praying for daylight

I don’t know about you, but about this time every year I fall into a little ‘funk’… most likely due to a plethora of cold, windy days and a paucity of sunshine.

No comments from those of you who live up north, where there is actually snow on top of more snow and ice on the ground for long periods of time….I know you deal with way more in the ‘winter’ department than we do here in south-eastern Virginia, but  hey – it’s still chilly and gloomy here!!!

Right around the time change (er…spring forward?) I start to accomplish more in the evenings. On most days in the winter, after working a 10 hour day and getting home around 6:30 or 6:45, there seems like very little time between stepping in the front door and laying my head on the pillow (keep in mind my bedtime is about 9 or 9:30). Now that there is still a bit of sunlight in the sky when I leave work, I feel rejuvenated. I accomplish much more in that same three hours after coming home.

If you are like me, and slowly coming out of your winter funk, then your house might look a bit like mine….

Spring Explosion!

Here’s a tour of some of my favorite spring things

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The pedestal table was actually a curb-side find while on my way home from work one day. I had left early because of some really terrible tummy issues and thought I would just barely be able to make it home. Of course, that would be the day that I see this beauty at the curb, with the nuts and screws taped nicely together, ready for someone just like me to drive by. Talk about poor timing. I was in so much pain, but I wanted this table SO badly….I actually scraped some of the paint off of my car trying to cram load the table in the back seat of my little compact.

Of course I prefer real flowers over fake ones, but with my work schedule (and my lacking green thumb), fake ones will have to do.

Plus, they start out cheerful…. and they stay cheerful!

The green floral chair was my first purchase for our new home (way back in June of last year) from World Market

It is actually the piece that I designed our entire living room around

Well, that and all of the other wonderful furniture pieces gifted to us by Chris’ parents. Without the furniture they loaned/gave us before their move to Germany we would have…um, the green chair pictured above….and, um the tables I rescued out of the trash.

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I have had these green and blue striped pillows with the buttons since college, and they seem to roam around the house in various places throughout the year. 

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Can you tell I love green?

Here our the wonderful built-ins that I have become spoiled by.

Where else would I display all of my pretty green things?

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These are two linen paintings that I fell in love with from a consignment store.

Unfortunately, Chris does not share my affinity for them; not for lack of trying – I have even quizzed him and demanded that he tell me what he doesn’t like about them and, in turn, I have proudly described all of the things I do love about them, to no avail.

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I’m not sure how much this giant framed mirror would have cost me at full price/brand new, but I found it buried behind hideous pictures of pastel teddy bears at a thrift store for a measly $10.

Chris wasn’t too happy about this one either, not because he doesn’t like it, but because I purchased it before we even had a home.

Hey, when you find it at a thrift store, you’ve gotta make a quick executive decision!

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Our ‘entry-way’, which is really just the beginning of the big great-room.

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The mirror is a thrift store find, the candle holders and candles (complete with ribbon) are from our wedding – I didn’t even change a thing, and Push-up Duck (an explanation on his name might come at a later date) is from… I don’t remember where.

Trash to treasure

Remember these fellas?

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Well, my friend Tiffany and I were driving around town when we snagged them off of the curb, about to be tossed! I think it is important to note that Tiff. was about 7 or 8 months pregnant at the time… what a true friend!

Well, it has taken me until now (um… a year later) to actually do anything with them.

Baxter, get out of the way!!

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We love Pop’s

Chris and I have recently begun a Saturday morning tradition of going to a local diner, Pop’s. I am so excited for these mornings that we are able to spend together. Sometimes we bring our bibles, sometimes we bring whatever book our small-group is going through at the time (right now it is this book), sometimes we bring our my calendar and talk about what events are coming up…. but mostly we just bring our appetites. IMG_3822

There are only two locations, but if you live in Virginia Beach or Chesapeake, then you are probably only a quick 5 minute interstate trip from one – Lucky you!

Now, Pop’s is not a cute old diner with a lot of history (which I have yet to discover here in this busy, sort of dirty, city that I live in – let me know if you know of one). However, it does have its charms…and one of the best things is that it has been mostly undiscovered by ‘locals’.

(haha, I’m not sure why I don’t consider myself a local, seeing as how I was born and raised here in Hampton Roads…maybe it’s because I have always secretly wished I had grown up in a smaller town and don’t associate myself with these ‘city folks’).

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A local Porsche club has also found Pop’s and deemed it their favorite meeting spot for Saturday mornings.

This is the only shot I was able to get, but the Porsches filled up this lot and the neighboring lots.

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not sure if this one is a Porche…. but it certainly is cool looking

(and I certainly wouldn’t have parked it next to that van, which will most likely have kids jumping in and out of it, flinging doors open all willy-nilly)

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What is your favorite local hot-spot?

Holy Guacamole!

 

So, I’ve been craving guacamole for a few weeks now

(no, i’m not pregnant…for those of you out there thinking it!)

Anyway, if you know me at all then you know that cooking

really isn’t my thang.

I try… I really do!

I think I’ve finally pinpointed the things that make cooking difficult for me:

1. Actually making a decision on what to cook

     (If you were to look up “indecisive” in the dictionary,

my mug would be there)

2. The multitasking required

   If the directions include the phrase ‘set it and forget it’, then I might be able to deal. However, if the recipe requires tending to the oven, periodically checking on whatever is cooking to ‘monitor’ the progress or to ‘see if it is done’, and simultaneously preparing the ever-important side dishes…forget about it. I get side-tracked going from the kitchen to the front door.

OK, that’s only 2 reasons…. I guess that’s no excuse.

I had better get in the kitchen and start earning my keep!

Speaking of getting side-tracked….

I made guacamole last night.

Now there aren’t really any ‘true’ measurements for me to share for this recipe because guac is one of those things that you can change depending on your personal taste and the amount you want to make.

In my guac I included:

  • 3 perfectly ripe, large avocados

(little/no green on the outside, only brown. no white patches on the outside. not too mushy, but just the slightest ‘give’ on the skin when you squeeze….)IMG_4039

– I speak from experience…let’s just say this wasn’t the first time this week I had tried to fulfill my craving for guac –

  • 1/2 big round tomato, diced

(I’m pretty sure it has an actual label, but that escapes me at the moment)

  • 1/4 red onion

(make sure you chop the pieces really small or else you will get a giant bite of pretty much just onion, and you will make a face, and your husband will laugh at you….just sayin’)

  • Finely chopped cilantro

(It only comes in a bundle…so just add as much as you want)

  • 1 chunk clove of garlic

(It’s a clove, right?)

 

Cut your avocados in half and use a spoon to scoop out the insides and the giant pit. The inside should be super soft, and separate easily from the …um, shell?

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Chop up any other ingredients you want to add.

(roasted peppers or chiles, salsa, black beans….anything really)

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Stir in onions, tomato, cilantro, and garlic.

I like to use a knife to stir/cut the avocados up without making them too creamy. That’s just a personal preference…. I like my guac chunky.

If you want smooth guac, then by all means, mash it up!

Add salt and lime juice to taste once everything has been mixed together.

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Grab your chippies and get to it!