Awkward + Awesome

So, some of the blogs I started following do a themed Thursday post called Awkward & Awesome. I've always thought themed posts for each day of the week were kind of lame, but this is one I've come to like because sometimes they really crack me up and you find out that you're not the only one that totally weird and awkward things happen to. It's also a fun way to reflect back on the week. There's so many little random things that happen daily, that you would otherwise completely forget about {which I am known to do quite often} and having a place to write them all down, I think, is pretty darn cool. You can read back, years from now and laugh at all the best awkward/awesome things that happened in your life.

So let's get down to it!


Awkward:

1. Trying to take self-portraits of yourself to post to your blog. Ha, I've been doing this for the past couple of days and it is definitely very awkward. Or maybe I just have an awkward face. Or maybe I just suck at taking self-portraits. But taking self-portraits is weird anyways. Trying to get the right angle and make the right face and get the right pose. Taking a gazillion pics only to delete all but 2 or 3 of them. Awkward and annoying. Maybe I need a tripod...

2. Walking around with little flecks of black stuff on your cheeks... stupid clumpy mascara.

3. One of your dogs getting sick and having diarrhea all over the place. Not fun! {And she's actually not my dog, but I take care of her so much that she practically is mine.} The first night she got sick, I didn't think it was that serious so I didn't lock her away in the kennel. The next morning we woke up to a living room soiled with nasty dog poo. Yikes! I went back to bed, without cleaning a thing because hey, she's not my dog. I had to notify the roommate {who was supposed to be at home that night because he knew she was sick, but he decided not to come home at all!} and made him get a steam cleaner. Luckily, he was done before I was on my way out to Houston, so we avoided confrontation. Still awkward though. And gross.

4. Having to clean said dog's ass for a week straight. And take her outside every 20 minutes. So glad that's over!

5. Guys trying to impress chicks, only to make themselves look ridiculous. We had a friend over and on the way up to the apt we met some random girls that our friend invited up. The friend went down to the grass right below our balcony and asked me to throw him the football so he could toss it around with one of the chicks. So, I throw the football down from the balcony, he tries to be cool and kick it... only both of his feet come out from under him and SPLAT! He completely missed the football and fell straight onto his back. Awkward and awesome at the same time. Score!

6. Having your man fight your cat fight battles. On the last episode of the Real Housewives of Orange County, Vicki's man started a cat fight with Tamra over her giving Vicki "the evil eye" and then he acted like a total jerk about it, trying to instigate a fight. Like, really? Is this something grown men do? How awkward for not only him, but poor Heather! All she wanted was a fun name-changing party, but she got a lot of unwanted drama instead. And for Vicki to think it was okay and end a friendship over all that nonsense? What a bunch of crap, I tell you! It was awkward, but still fun to watch. RHOC is one of my guilty pleasures. Don't judge!

Awesome:

1. Waking up at 7am this morning for no reason at all. Actually there was a reason, but I didn't intend to wake up quite that early. Glad I did though, because I got to watch the news while anxiously awaiting the verdict on the SCOTUS ruling of ACA {the Affordable Care Act}. SCOUTS upheld the law, which is a truly historic and meaningful piece of legislation, and also a great victory for the president and the country. So happy to witness history in the making!

2. Getting to play with these precious pups of mine!

3. Having a sweet little make-out with my honeybun before hittin' the road. I won't bore you with the gushy, delicious details. ;)

4. Getting yo hurrrrrr did! Roots, vamoose! I love getting my hair done. Hello, highlights! You are beautiful. Blonde once again. Best. Thing. Ever. We all know blondes have way more fun. ;)

5. Stopping at a gas station in the middle of nowhere with a cute guy working the register. He said "Howdy!" when I walked in and as I was leaving he smiled a sly little smile and said "have a good'n." Oh, how I love sweet country boys with their southern twang that makes my little ol' heart sang! Must'a been the newly highlighted 'do. Told ya blondes have more fun!

6. Having friends that throw parties and give you diamonds. Holy cow, where do you get friends like that, you ask?! Orange County, that's where! Heather from the RHOC had champagne filled glasses given to all the ladies at her name-changing party and each one had a diamond in it. Only one of them was real. Freakin' Tamra got the real diamond! Jesus woman, you just got a HUGE rock of an engagement ring, in freakin' Tahiti no less, and now you get a real diamond in your champagne glass too?! Life's just not fair. Not fair at all. 

7. Relaxing on the couch with a glass of wine, your best bud and the latest episode of True Blood. Can't beat that. I wanna do bad things with yooouuuuuuu!

Hope your Thursday was a good one!

                                                                                                       

                                                                                         

blog headache

Oh. My. Goodness.

I have literally been working on my blog all freakin day! I think my head is going to explode. I only took breaks to eat and to take the darn dogs out... Okay, okay I also went to Target and HEB for groceries, but that's not what matters here.

What matters is that I finally figured out how to make a decent blog header! And I found some really cool fonts to download so now I can use them in all types of awesome places.

I swear I've been starring at my computer screen for so long I think my eyes are fried. Seriously.
But I've got a spiffy new header and that's all that really counts right? Eyes. Pffssshhh. Who needs 'em. {Just kidding. I definitely need them!}

I'm not completely 100% happy with the header just yet, but as with everything else on my little bloggy blog, it's still a work-in-progress.

I spent hours trying to read tutorials and I found some great ones, but the one I wanted the most is a little outdated I guess, because the website it said to use no longer has the "HTML only mode" anymore. Which was a total bummer because it would have enabled me to changed the font of my blog to whatever my little heart desires, instead of having to choose from the entirely way too small and lame category of original blogger fonts. But, I'm determined to figure it out! You won't stump me for too long, you stupid little font-thing-a-ma-jig, you! I'll get 'cha.

I also had to download a new application in order to run Gimp {a photo editing software tool} but every time I tried to use the text editor, X11 {or XQuartz, the app} would "unexpectedly quit." So trying to figure out why it kept crashing was a real drag. After way too much searching and frustration and uninstalling and reinstalling, I then realized I needed to log out and log back in to my computer. Then X11/XQuartz would run properly and Gimp wouldn't shut down in the middle of me editing stuff. Geez Louise!

Next came the hard part - figuring out how to use Gimp in the first place! Holy jeebus! Why can't they make this stuff more user-friendly?! I've finally got the hang of it though, so hopefully future editing will go a little more smoothly.

Ahhh, the trials and tribulations of a newbie blogger. Fun stuff, I tell you. Fun stuff.

Now, I think it's time to hit the sack like this guy:

What a life. He's got it so rough, doesn't he? :)

                                                                                                      

                                                                                 

{P.S. I also figured out how to make a signature and how to get rid of the stupid outline around the pics and stuff. Pretty neat, huh? I think so too.}

free stuff, man!

there's a huge giveaway going on over at Living In Yellow, so go enter to win!

twenty items will be given away to one lucky reader. yup, just one! how cool is that?

items will range in variety from gift cards, prints, jewelry, cards, a surprise gift bag, and some ad space.

so what are you waiting for? go visit this site to win.

monkey business

so, last monday i made a little trip down to houston to hang with my ankle biter cousins, my cool older cousin, and the most awesome-est aunt ever.

we played wii, watched movies and the real housewives of new york & orange county, made brownies and pineapple upside down cake, ate pizza, went swimming, shopped at the galleria, had fits over chocolate milk and slushies, jumped on the trampolines at sky zone, and played in the jungle gym at the stomping grounds.

i wish i would've snapped more pictures, because these make me crack up!

{left to right: havva, connor, meva. bottom: noah}

havva really makes me crack up with her speedo goggles and toothy smile! she has super duper long eyelashes and it looks so cute with the hot pink goggles smashed up against her face. she looks like a cute little sea monster. makes my heart melt!

i should have gotten a better close-up, but there were tons of little splish-splashers all over the place and i didn't want my phone to get wet or accidentally dropped in the pool. cuz that would be no bueno.

it sure was an eventful week! i love getting to spend time with family. especially since i feel like i have such a small one.

and getting to hang out with the cousins is always fun. they're getting so big and way smarter than you think. they also remember every.word.you.say. they don't forget a thing!

so don't make promises you can't keep around those munchkins. because they will hold ya to it!

these are the super awesome coasters that my cool younger-but-older-than-the-ankle-biters cousin, connor, made for me out of leather.

fancy, don't cha think? i love them. he's so crafty and talented. what an awesome cousin. love ya, dude!


after the week in houston, i came home on thursday night to watch game 7 of the finals with my man and a house full of people - which i was not expecting {thanks for the heads up, babe} and i'm sad to say that okc lost, but i am glad to say that lebron finally has a championship ring after 9 long years. so glad that people can shut up now! way to go lebron. they can suck it!

after the game, i had a ridiculous headache. but my friends and wonderful boyfriend managed to drag me out of the house to go downtown for drinks. i felt much better after a couple drinks {who doesn't, right?} and the night ended up being a pretty epic one.

it also ended with zach and kristi eating a bratwurst from a street vendor. and zach {who doesn't even like sauerkraut} chowed down on the most sloppiest, but tastiest sauerkrauty, mustardy, ketchupy jalapeño bratwurst ever. maybe it was because it was 2 am. but holy jeebus that thing was delicious!

that boy was leaned up like a cholo on the side of a parked van, while he scarffed that thing down, with sauerkraut and mustard and ketchup all over his face and dripping onto the sidewalk. for some reason though, he didn't finish the last bite and chunked it up in the air behind the van.

i can only imagine the poor sap who got beamed in the head with that mess! {everyone stands around in the middle of 6th street after the bars close and they just hang out. eat food. stumble around drunkenly. you know.} and oh my gosh, why in the hell i didn't snap a picture of that lovely face smothered in condiments, i'll never know. must'a been the al-al-al-al-al-alcohol.

oh well, i'm sure there's more of that to come in the future. reason #438054854302 why you must carry your camera with you at all times. lesson learned.

it's saturday night, which means tomorrow in sunday. sunday funday. tonight though, it's movie night with the roomies. :)

hope your weekends are fabulous!

i have the best dad in the world

{some of the greatest memories i have are the ones i share with you}

dear dad,

thank you... for everything you've ever given me! 

thank you for teaching me, supporting me, inspiring me, encouraging me, and loving me.

thank you for always being there to lend a hand, make me laugh, and give me the best advice. 

thanks for always guiding me in the right direction and thanks for always making sure i'm okay.

you're the most intelligent, funny, tough, loving, and exceptional dad i could ever ask for &

i am so lucky to be your daughter.

i'll forever be indebted to you because you gave me the best gift of all, life. 

happy father's day. :)

i love you to the moon and back!

love,
nicole

sunshine stylin'

i think every girl needs a few pairs of great sunglasses! but, you don't need to spend a fortune just because you want something designer. expensive sunglasses do not mean better protection for your eyes. you're really only paying for the name, and if you like to shop smart, then you shop like me.

these days, everyone's obsessed with ray-ban, oakley, etc... which i must admit, i'm a fan of ray-ban too, but i would be really upset if i spent $150 bucks on sunglasses that i ended up breaking, scratching, or losing. last summer i had a friend who knocked my sunglasses off the chair and onto some rocks and he cracked them! they were my favorite pair of sunglasses ever! but thankfully they only cost me $16 and he was able to buy me another pair. then i ended up scratching the new pair on something in my purse... so as you can see, i haven't had much luck with sunglasses lately.

which is why i love finding affordable ones, just in case there's another unexpected mishap.


big chunky ones are good for a lazy day at the pool, or out shopping.

i like these from steve madden.

aviators are an absolute must! they're my favorite style of sunglasses. i don't think i could live without them!

these are from steve madden too.

happy {thrifty} shopping, everyone! :)

2012 nba finals

tonight was game 1 of the finals!

the game was in oklahoma and durantula (kevin durant) was on fire!

okc beat the heat 105-94.

i really like lebron and it sucks that he doesn't have a ring yet, but durant is a longhorn and i'll always root for texas players. so needless to say, i'm going for the oklahoma city thunder.

plus, kevin durant is such a great guy.

and an amazing basketball player. he's got a killer jump shot.

he's only been in the league for four years and okc is already on their way to the national title.
it's so exciting!

can't wait for the game on thursday night. :)

{durant & bun b}

sosie & stella dot

so i was broswing pinterest a little while ago, and i stumbled upon this cute little website, which has some wonderful clothing.

this shirt is gorgeous! i love the open arm sleeves and the color is perfect for summer.

what's great about this website is that it has cute summer clothes, but it's not going to burn a whole in your wallet. it's affordable, and not as expensive as places like anthropologie. 

don't get me wrong, anthropologie is a great store, but being the broke college girl that i am... i can't always afford to go shopping there. i love finding places that have similar clothing, at a price that my bank account won't suffer from. 

i absolutely love this color! coral is one of my favorites. 

bright orange is another great color for summer too. these shirts would be a good item to beat the heat in as well. like i've said before, texas summers can be brutal!

here's another website i found today, thanks to a friend on facebook. 

i am so in love with these stone earrings! oh, i can't wait to get some.

finding these charming online stores really makes me wish there was a physical store i could go to. i always get hesitant about buying stuff online because i'm such a picky shopper that i want need to try things on before i buy them. i don't want to deal with the hassle of ordering something, waiting a week or two to get it, and then being disappointed and having to return it.

but, shopping at the mall sucks these days so it looks like i don't have many other options. the good thing though, is that if you find just a couple of good online stores to buy from, that's all you may need. :)

true blood!

waiting SUCKS!!! but, the waiting part is finally over because season 5 of true blood starts tonight!

{i love this song! it's possibly the greatest intro ever.}

if you've never watched true blood before, you're sorely missing out! more than 10 million people have been turned and you must be living under a rock if you haven't seen it yet. or you just don't have hbo. one of the two. but, if you don't have hbo then it's definitely time to rent the dvds and catch up so you can watch the new season!

in true blood, vampires not only exist, but the whole world knows about them. they've finally been able to "come out of the coffin" thanks to a japanese scientist's invention of synthetic blood, true blood. they're now able to coexist with humans without wanting to devour them all to pieces and they don't have to hide in the shadows anymore. for the most part, humans have been removed from the menu, however, many people remain apprehensive about vampires living amongst them.

sookie stackhouse is a local barmaid in the southern town of bon temps, louisiana and she understands what it's like to be an outcast. she's burdened with the curse of being able to hear everyone's thoughts. but she's one of the few open to the thought of living with vampires. she's actually very intrigued by them.

she's especially intrigued with the handsome bill compton (partly because she can't read his thoughts, which is a nice escape), who's a 173 year old vampire that lives up the road in an old mansion. she's drawn to the mystery that surrounds bill and they develop a loving relationship that will be put to the test.

tara is sookie's best friend (and she's absolutely hilarious) and jason (her brother) is absolutely dumb and gorgeous. lafayette also works at the bar with sookie and he's a great character too.

eric is another vampire who lusts for sookie, and in later seasons when bill and sookie can't seem to have a relationship without sookie almost being killed several times, eric swoops in to try to steal her.

sookie is constantly finding herself in the middle of trouble, and the werewolf, alcide, makes sure to look after her as well. there's a very interesting and thrilling love triangle, and you never know who she's going to pick.

true blood is definitely chock full of hot guys all vying to make sookie their own. it's part mystery, part fantasy, part comedy, and all wildly imaginative. it makes for great entertainment. :)

but it's not all romancy, there's definitely lot's of drama and blood and gore to go around, so even guys will love the show. plus, there's lot's of sex and nudity. so i don't think you need to say much else to get your guy interested in watching it! what guy doesn't love blood and guts and nude chicks!? ;)

the show has a great cast of characters. i think each one plays their parts so well and it gives the show such a great feel. the casting directors did an amazing job. i just love every single actor they picked. sookie, jessica, jason, tara, andy, sam, hoyt, eric, pam, bill, lafayette, arlene, terry, alcide, russell, luna... and everyone in between. they're all amazing.

it's unlike anything else on tv. it's tantalizing and enticing. it sucks you in and all you want to do is watch it again and again! the fun horror of true blood is more macabre, more perverse, and not to mention gorier than most shows of its kind to date. it's addictive and can make you obsessive, almost as if you were on V too! (you gotta watch it if you don't get it!)

{all truebies, vampires, and fang-bangers welcome!}

you know, i'm so excited about true blood starting tonight i think i might just start over from season one and watch as many episodes as i can! i hope y'all enjoy the new episode tonight just as much as i will. ;)

foster the people

on tuesday night i went to the foster the people concert at the backyard! it was such a great show, i almost like them better live.

our friend tommy had an extra ticket and he originally invited zach to go with him, but zach had to work at 5 am the next morning, so tommy asked me to go. heck yeah i would go! there's no arm twisting needed there. :)

the backyard is an outdoor venue in bee cave and i've never been to an outdoor concert before, so i was a little worried about how good it would sound. but ftp did an amazing job. they sounded pretty awesome and i was so impressed.

the only downer was that zach wasn't there too, but i'm definitely excited to see more shows there with him in the future. i saw that incubus and young the giant are playing there on october 1st... oh it would be so fun to go! i guess we'll see if we can get some tickets when they go on sale. :)

the doggies

this is felix, the rottweiler mix.

he's literally the. best. dog. ever. such a sweetheart! i love this dog to the moon and back. and i love when he yawns because he makes the cutest sounds that i like to mimic. 

and when he hears me and zach talking in the morning after just waking up, i love that he gives us both kisses and stretches out over both of us while we scratch him. it's the best way to wake up. :)

man, this little booger has so much energy! he can swim and run and swim and run and play and swim and run for days. when he gets pooped out, he'll nap for an hour and he's ready to go again! he's full of so much life, that's for sure.

this is zoey, the english bulldog.

she's my little lovebug! she's always following me around the house, always right there next to me. she likes to lay on the couch, all snuggled up with her head nestled into my arm and shoulder (i think felix gets jealous sometimes, because they're always fighting for my attention and couch space!).


i love how sweet she is. and she's so playful and full of energy! that girl can run her little butt off and it's gotta be the cutest thing ever. :) you'd think she'd be slow, but dang she's fast! it's hilarious when she chases me around the house. it makes me laugh so much.


these dogs mean the world to me. i'm so lucky to have two great dogs that have so much personality and spunk. they always make my day. :)

cherry peach & lemon cake trifles

                                                                                        {recipe & photos from cannelle et vanille}                                                      

i saw this recipe for these gorgeous trifles the other day and my mouth has been watering for one ever since! they would be the perfect treat on a hot summer day, just like today.

texas heat can be brutal. 

the cherries look absolutely amazing! i can't wait to make this for my babe and i. zachary doesn't have much of a sweet-tooth, but i'm almost positive the peaches and cherries will do him in. ;)

lemon sponge cake:

    3 large eggs, separated

    1/2 a cup of natural cane sugar, divided

    1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

    1 teaspoon of finely grated lemon zest

    1/4 teaspoon of fine sea salt

    2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted

    1/3 cup of millet flour

    1/3 cup of almond flour

preheat oven to 350F. line a 9-inch cake pan with parchment and grease the sides with butter.

in the bowl of a mixer, combine the egg yolks, 1/4 cup of natural cane sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon zest. whip on high until they are thick and pale, about 5 minutes.

in a second bowl, whisk together the egg whites with the sea salt. when the egg whites are whipped and start forming peaks, gradually add in the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar in three batches.

fold a third of the egg whites into the egg yolk batter until they are well mixed. fold in the rest of the egg whites being very careful not to deflate the batter. fold in the melted butter, millet, and almond flour carefully. pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.

cool for 15 minutes, the invert, and let it cool completely.

cut it into 1/2-inch cubes.

vanilla custard:

    2 cups of whole milk

    1/2 a cup of natural cane sugar

    1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped

    6 egg yolks

    1 cup of unsweetened coconut milk

    4 teaspoons of cornstarch

in a medium saucepan, heat the whole milk, half of the sugar, and the vanilla bean over medium high heat until it simmers.

meanwhile whisk together the egg yolks, the rest of the sugar, and cornstarch until it's smooth. add the coconut milk and whisk.

add a bit of the warm milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture while whisking. add all the milk and whisk. return the custard base to the saucepan and cook until it thickens (whisking constantly). Remove from heat and pour into a clean bowl to cool slightly. you can use the custard while it's warm or chill it in the refrigerator. cover with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic wrap touches the custard.

Assemble the trifle:

   8 ounces of Rainier cherries, pitted

   2 saturn peaches, pitted and sliced

   1 cup of heavy cream, whipped

   2 cups of vanilla custard

   2 cups of diced lemon sponge cake

layer the ingredients amongst 4 glasses & serve immediately. :)

hope you enjoy!

blog numero tres!

goodness gracious! this must be like the third blog that i've started... but this time around i am determined to keep up with it!


i always get busy and forget about my blog, or i complain that i don't have enough pictures, or i get frustrated when i try to do some photo editing for a cool blog header and can't figure out how to create exactly what i want.

but, today is different. i finally have some extra time on my hands. i took a deep breath and and sat down to figure out how to make the dreaded blog header. it actually wasn't very complicated at all, once i gave myself the chance and patience to google a few things and download picasa. :) i read a quick tutorial and used some pics i've been saving and wha-la, new blog header! it's not quite what i want yet, but i'm still in the process of deciding what that is exactly...


i've also got a very cool nikon coolpix s8200 that i've had for a little while now, but just haven't been taking it everywhere with me like i should (but i am so going to start doing that!). 


anyway, hope you guys enjoy my little blog and the neat things i want to share with you. :)