Sunday, September 05, 2010

a few of my favorite things: summer edition

I know I complained a lot about the heat this summer, but I did find a few things that made me happy despite the oppression, so I thought I would share them with you.


Cherry-Limeade Punch

I was pretty much obsessed with Sonic Happy Hour this year, so when I found this (very simple) recipe on Kelly's Korner recipe page, I knew it was the perfect way to get my cherry limeade fix at home. plus, it's really refreshing!

1 - 2L bottle of Sprite (I use Sprite Zero)
1 - bottle of maraschino cherries
1 - can of frozen limeade concentrate

pour all 3 items in a punch bowl and stir. I also add some ice and sliced limes.

Everytime I've served it, the first batch goes really quickly, so I normally have two or three of each on hand.




Zenni Optical

www.zennioptical.com

Where else can you get $8 prescription glasses (frames & lenses) ?!? We heard about it and were skeptical, but when we got 4 glasses in the mail for a total of $52, we were sold. You just have to have all of your prescription info and then you find frames you like and order them. It's so easy.




McDonald's Frappes

From their website: This is one frosty cup of love: the coffee-chocolate goodness of mocha blended with ice, topped with whipped cream. I couldn't have said it any better.




Netflix

You all know about netflix, but we had our first subscription this summer and really enjoyed it. We started out with a free month, and then just kept it active for a couple more. The fall is a lot busier than the summer (for us) so we are going to put a hold on our account - which is another great feature. We only get 1 dvd at a time, but we hardly watch those at all. the money is in the instant watch stuff, and thanks to our wii, we can watch it on our tv. because of these sweet amenities, we watched way too many episodes (I mean, seasons) of 24 this summer. it got kind of intense, so we had to take a break, but it was awesome!

Friday, September 03, 2010

House-a-versary

I think I made that word up, didn't I?

Like our friends, Abby & Currie, we also just celebrated our first year in our "new" house! Yes, it was one year ago (last week) that we drove from Greene County, Pennsylvania to St Louis, Missouri to Norman, Oklahoma. I had all 5 animals in the car with me, and the cats only stopped crying & yelling for about 3 out of the 20 hours. (it was awful) We stayed the night with our wonderful friends in St Louis and I remember not wanting to leave their house the next morning. I was eager to get to our house, but it was unfamiliar and no one was there waiting for us, so it was kinda sad. We had friends in St Louis, so why couldn't we just stay there?? But after delaying as long as possible, we began the drive southwest. The second half wasn't nearly as bad as the first. Boring, yes, but better. No major cities like Columbus, Indianapolis, or St Louis to drive through, and certainly no mountains like West Virginia or eastern Ohio. Just flat boring plains. And then we ran into a major thunderstorm. I think that is the reason Paisley is afraid of storms now. I am too. I think one of the weirdest sights was when we got to Tulsa and I saw a Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. I thought we must have made a wrong turn. A Hard Rock in Tulsa, Oklahoma? Oral Roberts wouldn't be happy about that. That was a nice diversion for my brain so I wasn't so obsessed and terrified about the torrential rain. and the screaming cats.

I was so happy when we finally reached our little abode. the garage was open and I pulled the car in to avoid getting too wet. I think the car has only been in there two times since then. ha! We unloaded the animals and slept on the bedroom floor. Home Sweet Home.



















We've done quite a few small updates to the house this year. And because I LOVE before & afters, I present these to you.

Front of house then:


















Front of house now:




















Living room then:


















Living room now:




















bedroom before:



















bedroom now:




















backyard then:



















backyard now: