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DIY Pottery Barn Chairs

I recently acquired some fabric from Wholeport.com. Remember my repainted Ashley Furniture dining chairs? You know, the ones I blogged about almost 4 years ago (!!!) with the intention of replacing the fabric (4 years ago)? It's finally time. The original fabric, all stained and faded and pilled and yucky.   Pica does not approve. Last year, I found some beautiful Pottery Barn cushions on clearance. They were perfect for our living room. Fancy! (Just ignore the dog hair. There really is no stopping Pica. When she gets excited, which is ALL THE TIME, the hair just explodes from her body.) Since our dining room and living room are side-by-side, I wanted to recover our dining chairs with fabric that would complement the Pottery Barn pillows. But it's not like I could just order matching fabric from them. Have you seen their prices? They charge $8.50 for sand! Luckily, Wholeport had exactly what I've been looking for. Living room cushions

Best Travel Site

I'm not supposed to be blogging right now, (that novel isn't going to write itself, after all) but I wanted to quickly share my favorite travel site. Have you tried the Google flight finding tool? I've loved it for a while, but only recently noticed this feature: THANK YOU, GOOGLE!!! Is that the coolest thing you've ever seen? The Google flight homepage automatically puts in my location (Albuquerque) and shows me everywhere in the entire world I can fly to, with the total cost of my roundtrip (or one way) airfare. The prices above are my options for ditching work today and hopping on a plane. Who'd have thought a last minute fare to Vegas could be so low? Then again, if I call in today, who else will help all the crazy parents who visit our office? It wouldn't be right.

Beware of Horny Birds

Have you ever seen the movie The Birds ? We took these photos at the Peel Zoo in Australia last year.   Call us crazy, but we decided not to enter. Remember when we visited Loreto ? Apparently, I'm a psychotic bird magnet. Wait...does that sentence imply that the birds are psychotic or that I am psychotic? Are there any grammar experts out there?

Run for Your Life!

Last week, I came home from work to discover that Sexy Nerd had a serious case of I-need-a-treadmill-right-now-or-I'll-go-crazy-itis. Nevermind that he never wants to take a walk with me. The idea had been planted in his mind and there was no getting around it. He'd chosen an inexpensive treadmill from Sears and was pacing the house, waiting for me to come home so we could go retrieve it. I did a little research first. The treadmill he'd chosen? According to online reviews, it was a 100% piece of junk. Sexy Nerd didn't care. He said the treadmill he'd really like is a NordicTrack, but that I'd never let him buy one because they're too expensive. Well, I found him a super deal on a top of the line NordicTrack, marked all the way down from $2000 to $250. (And don't try to blame the slim budget on me, Sexy Nerd. You think it's nuts to spend $2000 on a treadmill too, punk!) Despite the bargain, Sexy Nerd wanted nothing to do with the treadmill. I

Sending NAKED Emails

Although SN and I started out in a long-distance relationship, with me in New Mexico and him in Michigan, drinking that famous Flint water, we haven't spent much time apart since before our wedding 6 years ago, when I took a family reunion trip to the Seychelles and Paris without him. (He "had to work", but I think the idea of 3 weeks nonstop with my mom terrified him. To be fair, it was pretty scary!) Now, he has been gone on a business trip for nearly 2 weeks and I'm kinda starting to miss him. He says he misses me too. So, I decided to have some fun and send him the following email: Subject: Here are some NAKED photos for you Message: Be sure to delete these after you look at them. The photos, one titled "hubba hubba" and the other "you know you love it": "I ain't afraid to show it, show it, show it, show it." "I'm sexy and I know it." Yep, that is a 100% collar-free, naked Pica . Sexy Nerd&#

Puppy Tears

Jack Russell Terriers are known for their intelligence, and when Sexy Nerd left the house last week for a business trip, Pica knew exactly what his suitcase meant. She laid by the front door, whining, until I shooed her away. Even offering her a cookie did nothing to console the poor dog. I thought if I kept her away from the front door, she'd get distracted by something (a noise outside? a moth? a piece of dust?!) soon enough. Instead, she went straight to the garage door. Now, for my fellow South Park fans, you'll want to read this next part in the voice of Sexual Harassment Panda. I'm a saaaad Pica.

Tracy Arm Fjord

On our recent Alaskan cruise on the Oosterdam, Sexy Nerd and I were fortunate to visit the Sawyer Glacier in the Tracy Arm fjord, which was unlike anywhere we've ever been. More photos are coming, but I think this is a good one to share for now: All the dark spots on the ice? Seals! There must have been at least 100 of them, just lounging and showing off their rolls of flab for the tourists. The ship got us right up to the glacier. My photo makes the glacier seem somewhat puny, so look at it in comparison to those itty bitty (though actually big and mighty) seals. The ice really does look blue like in the photo. The color is caused by air trapped inside the ice. When a chunk breaks off ("calving", which we witnessed several times), the floating iceberg stays blue until the air escapes, which we were told is usually about 24 hours. I have many more photos to share, but it turns out that Windows 8 is a jerk and the "sort by date modified" option do

Cheesy Chili Dinner Waffles Recipe

This is one of our favorite dinners. How convenient that it also happens to be quick and easy! It's not the prettiest waffle around, though my blue Noritake Colorwave plate tried to fool you into thinking otherwise. This is a recipe you should bookmark. These chili-covered cornmeal waffles seem like the kind of meal you worked really hard on, even though they take no effort at all. Sexy Nerd is certainly impressed whenever he comes home to this dinner. *Snicker* The superstar of this meal is the cornmeal waffle, so feel free to use canned chili if you're crunched for time lazy. (No judgement!) If you're feelin' fancy though, I have a great chili recipe for you: LambAround's Easy Peasy Chili (serves 3) 1 can tomatoes with green chile 1 can white beans 3 Tbsp creamed corn 1/2 - 1 lb cooked ground beef (the amount depends on how carnivorous you're feeling) 1 diced bell pepper 1 diced white onion 1 diced garlic clove 1 dried red chili pepper

Something's Fishy in Seattle

My plan for today was to share a long, detailed Seattle story with you. However, I'm still sick (aaaargh!) so that post has been switched out with one that's shorter and faster to write so that I can get back to bed. A few days ago, I had a fever of almost 103F. Now, I have vertigo. It's worse than that though. It feels like I'm seasick (!!!) even though I haven't been anywhere near the ocean since last Sunday. The water wasn't even rough on our cruise. This is getting ridiculous. Anyway, Sexy Nerd and I love Seattle. Despite its rainy reputation, we're always fortunate to have the sun shining when we visit. We walk everywhere in Seattle and enjoy the unique shopping, museums, and restaurants. Albuquerque just doesn't measure up. One thing we do not love about Seattle, however, is the overwhelming number of homeless people. That's a very hard thing to write without seeming mean, but hear me out. There's someone passed out or panhandl

Eating Our Way Through Alaska

Sexy Nerd and I spent last week as guests on the Holland America Oosterdam, sailing roundtrip from Seattle with stops in Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, and Victoria. By the way, the name of the cruise ship is pronounced like 'Oh-sterdam', not 'Awst-erdam', like we'd been telling everyone. Whoops! We're cruiseaholics. This was our 8th cruise in the 5 years since we got married. The first thing I did when we got back home? Kiss Pica and Biscuit and look online for new cruise deals. The best part of taking a cruise? The food!! Here is how each day typically went: 8:30am - 9:30am : Breakfast in the main dining room My everyday order was juice, coffee, a chocolate croissant or two, an English muffin, a greek yogurt fruit parfait, a sliced banana with blueberries and, depending on how hungry I was, an omelet with all the fixings, french toast with strawberries, and/or a breakfast sandwich. The waiter would usually suggest I get some ham, bacon, and hash browns

Pretzel S'mores Recipe

We're overdue for a trip to Costco. While craving the sweet and salty yummyness that is s'mores with pink Himalayan sea salt , I opened our pantry door and discovered a horrible, terrible thing. No graham crackers! (As the very person who'd polished off the graham crackers a few days earlier, you wouldn't think I'd have been so surprised, but what can you do?) Instead of ignoring my s'mores craving in favor of, say, a stalk of celery, I improvised and created a new kind of s'more. Some (Sexy Nerd) will tell you it's better than the original. Others (me) will tell these new s'mores that they're cute, and even that they make a tasty snack, but not to bet on a recurring role in my kitchen. My heart belongs to graham. Pretzel S'mores Recipe Ingredients: (self explanatory, but I'll get questions if I leave this out!) Mini pretzels Chocolate chips Mini marshmallows Peanut butter (optional - this way is Sexy Ne

Menu for Sexy Nerd's Birthday Dinner

Thanks to everyone who offered recipe ideas for Sexy Nerd's birthday! I was having a tricky time deciding what to make, but luckily a great idea occurred to me. I asked him what he wanted! It's such a simple concept, right? Pretty! Do men appreciate pretty when it comes to their food? He said anything would be fine and that he's sure whatever I made would be delicious, which is sweet but also so very not helpful! After a little pestering, he decided on green chili chicken enchiladas. Here is the menu: Chicken Enchilada Casserole I plan to make the enchilada casserole using fresh green chili (one of the perks of living in Albuquerque) and this chicken recipe: Shredded Chicken for Enchiladas, Tostadas, Tacos... Chips and Black Bean and Corn Salad Dip Cheddar Chive Scones Which will be served with Super Easy and Delicious Zucchini Butter I was going to make these sweet potato fries as well, but sweet potatoes were not on sale t

Kitchen Door with Chalkboard Paint

I've been meaning to write a new blog post for a few days. With everything going on in my life right now, there's simply no time. By "everything", I mean the exact same routine as always. That sounds so much more lazy though! We did recently have our move to Omaha plans squashed (boo hoo) and my insomnia has been worse than usual over the past week, so I think I can get away with a blogging repost this week. No? There's never an excuse for a repost? But it's such a funny one! At least I'm being honest instead of trying to pass it off as new material. (The darn date on the picture gave me away!) As mentioned before, Sexy Nerd gets up insanely early every day (See the time written on the photo? INSANE!) By the time Zombie-me makes it out of bed, he's been at work almost 2 hours. When I came downstairs the other morning, there was a doggy-related message waiting for me on our chalkboard door. Where's the "All of the Above" op

Time to Bug Out

First, I'd like to begin this post with a traumatic TMI story. The other night, I was in the bathroom (TMI?) and a spider FELL FROM THE CEILING, landed ON MY BARE LEG, and - this is truly the stuff of nightmares - BIT ME! (!!!!!!) Now my leg is itchy. Okay, on to the meat of this post. Are there any bug enthusiasts out there? (You people are CRAZY, but to each their own, I guess.) We have this weirdo moth/fly thingy in our loft and I've never seen an insect like it before. Geez our windows are dirty. The last time they were cleaned was...by the previous owners of our house (I assume). Also, what is this thing??

Vitamix Fail

I just used our new Vitamix to make a peanut butter, banana, blueberry smoothie. Yum, right? It also contains flax seed, grapes, spinach, cranberries, cucumber, chia seeds, strawberries, raspberries, and nectarines. Now, I'm just kicking back and relaxing with my refreshing beverage, courtesy of my own clever Vitamix recipe. Actually, that's a bit of a lie. A more accurate description would be "my own Vitamix recipe for disaster". It tastes horrible! Just because you can use the Vitamix to blend everything, doesn't mean you should. Also, I didn't have any peanut butter, so I just threw in a bunch of nuts. You can do that with a Vitamix, right? I honestly thought you could do that with a Vitamix. I'm too much of a cheapskate to throw this out. If only I hadn't made 8 cups! The Vitamix container is so large. It beckons for me to fill it. It's so healthy. I really should drink it, especially considering that my breakfast today was Red Vine

Chicken Curry Ramen Noodles Recipe

*Be sure to also check out my Cheesy Chicken Ramen recipe , which is a spin on macaroni and cheese. Yum! Let me start this post with a confession. I am a chocoholic, one who puts other chocoholics to shame. At work, I've developed an unfortunate reputation as the girl who pigs out every time another office sends us anything chocolaty or whenever an employee restocks our candy drawer. (Betcha never thought your kid's dentist had one of those!) Those dozen Mississippi Mud cupcakes that were just here? I ate them. You knew I was working today so if you didn't get in there and get one, it's your own silly fault. What does any of this shameless chocolate-talk have to do with today's recipe? As much as I love chocolate, I love Ramen Noodles even more. Just look at them: Hey there, gorgeous! I will always remember "The Noodles That Got Away", otherwise known as when my mom threw my bowl of just-made noodles down the sink in 4th grade. I don't r

No Regrets - Adopt a Pet!

*Update* I just posted this, but afterward I continued browsing through all the adorable adoptable pups and found one that I just have to share:   Alan is very serious. He is available for adoption in San Jose, CA. Look at his little doggie tie!!! Okay, back to business. Today, I have some fancy Google maps to share with you. The first shows all the places in Albuquerque where you can adopt a dog and the second is for cats. Find Albuquerque Dogs & Puppies Find Albuquerque Cats & Kittens These maps are listed at adoptapet.com . It's a great site for finding a new family member. With 2 dogs (not just 2 dogs - 2 dogs who are insanely jealous of other dogs!) we aren't in the market for a new addition any time soon. It's still fun to browse through all the cute widdle doggie faces on the site though. Sexy Nerd says I'm tempting fate. Whatever. I have enough self control just to puppy window shop. Though, I'm pretty sure Fluffy belongs