.Date Night: Staying In Edition.

So by the title of this post, I'm assuming you know that's it's date night for the hubby and I. And you can probably guess what we're planning on doing. 

You know, being the crazy, wild couple that we are, we've decided to stay in. 

But this will be staying in 'Date Night Style'.

Be lazy, snuggle, watch some movies, save some moolah, hang out with the dog, give some massages, and smooch the night away.

Ohh and we also made some home-made sushi.

Now, I have to mention that I don't really love sushi, but the hubby does, and I thought it would be fun to make it together. So we did. And it was totally fun.
Ohh and for dessert, how about some Pralines & Cream Haagen-Dazs ice cream?

Sounds like a pretty nice evening if you ask me.

So because this was a first for us, I took some pictures (check out my karate chop!) and hope it inspires you to try it out sometime (the sushi - not the chop).
.Our Sushi attempt.
There's really no rules on what you put in your sushi, but we used: Sushi rice, seaweed papers (also called nori), canned tuna (mixed with hot sauce and a little mayo), smoked salmon, cucumbers, carrots (purple and orange), mango, avocado, and toasted sesame seeds. Also good to have sushi soy sauce, pickled ginger, and wasabi.

1) Cut your ingredients super thin (we used cucumbers, carrots, mango, avocado).

2) Cook your sushi rice according to the bag directions.
3) Prepare your 'tools' (which are just saran wrap, bamboo rolling mat (I got mine for $2 at Safeway), sharp knife, small bowl of water for dipping your fingers into)
4) Lay your bamboo mat out and place saran wrap on top of it (this is so your ingredients doesn't stick to the bamboo). Place your seaweed paper on top of that. Next cover with cooked rice (only a thin layer). Then add your ingredients, and this is where you can get creative.
5) Tightly roll up wrap (leaving a small edge at one end to seal the wrap) and seal with a small dab of water on your fingers along the exposed edge.
Check out Pete's mad technique! And his black finger!

6) Slice with a clean, wet, sharp knife. Make sure to clean the knife between cuts.

 See My Attempt.

7) Admire and Enjoy!!
(These below are the remnants after we chowed down. They aren't as pretty, but you get the idea.)

Us. Lovers. Being Cozy.

ps. Tomorrow I am SUPER excited for this photography class that my friend Maegen and I signed up for.  I may finally be able to learn how to take a half decent picture with my new toy! Stay tuned to see what I come up with and a recap on how the days goes.

xo

.diy: dry erase board.

Check out what I made today.

In like 10 minutes flat.

My very own Dry Erase Board. Seriously easy, and kinda cute if you ask me.

So this is how it happened: As most of you know, I am in the final steps of completing my special room and am really just looking for those odds n' ends that will complete it and make it not only beautiful but useful too.
 So with that in mind, I seriously needed something to jot down ideas and reminders. Easy right? Well,  here's the problem, do you know how hard it is to find that specific item that you have floating in your head?!? Well, let me be the first to inform you it is very, Very HARD. Cue sad Erinn face. I searched everywhere, and all I kept finding where those boring, old-school white boards (I am apologizing in advance to anyone who may have one or two lying around).
Then.......by sheer coincidence, I came across a very similar craft board on pinterest (I personally take no creative claim on this idea. 100% adapted from another crafter) and thought PERFECTO - I can make this!
And the best part is, I even had a large, white empty Ikea frame left over from a previous picture sizing screwup!
It was so meant to be.

Here's how I did it:
1) Get your Supplies: Picture Frame + Material of choice + Scissors

 2) Lay your fabric out flat (make sure there's no folds) and place the back of the picture frame on it.

 3) Cut your fabric 1-inch bigger (all the way around) than the backing of the picture frame. Like so.

 

4) Place the fabric (with your pattern facing the glass) in the picture frame.

5) Place your picture frame backing on top of the fabric. Attach any clasps to hold everything together.
(Ikea frames have these great pull down tabs that made this easy peasy.)

6)Flip over and Viola!

 

 It's so easy, I can't believe that I just blogged about it. Must be a slow thursday.

 Have some fun and leave cutesy messages for someone.

Hope you found this useful!

.Peter's Leek + Bacon Quiche.

Sunday morning I ate the most delicious breakfast I HAVE EVER had the pleasure of eating.

Peter made it, so we'll call it this:

Peter's Leek, Bacon, & Cheese Quiche

Ohh and it was magical, so I thought I'd share.

Quiche is such a funny thing. Not only does the word make me giggle. The idea of an egg pie (which is essentially what it is) makes me kinda cringe.

But when you taste this delectable dish, you will crave it again, and again.

Trust me.

You will.

Peter's Leek, Bacon & Cheese Quiche
Adapted from epicurious.

2 Deep dish pie shells (really you only need 1, but there's enough mix to make 2 pies)

3 Eggs

1/4 lb Back Bacon, sliced

3/4 lbs (about 3) Leeks, chopped (only the white and light green parts)

2 tbsp unsalted butter

3 oz (about 1 cup) Gruyere cheese, shredded

3 oz (about 1 cup) Italian Fontina cheese, shredded

3 oz (about 1 cup) Mozzarella, shredded

1/8 tsp grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 3/4 cups Creme fraiche (mix 2 tbsp plain yogurt & 1 cup whipping cream together and let sit for 1 hour  if you can't find the real deal)

1) Pre-bake pie crust according to package instructions for 8-10 minutes (bake both pie crusts if you're making 2 quiche's as there's a lot of mix and we made 2 of them).

2) Meanwhile, cut leeks into small pieces, then wash well in a bowl of cold water. Lift out and drain leeks in a colander and pat dry. Melt butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately low heat and cook leeks, stirring occasionally, until very tender, about 8 - 10 minutes

3) Line warm pie shell with sliced bacon (or ham), overlapping layers as necessary to cover bottom and side of pie shell completely. Toss cheeses together and sprinkler evenly into into shell (do not pack cheese),  then spread leeks evenly on top of cheese. Whisk together eggs, nutmeg, and pepper until combined well, then whisk in creme fraiche until smooth.

4) Carefully pour half of custard on top of pie filling, gently moving cheese with a spoon to help custard disperse evenly. Slowly add remaining custard in same manner. Cover pie loosely with foil, gently folding edges over crust (keep foil from touching top of cheese mixture) and transfer to a baking sheet.
5) Bake @ 350F until center of filling if puffed and set (center with be slightly wobbly, but not liquid) about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Cool on a rack at least 20 to 30 minutes (it will still set as it cools). Serve warm.

Enjoy. And you can thank Peter later. xo

.Book Club.

My newest blog idea.

I know this has been done, probably a million times before my attempt here, but I would like to start a Book Club.

Whatcha think? Good Idea?

Is this even something that would interest you fellow book lovers?

I was thinking it would be a monthly book club (too much time to read a novel? Not enough?) and we can converse weekly (perhaps every Monday night, which is usually a slow night) on what we're thinking and how we're feeling of our current novel of choice. That's how these things work right?? 

Keep in mind: This is a first for me, so it may be a bit of a process. But a FUN PROCESS!

I also want to list our Book Club Members, so please leave your name in the 'comment' section below (or let me know via phone, text, or email). It'll make it fun to see who's participating. 

And 'Don't worry, I won't call on you to make a speech in front of the whole class'.

I will choose the first novel and then if this is working as I hope (you know, being interactive and not just me blabbering on and on.......) then I can take suggestions and choose something that YOU recommend. See what fun we'll have!

So let me know what you think of this. We'll try it for a month or two and go from there......And I really do want this to be interactive. So please leave your comments at the bottom of our Book Club posts.

So without Further Ado. The First Novel for our Book Club.

Water for Elephants. 

by Sara Gruen

.Purchase here, or at your local Bookstore.

 (and yes, I know I may be a bit behind on the times, as I am just getting to this novel now (it's been out for a while and is now turning into a movie starring Reese Witherspoon + Robert Pattinson). And yes, some of you who will actually want to participate will have already read it, but be patient with me.......it's a work in progress. And if you have any suggestions for the next round, send them my way!!!) 

A few things to Note about this picture: 
1) My Cozy Slippers
2) That delicious ceasar on the coffee table (it should be mandatory that you do all reading with a yummy ceasar...wine...blueberry tea, etc, etc).
3) The clump of Bella's fur on my table after she got a good brushing.
4) My 'intense concentration' face. And how upset it makes me look. Why must it look like that?
5) Those magnificent sweatpants. And what it's doing to my body. Ugh. Note to self: throw those away.
6) My spoilt dog, who is almost as big as me.

Book Club Members:
Erinn T (that's me)
Kelsey O
Terri S
Brandi A
Morgan R

Instructions for leaving comments:

1) Scroll down to the bottom of the post. Click on the 'Comments'. Type your comments and feedback in the box. Click on the little drop down menu bar and choose Name/URL (this is easiest). Type in your Name. Click on 'Post Comment'. Done.

.My New Toy.

Ohh yes, I did.

Just giving a lotta love for a little item called a Nikon.

WHAAA HOOO!

Just got it. 

But I feel like we've been best friends forever.

Sorry Pete. I may be cheating on you a little this week.

Coming Soon: Some actual pretty pictures.

And I cannot tell you how EXCITED I am!

.Happy Moustache.

Just feeling a little quirky today and wanted to wish you all a Happy Saturday.

A fun picture from our Special Day last July.

Hope it makes you smile.

Happy Moustache and Much Love.

Photo by pinksugar photography.

.Hair YES.

So this is the NEW do.

Ya like it??
Ya, me too. And I'm also really liking my model pose's. And the toilet paper roll in the background! Enjoy!

Now, I know I haven't strayed far from my comfort zone here, but the hubby loves his wife very blonde (and I don't mean the ditzy "So, Like umm....." type, but the white, golden, sun-streaked blonde type) and after practically begging me on his hands and knees (maybe a little of an exaggeration, but still....) to keep it that way, I decided to be a good wife and go with the au-natural (or au-natural with very light streaks) that he was asking for. Your welcome hubby.
Also I was trying out a new stylist (who, by the way, is a pretty cute (and straight) male named Roddie -Yum, Yum.) and was giving him a little test run. Meaning I couldn't go to crazy this time around.
In the end, these are the results:

And I'm pretty darn happy.

I'm loving the color. Ash-blonde. Just what I was wanting.

And the cut is pretty fabulous, although still long, the layers give it a fresh lift. 

I got lotsa volume now Baby!

And because I'm sure some of you are wondering where the big difference is (I know it's subtle, but it's there), I took a before shot to compare. See the difference?

OLD HAIR = Split-ends and Roots. Yuck.

NEW HAIR = Fresh, No roots + No split-ends. Happy.

Not the way, I normally style it, but I can see good things coming from it.

We'll call this is my 'New Job' hair.
Because I start on Monday.....ekk...

.Hair NOT.

Hi Friends.

This mop of hair on my head is having a rough day today. or rather... a hard week. {maybe even a month}

I'm in NEED people.
What on earth should I do...
some bangs? some color? some layers?...
some something to help my long, split-ended strands out.
I'm still trying to grow it out {extremely} long {but not that sicko, weird braided lady long - you know what I'm talking about?} However, it's in this phase where is just hangs there. So what to do? 
What is going to bring my sad little tresses back to life?
any ideas?
Do I do these bangs?

All pictures found on pinterest.

Or go for the Ombre Look?

Keep my Natural look?

Maybe go a bit blonder for spring?

Or do I go Brunette (well, this may be more Ombre)?

HELP.
Ohh and I'm going tomorrow at noon to take care of my issues......cross your fingers it turns out!

.I enjoy Etsy.

How does this happen? 

I go on the computer to check 1 or 2 quick things, and I end up on Etsy, shopping.

For 2 hours.

And it always happens.

So while I'm at it, I might as well share with you all my newest spring-ish wish-list:

1) This color is killing me. I am so loving it and I know I could find so many items to wear it with.

Find it here.

2) These Earrings. LOVE. Find them here.

3) Aren't these the cutest? I want them. Here.

4) Need this calendar for the office. Comes in all different colors. Get it Here.

5) Umm, actually might need this one as well. How cute is this?? Seriously, so cool. Here.

6) Still Winter, so may need this. Here.

7) For Bella. So true. Here.

8) I could work this. Here.

9) Classic Clovers. Here.

10) The rosette necklace. I don't know if I could rock this, but I certainly would try. Here.

 I also may try to make this.....Stay tuned. I feel a craft coming on.