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Taos Summer Wine Festival 2017

Sexy Nerd and I spent last weekend at the fabulous Taos Summer Wine Festival, hiking and indulging in the best food ever. And maybe even a glass or two...or 27(?!) of wine. (They were little pours, lest you think I'm typing this from beyond the grave.) I've been busy, busy, busy with work and house stuff since returning home on Sunday, but couldn't let my fun trip photos languish unseen any longer. There's a real post coming soon, but for now you can enjoy just a taste of the Taos Summer Wine Festival. Sorry, I couldn't resist. Actually, I'm not sorry at all and the brainstorming starts now. For my real blog post, I will be bottling as many wine puns as I can cork. If I'm covering an event in the mountains, you can bet there are going to be chipmunk photos. Waaay more chipmunk photos to come in the real blog post. Yay! They were such cute little winos, constantly holding up their own teensie glasses to be filled, but we were like You've had

10 Decorating Ideas for Your Cozy Mountain Home

Here are more design ideas from the Summit County Parade of Homes . Enjoy! 1. Windows that go all the way down to the countertop (or countertops/desks/tables that come all the way up to the bottom of the window) look amazing. Stretching the window wall to wall is even better. Update: When building our dream home in the NM mountains, our builder explained that this does cost a bit more, as it requires very specific framing to make sure everything lines up perfectly. 2. Frame square cubbies right into the drywall for a modern bookcase. When we build our dream home next year, I'd like to do something similar but with wood on the bottom of each shelf. Or stone. Or maybe a bright, fun color painted onto the back of each cubby - a different one in each square.  Our poor builder doesn't know what he's gotten himself into. 3. For maximum impact, you need many, MANY pendant lights. 4. Have a little nook/hallway? Don't just leave it plain and boring. A lit

Thinking About Babies

I had the best weekend. Usually, I embrace my lazy and antisocial ways, hunkering down in front of my computer until it's time for work on Monday. Frankly, I was annoyed this wasn't the way my weekend was shaping up to be. But, oh, the fun I had! We went to a cool new brew pub (twice!) and I went to yoga (yay me!) and we participated in a fundraiser called Bowling for Rhinos (and I kicked butt!) and we got to show off our soon-to-be new house (nearly done!) to my in-laws and we went out for BBQ (yum!) and we even went to a fancy wine tasting, where I confirmed once and for all that I am the lightest lightweight in the history of lightweights. Seriously. The 6 tastings of wine were itty bitty pours that added up to maybe 1 full glass and the room, which was bathed in a glorious, hysterical glow, would not stop spinning. I had such a fab weekend that I've decided to shun Everyday Kitty Deschanel and put Fun, New-And-Improved Kitty Deschanel (now with glitter!) front and

Trolled By My Grandma

My grandma lives in Australia, so I rarely saw her growing up. When we did interact, it was always a bit jarring because I'd turned her into a stereotype in my mind. Grandmas are sweet, little old ladies who bake cookies and are always nice to you no matter what, right? For a while, I thought my grandma was mean. Just look at these comments she has posted on my Facebook page: Me:  Construction has been going on for MORE THAN A YEAR. I emailed our builder this morning with a few holiday-related questions, such as if they'll be working on our house at all next week. He blew off all my questions and ignored me, but did have his wife reply to request we pay our latest construction loan installment early to avoid any holiday-related delays. Nana:  Ratbag. What kind of little old lady calls someone a ratbag? She's one tough grandma! The love is there though. Here I am, causing my poor grandma all kinds of worry: Me:  In an effort to avoid the single supplement and still t

A Whirlwind Trip Home for My BFF

Sarah, Jessica, and I have been BFFs for as long as I can remember. We met in elementary school and our friendship somehow survived my move from San Jose to Albuquerque at the end of 7th grade. In our cookie cutter neighborhood, we lived in the same single-story floor plan. At the ripe old age of 12, we asserted our independence by strolling the local mall and watching Liar, Liar  unchaperoned. Still, living so far from each other and without any of our original interests to pull us together, like Sega games, bike riding, and Sailor Moon (who am I kidding? At 33, I still love Sailor Moon), you'd think we might drift apart. Nonsense. We're the 3 musketeers! And we have been ever since that candy bar commercial came out in the 90s. Big on chocolate, not on fat! Sarah on the left, Jessica on the right, and that poor girl being cannibalized in the middle is yours truly.   I haven't seen either of these crazy gals since my "second" wedding (also to Sexy Nerd

My (Actually Delicious!) Beauty Smoothie

I don't usually (or ever) post Vitamix recipes here. It's not that I don't think people would be interested in trying my homemade Vitamix recipes. My blender creations have just never been good enough to share. In fact, many of them have been borderline revolting . After much trial and error, however, I am happy to announce that I finally have a delicious Vitamix winner! Just look at this beautiful green smoothie: Note my dapper Frog Prince admiring its green loveliness. He's pondering why I didn't name this recipe The Frog. My Best Vitamix Green Smoothie Recipe So creamy - this is not another boring green juice. Makes 40 ounces Throw the following into the blender: 1 Cup Cold Water 2 Tbsp Chia Seeds 1/2 can Pineapple with Juice (10 ounces) Then add: 1 Mango 1 Orange (or 2 oranges, if yours are itty bitty like mine!) 1 Radish 1 Kale Leaf (a great, big one!) 1/2 a Cucumber 1 Tbsp Flax Seeds 2 Celery Stalks 1 Small Parsley Sprig Bef

The BEST Kitchen (N)ever

Update: Since posting this, we've added a red brick backsplash and the most gorgeous hammered chrome Pottery Barn cabinet hardware. Check out our new kitchen photos . I've been fretting about our new kitchen for a little while now. Since...2011? With our open floor plan, the kitchen is the main focal point of the home. You see it when you walk through the front door, when you're in the living room, from the dining room, etc. You can't miss it. So, my thinking is that if the kitchen sucks, the house sucks. And when you've been designing the house since 2011, that really can't be an option. We've also been determined not to build a boring house. Ours should be unique! Does unique = sucky? Whenever I'd describe our kitchen to someone, there would always be at least one detail that confused/worried/frustrated them. A sink with horses? Mirrored cabinets 12 feet high?! In my mind, everything looks amazing. But how would these wild design ideas work in re

Kitty's Amazing Homestyle Mayonnaise! Chicken Mayo Recipe

Update: Be sure to check out my Homestyle Salad , made with Knorr Homestyle Stock. It's one of my favorite recipes! You've probably seen  Knorr Homestyle Stock at the grocery store and thought it's no different from any other stock or even those little bouillon cubes. It can actually make things no other stock can. See the yumminess below? Chicken Mayo -  oooh, yumminess. Chicken Mayo Recipe Today, I have a recipe for you that is unlike any other you have ever tried. I owe it all to a tiny tub of concentrated chicken stock. My recipe breakthrough came last Tuesday. I had the day off from work and was faced with a long list of things to get done: nap, blog, watch TV, nap some more, read magazines, etc. It's a rough, child-free life! I read a blog post about an attempted home robbery and began to comment about the time I lived alone and an irate intruder tried to break down my front door. Just thinking about it makes me want to double check all our locks