....

We found out that we can't have Direct TV like we wanted because the stupid HUGE satilite would take up our entire (already tiny) balcony. Ughh, so we settled for Netflix on demand on our Playstation3

Found out my cousin was hurt a few days ago, and now has two broken legs.  He needs surgery for one of them because it is so bad.  Praying for a safe surgery and a speedy recovery.  My dad & friend Michael also recently had knee surgeries, praying for the same for them.

I hope you all have had a fantastic week, 

Shays Slow-Cooker Chili

So here is my new Friday go to deal...RAD RECIPE OF THE WEEK!  Why Friday you ask? Because Friday is the end of the week, when I want to go to fun crazy stuff and that does not include sitting at home blogging.  Don't get me wrong, I love you all buuut I do need a social life.

This is my no fault chili...heck who doesn't love chili?!  It is a nice and tangy recipe with a bit of a kick

INGREDIENTS

• 1 onion, chopped (I like to use half of a red and half of a white)
• 1 green or red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup of fresh sliced mushrooms (or one can)
• 1 cup of chopped carrot
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup of green olives, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 11oz of tomato-vegetable juice cocktail (I use V8 low sodium)
• 1 can condensed tomato soup
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon of cracked black pepper
• 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
• 1 can of chili beans, drained (optional, I don't care for beans so I don't always use them)

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the onion, bell pepper, garlic, carrots, mushrooms, and green olives in the oil for 5 minutes, or until tender. Stir in the beef and cook until brown. Transfer these ingredients to a slow cooker.
2. Then, to the slow cooker, add tomato-vegetable juice, soup, chili beans, cayenne pepper, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, garlic powder, cheese, and water.
3. Cover slow cooker and cook on low setting for at least 2 hours, you can cook longer for a thicker chili.
4. Serve hot! I recommend serving it with tortilla chips and some Zinfandel to compliment.   

 all that is left is to ENJOY!

 

Our new home in Jax

Since Spencer and I have moved to Jacksonville, a lot of people have been asking about our new apartment.  What does it look like, the surrounding area, how did I decorate, blah blah blah. So today I am here to sorta answer those questions (I am no where NEAR being done with this place).  Being the perfectionist that I am of course.  But here are a few 'before' photos to satisfy your cravings.  You don't quite get the 'afters' yet!

All of the walls were painted this pale yellow.  Don't get me wrong, its a nice yellow, but an entire house in yellow? I think not.  Even though we are only renting I HAD to do some painting.  I have always steered away from blue, so this time when choosing colors for our mater bedroom I decided to go with something different...blue. In the pictures it looks a bit purpley (?) but in real life we love it, it's just the right shade.  Not too girly, not too masculine.  Here is a photo of our MB looking towards the closet/on-suite bathroom.

When we were deciding what to do with the kitchen/living room/dining room of course I had to go with my favorite color, green.  It is a pale green with the coolest name, Margarita..of course I picked it!  Our ceilings are really high so we painted only about 2/3rds of the walls.  We would have needed to rent really big ladders for it all so we left them the pale yellow (you can see it on the breakfast bar in the picture)  Here is a picture of the Living room/Dining room and a teeny bit of the open-plan kitchen mid paint job, can you tell I'm short?  Just to the right (not shown) is the entrance to the MB.

The view from the Dining room towards the balcony/patio.  Saying its a patio is a bit of a stretch because it is quite small, but I did manage to fit perfectly a suuuuper cute vintage ice cream set that my mum and dad bought for us as a wedding gift.  I am sure there will be a photo of that on here in the future.

Our awesome open-floor plan kitchen, complete with breakfast bar, dishwasher, and of course wine rack.  Unfortunately the cupboard space is minimal but I did manage to fit all of those presents in there and keep them pretty organized.  Kudos to me!

And finally our master bathroom.  Not that exciting really.  I am planning on painting it a really pretty teal color, I already have the paint (I can hear my mom gagging, she despises 50's teal).  I think it will look nice with our sort of 'beachy' themed place.  Plus I need a little less pale yellow in my life.  Unfortunately I do not have any photos of the guest bedroom/guest bathroom but in reality they look exactly the same at the master so you're not really missing much.  I probably will put up 'after' photos of them anyway.

Keep checking back because I have a toats awesome tutorial coming up really soon!

Shaydes: Back In Business

SHAYDES IS BAAACK! And with a facelift to boot! A brand new look to go with all the brand new posts I have in store for you. I know, I know. I have been gone a while, and basically three words can sum that all up.

Planning. A. Wedding.

But now that is all said and done, Spencer and I are fully moved into our apartment here in Jacksonville, Florida and things are settling down.  Whew!

When I was thinking about what to write here as my "Welcome Back" post, honestly I was pretty much at a loss.  So since I have no cool project, don't feel like giving a recipe, or going into some philosophical discussion etc etc...I am going to just fill you in on what you missed over the 3 months with cool pics. Here's a hint...A LOT OF WEDDING JUNK

 MAY





Started with moving in to the new place in Jax and then I flew back up to Michigan to see my beautiful cousin Erin marry her man Zach.












After being in Michigan for about 4 days, I flew out to LA to visit my best friend from when I lived in Denmark, miss Kari.  We spent time in San Diego, Corona, Laguna, & Hollywood.












After a week there I took the train up to Sacramento, CA where I met my family to see another one of my beautiful cousins get hitched.  It was my first time meeting her fiance Will and we all had an awesome time.






JUNE



 After another week in Cali, my family and I all flew back home to Michigan together.  I spent the next month finishing up plans for my own wedding & spending time with my friends (whom I miss massively).













and of course going to more weddings! My old friend Allison and Spencer's bud Mike got hitched too.







JULY

Bachelorette parties ensued with almost all my closest girls corrupting me.

Annnd FINALLY it came time for Spencer and I's turn to tie the knot

 

So that's what'cha missed!  For the rest of this summer I have a lot of really cool tutorials, decorating ideas, yummy new recipes, and so much more in store for all of my lovely readers.  I can't wait to share them with you.