The Ultimate Girls' Night

This weekend my mom and I had just that, the ultimate girls' night. It was absolutely delightful! We started the evening at a precious Italian restaurant in the heart of downtown, Mia Bella. We had a table in a cozy little nook right in front of the window and enjoyed people watching, yummy Chardonnay and great conversation. There is nothing quite as special as quality time with mom.

After a delicious dinner, we were off to grab our seats at Josh Groban's concert! We were both so thrilled to hear he was coming to Houston and bought our tickets within minutes of them being on sale. We had incredible seats on the floor and I could have actually touched him 3 separate times throughout the evening. He serenaded us with some of our old favorites, some romantic Italian love songs, along with some of his new stuff. Being there was just a little taste of what I think heaven might be like one day.

And finally, here is (regrettably) the only photo I have from the evening. This is how close we were to the stage!

The whole evening was a treat! This is a memory I will always hold dear. Love ya Mom :)

Cayenne-Rubbed Chicken with Avocado Salsa

Lately, I have been getting all of my recipes from Martha Stewart and this one is no exception. Surprisingly, a lot of her recipes are easy, tasty and perfect for a week night! This one in particular is refreshing and great for a warm spring night.

Ingredients

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, (6 to 8 ounces each)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, finely diced
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 Hass avocado, pitted and cut into chunks

Directions

In a small bowl, combine 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and cayenne; rub all over chicken.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium. Add chicken, and cook until browned on the outside and opaque throughout, 8 to 10 minutes per side.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine onion and lime juice; set aside. Just before serving, fold avocado chunks into onion mixture; season with salt and pepper. Serve chicken topped with salsa.

That's it! Mmm, enjoy!

Blah la la

I have always thought my gchat conversations with some of my best friends should be published into a book of some sort. Maybe I'm the only one entertained by them. It's amazing (and sometimes refreshing) how easy it is to carry on a conversation about absolutely nothing. As you can tell from the above photo, we are some quite pensive and serious most of the time. Here is one such profound sampling:

Whitney: i particularly liked the blah blah blah part

Sent at 12:36 PM on Monday

me: i thought it was more like 'blah la la'

whats for lunch today?

Sent at 12:38 PM on Monday

Whitney: blaah la

thats kind of how i meant it

Whitney: when you say it you say blaah la

me: ha, I'm so glad there is someone in the world who knows me as well as you do

And this is apparently a fact. I say 'blah la la' instead of 'blah, blah, blah.' It's kind of nice to enjoy some senseless conversation every once in a while, and to learn something about yourself while you're at it! What do you think? Given this sample, would our book be worth picking up? haha,please don't answer that :)

Before and After!

Our house has been in the middle of this project for the last few months! We ripped up the baseboards, had new ones installed, had doors replaced and walls painted. Needless to say, I am so happy everything is finished and I love the results! The photo above shows the ripped up baseboards. We lived with this look for a good month or so (yuck!)

Our home featured doors right next to each other that didn't match. This drove us nuts!

The color in our living area was a bright peachy/pinky white and it didn't contribute anything to the warm colors in the decor.

All of our furniture was covered with plastic for a few days.

And...drumroll...here are the AFTER pictures. Here is our nice, new warm neutral wall color.

Here is a photo of our new solid-wood (matching) doors :)

And finally, here are the new gorgeous baseboards. They make the room and hallway look so polished!

I couldn't be happier with the new look and while this wasn't the most exciting way to spend money to update our home, I know it made a huge impact! Everything feels very homey and warm :)

Something Borrowed

I am so stinkin' excited to see this movie! Emily Giffen is such a terrific author and the book will make the perfect, juicy chick flick. When I saw the first trailer, I couldn't have agreed more with the actresses they cast to play Darcy and Rachel. I'm in the middle of Something Blue right now and hope it will come out as the sequel sometime soon. If you haven't done so already, I recommend picking up the book and reading it before seeing the movie. It's such a quick, easy read. I'm ready to kick back with a yummy glass of Chardonnay and see Something Borrowed in theaters :)

"Busy"

Last week I was casually browsing through Borders when I overheard (or snooped) in on a conversation nearby. Two adults were seeing each other for the first time in what seemed like a long time. One said to the other, "how have you been?" The response was "busy, you?" in which the other replied "busy too." This is such a common exchange nowadays that I'm not quite sure why I stopped to think about it. And then I figured out why! This is a very sad reality to me. The use of the word 'busy' has replaced 'good' or 'well.' It seems that busy has become the new norm to fit in with today's fast paced society. If we are not busy or overcommitted every single day, we feel less of a sense of accomplishment or worth it seems. This is not how I want to fill my days! And yet, I feel that if I'm not busy, I don't have enough going on in my life to talk about.

The conversation I overheard just sparked some thoughts and I'm glad that (unlike usual) I stopped to think about it for a few minutes. When I run into people I know, I want to be sure to actually gather how they are doing not just what they are doing. I also want to be sure that I'm not simply fulfilled by having a full planner. Instead, I'd rather plan days to do nothing at all or be with the people who mean the most to me, since time spent this way is always fulfilling. I'm very glad I overheard the conversation and hope to really pay attention to the way I spend my days, with intention and purpose so that when someone asks, I can genuinely say I am doing well and that I am happy :).

Happy Easter!

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Happy Easter friends! I hope this was a great weekend for everyone. I really enjoyed spending lots of time relaxing with family.

While it's always fun to get caught up in the Easter festivities and the holiday weekend, the sermon at church this weekend really brought it back home for me. Unlike years past, I am making a promise to myself to carry the Easter celebration on with me throughout the rest of the year. The Easter story is so real and relevant in today's world and I feel like it's easy to lessen its importance by placing it in the history books.

The lesson from the Easter story was on distance, whether it's distance in our relationships with friends, family or with our Savior. This was not only physical distance, but emotional distance. Easter and Jesus's selfless act on the cross was God's best attempt to eliminate the distance we sometimes feel with Him. When I forget about the crucifixion, the pain and how real it was, it's easy for me to keep God at a manageable distance. Keeping God at bay means that I can just go on with my every day life pursuing my plans and that I don't have to change or be personally challenged in anyway.

The discussion focused on Jesus's friends who doubted the resurrection. They believed something so strongly (though it was obviously wrong) that they acted. It's so easy to trust feelings and human instinct that sometimes I ignore the plain truth. If my God ever feels distant, it is simply because of what I believe about Him. God is always there, by my side just as He rose and walked side by side with His friends. This is an image I will cling to. Though sometimes I can't see or feel Him, this doesn't change the truth that I know He is there. And that, I believe, is the truth of the Easter story. God is the same today and forever, and I am so blessed by His presence and the work He did on the cross so that I may live freely that abundant life He has planned for me.

I am going to do my best to get out of my own way and allow myself to experience this amazing truth! He is risen, indeed!