Tuesday's List: 100!

Today is a milestone. Well, sort of. This marks my 100th blog post, and in honor of this momentous occasion, I have compiled a list of 100 things that make me happy (besides Matt and Avery in general). 

1. Raisinettes
2. Cupcakes with lots of frosting
3. Thin crust pepperoni and black olive pizza
4. Chuy's
5. Sonic Route 44 Coke
6. Puppy snuggles
7. Brightly colored pens
8. A perfectly balanced checkbook
9. Cinnamon Bun Indulgence cappuccino from Buccee's
10. Sleeping in
11. Campmeeting
12. Folded/put away laundry
13. Singing around a bonfire
14. Rocking a baby to sleep
15. Broadway musicals
16. Ranger games
17. Neighborhood walks
18. Garage sales
19. Disney World
20. Fireworks
21. Singing in the car
22. Naps during a thunderstorm
23. Bubble baths
24. Family dinners at my parents'
25. Dangly earrings
26. Brightly colored scarves
27. Flip flops
28. New York City 
29. Mowing the yard
30. Winning a soccer game
31. Loaded mashed potatoes
32. Mario Party
33. Hobby Lobby
34. Pay day
35. Chick flicks
36. Movie theater popcorn (with extra butter)
37. Drive-In Movie Theaters
38. Organization
39. Mindless "literature"
40. Logic puzzles
41. Pedicures
42. Piano sightreading
43. Christy Nockels' voice
44. Hoodies
45. Jeans 
46. Chick-Fil-A
47. Board games
48. Non-chain coffeehouses
49. Road trips
50. Real Simple magazine
51. Caedmon's Call
52. Turtleneck sweaters
53. Paper clips
54. Post-It notes
55. To Do lists
56. HGTV
57. Seasons of Friends on DVD
58. Jigsaw puzzles
59. Canasta
60. God's grace
61. Bike rides
62. Cereal
63. Blue Bell ice cream
64. Eating an entire pint of Ben and Jerry's in one sitting
65. Weddings
66. Blog/Facebook comments
67. Pete's Piano Bar
68. Catching up with old friends
69. Looking at childhood pictures
70. Airplane rides
71. Ikea
72. OPI nail polish
73. Excel spreadsheets
74. Kakuro puzzles
75. Planners
76. The first day of school
77. The last day of school
78. Coed softball games
79. Karaoke
80. Pink cotton candy
81. Playing with Avery
82. Containers
83. Getting flowers "just because"
84. Peanuts in the shell
85. Texas Roadhouse rolls and butter
86. Bridezillas (the TV show)
87. The salsa from my mom's elementary school (the CBI class makes it and sells it)
88. Christmas lights
89. Performing on stage
90. Serendipity Frozen Hot Chocolate
91. Snow days
92. Pandora radio
93. Babies in big bows
94. Bright pink
95. Breakfast for dinner
96. Nonfat White Chocolate Mocha (with whipped cream)
97. Chicken fingers
98. Tubing on the lake
99. Zebra print
100. Avery's smile when we pick her up after school

I'm in a better mood just reading that list. Happy Tuesday!

Tuesday's List: All-Time Favorite Movies

Today's list is All-Time Favorite Movies. (Movies that I qualify as favorites are those that I can- and DO- watch over and over again.) I'm about to reveal my absolute lameness, but I'm okay with that.

Beauty and the Beast

This movie just makes me happy. I used to watch it over and over just so I could sing along with Belle at the top of my lungs. I even had super-cool Belle pajamas when I was seven, and let me tell ya, I rocked those pajamas and wore them until they pretty much fell apart. I was that cool. Don't be jealous.

You've Got Mail

How can you not love a beautiful rivalry-turned-romance movie? Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan go together like apples and peanut butter. (Well shoot, now I'm hungry.)

That Thing You Do

This movie is so underrated. It's got fun music, is set in the 60s, stars Tom Hanks (love him!), and has a super sweet love story. Go watch it. You'll love it.

The Wedding Planner

This movie provided many a night of distraction during college when I was supposed to be writing papers. I can quote almost the entire movie. I can't tell you what most of my writing assignments were about. You've gotta get your priorities straight, right? (Side note: I had a fantastic GPA, so it obviously didn't hurt too much.) Plus, Matthew McConaughey is hot. The end.

Romy and Michele's High School Reunion

Ah, Lisa Kudrow, people don't give you enough credit. Matt finally watched this movie with me about a year ago because he wanted to find out why I loved it so much. He still doesn't know.

Newsies

10th grade. Choir trip. Newsies sing-along. Dorks? Yes. So much fun? Absolutely. I'm a sucker for musicals, especially ones that feature cute singing and dancing boys. Hello, Christian Bale, forget Batman. You should be in more musicals. I'm just saying.

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

Did I mention that I have a huge crush on Matthew McConaughey? Well, I should tell you that I also have a girl-crush on Kate Hudson. LOVE HER. And that yellow dress is gorgeous.

While You Were Sleeping

I cannot tell you how much I love this movie. About five years ago, I tried to find it so I could finally add it to my dvd collection, but I was completely out of luck. It wasn't in stores anywhere, and I couldn't even find it online. My little brother found it for me for Christmas though. I cried. And then I watched the movie again and cried some more. Seriously, this story is so sappy sweet and it gets me every. single. time.

Remember the Titans

Denzel Washington + inspirational sports movie = WIN.

Okay, so you probably noticed a trend (and an obvious lack of film sophistication). I love am obsessed with chick flicks. I admit it. What are your favorites? Get the blog button and instructions here and join in! 

Tuesday's List: Spring Wish List

Today's list is spring wish list. I'm a pretty content person, and I know I've been blessed beyond belief. BUT. Here are some things I wouldn't mind having:

1. A cruise. Matt. Me. No cooking (buffets!) or cleaning. Sleeping in. Reading by the pool. Offshore excursions. Aaah, I want a vacation. 

2. Living room furniture. Ours is a little on the, uh, worn side. Not to mention that our sofa is just a piece from a sectional (and I don't have the rest of it). We currently have said sofa, a big circle chair (that I can't wait to move into our bedroom as a reading chair), and an ottoman. We need more seating. And, designer opinion aside, I want it to all match, dangit.

3. New exterior paint trim. When we built our house I got to pick all the colors of everything. It was awesome. What wasn't so awesome was that our lovely (note the sarcasm) homebuilder neglected to tell us that we picked the exact same brick color as our next door neighbors. That might not be such a huge deal if we hadn't also picked the same floorplan. Yeah. So in order to not have absolutely identical houses right next to each other, we changed our brick color. No big deal. Except. When we changed the brick color they wouldn't let us change the trim color, which no longer matched our new brick. So we were left with a pretty terrible combination of brick and trim. Matt's volunteered to paint this spring/summer, so you'd better believe that I'm taking him up on that.

4. Computer chair. I'm currently using a folding chair from Ikea. No bueno. Here's what I want. Isn't it cool?!?

5. Patio furniture. Well, really we need an actual patio first (vs. just a porch). This is a long-term project we have planned, and it will be so stinking cool. While we're at it, maybe we should put up a 12-foot screen in our backyard to keep our nosy back neighbors from watching us every time we're outside. It's creepy. 

The cruise and the patio are a tad out of reach for us at the moment, but I'm thinking the others are just on the horizon. Thank you Uncle Sam for our higher-than-expected tax return.

What's your list? Link up (click on the logo at the top for instructions) and join the list-making frenzy! 

Tuesday's List: Typical Grocery List

Typical Grocery List

Okay, so my grocery list is usually dependent on that week's menu, but here are the items we buy on a regular basis:

Costco:

• Bananas
• Frozen vegetables (spinach, green beans, corn, peas [for Avery and Matt only. eww.], broccoli)
• Baby carrots
• Salad (you know that huge box of organic salad? Yeah, we buy that)
• Salad dressing (you need a lot of this when you buy that much salad...)
• Tortilla chips/salsa
• Milk
• Cheese (we go through shredded cheese like nobody's business)
• Eggs
• Bread
• Ground turkey
• Frozen chicken breasts
• Diapers
• Wipes
• Formula
• Dog food (two 50-lb dogs eat a lot)

Kroger/HEB/Sprouts:

• Crescent rolls/biscuits 
• Cereal
  
• Ground beef
• Produce (cilantro, tomatoes, onions, apples, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes)
• Crackers (oh my goodness, those new Special K ones are amazing and I'm a sucker for Wheat Thins)
• Pasta/sauce (yeah, I should make my own sauce, but I don't. sorry.)
• Rice
• Whatever else we need for specific recipes and whatever I have good coupons for that match up with store specials. 

What's your typical grocery list? Join the list of list-makers here.

Tuesday's List: Go-to Dinners

Feel free to join in the list-making frenzy by clicking on the linky above for instructions. Today's list is Go-To Dinners (i.e. the family favorites you go to in a bind). Let's begin!

Disclaimer: I have no creative recipes to share because if I'm in that much of a bind, it's so easy you don't even need a recipe.

1. Breakfast for dinner: I actually usually plan for this once a week, so I don't know if it really classifies for the category, but it's just so stinkin' easy! Scramble some eggs, bake some bacon (extra extra crispy-- yum!), throw some biscuits in the oven, and bam! Instant breakfast dinner. Oh, and sometimes I make pumpkin pancakes. I'm that good.

2. Smashwiches and soup, chips, or whatever we have left in the kitchen: I don't know if "smashwiches" is really a word, but that's what Matt calls a George-Foreman-grilled sandwich. 

3. Grilled chicken and vegetables: Marinate or season some grilled chicken (massive bag from Costco, anyone?), throw it on the grill, heat up some frozen spinach/corn/broccoli/whatever. Fast, cheap, easy breezy.

4. Sonic/Chicken Express/Taco Bell/Chick-Fil-A: Okay, so these are our "in a super-bind" meals. Unfortunately, we've had to use these go-to options way too much over the past few weeks. Back to the menu planning next week! Phew!

Dessert: Chocolate chocolate chip cake. I can't even tell you how amazing this cake is. It's my all-time favorite, and if I'm feeling extra generous tonight, I'll even add the recipe.

What's your go-to recipe? I could (obviously) use some ideas!

Tuesday's List: Favorite TV Shows

It's that time again! Today's list is favorite TV shows and, well, I just don't really keep up with that many shows anymore. I'm kind of thankful for this fact though, and we're even giving up our satellite again when this contract is up. Here's my list anyway:

1. The Office: This show makes me laugh ridiculously hard. The characters are hilarious, the story lines are beautifully random, and the writing is just plain funny. This is probably the only show that Matt and I both love equally and actually watch on a regular basis. Brilliance.

2. Say Yes to the Dress: I can watch this show for hours, and I honestly don't know why. It's just a bunch of girls with outrageous budgets trying on wedding dresses at Kleinfeld. Whose idea was this?

3. Bridezillas: Again with the wedding shows. Here's another one I could easily get sucked into watching a mega-marathon of (much to my husband's chagrin). In fact, during my wedding planning days, I was "forbidden" to watch it because it gave me nightmares. And it's been three years since I planned a wedding...go figure.

4. Property Ladder: I secretly want to flip a house, so I live that dream vicariously through this show.

5. The Big Bang Theory: This show is so stinking funny and through it I can embrace my inner nerd. :) I actually don't even know when it come on TV, but I'm happy to just watch the episodes that Matt downloads to his mp3 player.

Past loves (honorable mention): Friends (classic), The O.C. (guilty pleasure), The Bachelor(ette) (Jason ruined it for me), Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice (just don't have time to follow a storyline)

Tuesday's List: Fall Fashion and Accessories

It's back! I'm still not overly excited about this week's list because I'm no fashionista, but here's my list of Fall Fashion & Accessories.

• Layering tees. I just stocked up on some J. Crew long-sleeved tees for this very purpose. They make spring/summer clothes last through fall.
• Scarves. Love love love.
• Ballet flats. I love heels, but they don't love me. Therefore, I love flats even more! Here are my favorites:
• Hoodies. I live in these after school, and they're pretty much my favorite item of clothing. I guess that's the tomboy in me that's never quite gone away.
• Turtleneck sweaters
• Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin Candles from Bath and Body Works. Those count as an accessory, right?

Speaking of candles, I scored a free Glade candle tonight at Walmart just by printing off this coupon. The coupon is for $3.50 off any Glade Home Fragrance item, and the 4 oz. candles were $2.25 at my local Walmart, thus leaving the $1.25 overage to help cover the dish soap that I so desperately needed. (p.s. Thanks, Brooke, for giving us some to hold us over!) And now my house smells like yummy apple cinnamon! Yay for fall!

Okay, it's your turn. What are your fall favorites?

Tuesday is officially list day.

So one of the blogs I follow does this, and I love her, so I'm stealing it. But before anyone cries foul, I'm giving credit to my source (my students would be so proud!). Here ya go, and it should link back to her site so you can play along. This week is favorite stores, so here I go...



Clothes:

• I'm not gonna lie, I get most of my clothes at Marshall's or Ross. I'm a cheapo and just can't stand to pay a lot for my clothes/shoes/purses. If you have the time, they actually have some pretty cute stuff.
• Target. (Did I mention I'm a cheapo?)
• White House Black Market. If I had money out the butt, this is where I would buy my entire wardrobe. It's all white, black, and gray, you say? I.do.not.care. Love it!
• New York and Company. They were supposed to get one of these at Uptown Village, and I'm pretty sure it fell through, so now I'm just sad.
  

Baby Clothes:

• Again with the Marshall's and Ross. They have tons of Carter's stuff and I love love love Carter's. Problem solved.
• Target. I get the cutest little sleepers there (yep, you know, feeties)
• Children's Place. Again with the cute clothes, and they usually have pretty good sale racks.
  

Groceries:

• If I didn't hate going to Waxahachie, I'd do all my grocery shopping at HEB. They have the best produce, and it's the next best thing to making the trek to Central Market.
• Costco. Frozen chicken breasts are pretty much a staple at our house, so I get ours here. I also love their organic milk, tortilla chips, guacamole, and other completely random items.
  
• Since I usually have to make a stop at the aforementioned store, I do my "smaller" grocery shopping at Target. It's not so bad, but their produce is pretty pathetic.
  

Home Decor:

• Hobby Lobby half-off sales...need I say more?
• Serendipity. Cutest store in town.
• (Ahem, Marshall's/Ross)

Okay, so that's all I've got. Show me your list!

I'm a sickie today, so I'm off to hopefully rest.