Budgets and Spring

Fletcher and I have been getting ready to do some house hunting. In order to do that we are going to have to start running on a tight budget. It's not going to be fun. We are pretty used to buying things and eating out a lot. Here lately we've started eating at home all the time and sticking to our grocery budget. The real task now is going to be to stick to a budget on extra things, like coffees, cds, movies and such. I think it will be good for us though to really learn some discipline in the area of saving money. I'm going to have to find some budget friendly recipes to try. :)

Also, in the spirit of spring being here we have started spring cleaning. It's not the funnest but it will be worth it when it's over with.

5

5 blogs I'm loving:

1. Oh, Hello Friend...
Some of the cutest and most inspiring posts I've seen.

2. Joy, The Baker
I absolutely love Joy and her awesome stories in each post. Not to mention the yummy desserts!

3. Post Grad Hair Cut
I have found so many awesome things through this blog. The links are great!

4. Butter + Cream
I've just recently found this blog, so far I like what I see! So many recipes I want to try.

5. Orangette
I looove Molly! She is so nice and one of the most genuine people I've met and we have a lot in common.

Happy Friday!

Down And Out Chic

I recently won a giveaway on the lovely Homemade Grits.

I won some very pretty vintage inspired earrings! Now, my ears are not pierced but I plan on using them for something else super crafty! :)

The earrings are from an etsy shop called Down And Out Chic.


My photos are terrible and do not do justice to how cute they are!

The woman behind Down And Out Chic also has a blog.

This is the second giveaway I've won recently, I'm feeling lucky. I'd love to do a giveaway sometime but I think I'll need more readers for that.

dresses and suits

This past summer I started wearing shorts and dresses. I hadn't worn shorts since I was in elementary school. I've always been made fun of because I have super skinny, white legs. Well, last summer it got really hot and I just didn't care anymore and guess what....no one made fun of my legs (with the exception of my family and husband).

One of my friend's is getting married next month and I need a dress! I've picked out a few that I really like now I just have to decide on one.

This one is from Hollister



These 2 are from Forever 21.


This one is from Wet Seal. I think it's my favorite.
What do you think?

On another note, it's swimsuit season!! I've been scouting out some suits and I've found a few I like so far, but I'm pretty picky when it comes to swimsuits.



I like these 2 from Forever 21.



These are from Aerie

-M

Chocolate Gravy

Click on picture to view source.

Chocolate gravy is something that my family has grown up on. My mom makes it for us usually on holidays when my brothers are in town or sometimes just because. I'm not sure where chocolate gravy originated but who cares?! It's amazing. It's almost like dessert for breakfast. Essentially, it is milk, cocoa powder, flour and sugar, we all add butter after it has been served but I'm sure that it could be added to the mix while it is cooking. My mom's recipe is so simple, and it doesn't need to be changed one bit if you ask me but, I do think there could be some vanilla added or possibly heavy cream instead of milk. I've been wanting to tinker with it but I just haven't had a chance yet. Other recipes I've found can vary a bit when it comes to the ingredients but I'm sure that they are all just as delicious. We always have our chocolate gravy with biscuits and some of my family likes to dip their bacon and eggs in it too. I've yet to try those and I probably never will but hey, they like it a lot. I'm content with my golden, fluffy biscuits and my yummy, buttery, chocolate gravy.

Orangette

Tonight, Fletcher and I went to Tulsa to a book signing. We went to meet Molly Wizenberg, the creator of Orangette, contributor to Bon Appetit, and the author of "A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table."
I just got the book a week or so ago so I haven't quite finished it yet but I'm about halfway through and I've read many of her blog posts and all I can do is compare my story to hers. I thought maybe it was coincidental or maybe it just seemed so similar because it was just me wanting it to be but as we were sitting there tonight listening to her talk about her life and tell her story, Fletcher kept looking over at me. I couldn't help but smirk, I knew what he was thinking, our stories are very similar. He had even noticed it, it wasn't just in my head. He pointed it out afterwords while we waiting to meet her. Not only did she realize she loved food and wanted to work with it while she was still in college, she had thought she wanted to be a chef (I've recently looked into that career field), she also didn't pursue a career in what she majored in while at college (There's no way I will be using my degree, I don't think at least). There are many other things we share like our love of France, though I've never been it's always been a dream of mine, I love the sophistication and the generally love of food they have. Also, I believe that food is to be shared with others that you truly care about and love. This is exactly what she believes too. It's pretty crazy actually. We got to meet her and talk to her a little bit and she gave me some good advice, she said that I have plenty of time to find my dream career and find my niche and that I should learn as much as possible along the way. This is really inspiring. I am going to continue on in my major of business and continue to learn about and enjoy food and everything else that I do. She was truly inspiring and I hope I can possibly continue to talk to her in some way or form in the future.

Anyway, so far I love her book. It's incredible. Each chapter is like a chapter of her life, she has a story behind each recipe in the book and she plays them out almost like you are just sitting right next to her having coffee with her and swapping stories. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has any kind of interest in food. Its a great read, lots of laughs and some tears but overall a great read.

The event we went to was put on my Book Smart Tulsa. It's a pretty cool little group. They've brought some big names through Tulsa this past year, such as Julie Powell (author of Julie & Julia). I'm still mad at myself for missing that. Anyway, check them out!

Milano

Milano cookies remind me of my wedding day. It's kind of weird because you would think that of all the things I remember from my wedding day it wouldn't be some random cookies that someone had left in my car from the day before. I had never had a Milano cookie before that day. I feel so deprived. I think the only reason I even tried them that day was because I was absolutely starving after the wedding. We had so many things to do and people to see we got none of our cake or candy (we had a candy table). We were so busy that day. We didn't get to actually eat any of our cake until our 1 year anniversary. We did get the small bites that we ate for pictures but that was nothing. Anyway, back to my amazing discovery, those cookies I had just found in my car that night became my favorite cookies, ever. I didn't know that a store-bought cookie could be so soft and moist with the perfect texture and amazing taste. I love the butteriness of the cookie and the creaminess of the milk chocolate on the inside. I've yet to venture outside of my milk chocolate comfort zone to try other flavors. Maybe someday I'll be able to pull myself away from my milk chocolate love but I just can't bring myself to cheat on them, yet.