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Thursday, October 31, 2013

7 Deadly Sins Link-up


 


seven great things in your life.
1. My amazing family including my new in-laws.
2. My pup Walter.
3. Holiday season is around the corner which means more crafting!
4. I am reliving my wedding day over and over through wedding photos, crafts and friends.
5. Trying to get pregnant...all the excitement and nerves all at once.
6. Building a home (not literally) with my husband.
7.  My un-phaseable ambition


seven things you lack and covet.
1. Time.
2. Money.
3. A baby.
4. Black riding boots.
5. A new car.
6. Patience.
7. A more challenging career.


seven things that make you angry.
1. People who hold grudges.
2. Backstabbers.
3. The economy.
4. Co-workers who snort their phlegm, clear their throat, fart and make other rude/gross bodily functions at their desk.
5.  Politics. (especially Obamacare)
6. Bad drivers and my long commute everyday.
7. People who air their crap on social media.


seven things that you neglect to do.
1. Be more innovative in the kitchen (with my OWN recipes).
2. Not worry so much.
3. Eat breakfast (unless it is the weekend).
4.Go out more on weekends.
5.  Clean the closets out.
6. Not overanalyze every situation.
7. Confront people.


seven worldly material desires.
1. A new car.
2.  New household furniture.
3.  Remodel of our kitchen.
4.  A vacation to Fiji or Bali.
5.  A designer wardrobe.
6.   The other wedding band to complete my wedding ring set. 
7. Millions in cold hard cash.


seven guilty pleasures.
1. The Bachelor(ette).
2. Lattes (everyday).
3. Pizza.
4. Online Shopping.
5. Wedding Blogs.
6.Candy.
7. Girlie shows.


seven things you love about love.
1. Wedding vows.
2. Sweet sayings/names.
3. Being best friends.
   4. Laughing at/with each other.
5. Sweet kisses.
6. Sharing your life and experiences together.
7. Always having another to rely on.
Link up with Whispering Sweetly or share in the comments!
Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Wordless Wednesday


I Workout

I have a love-hate relationship with the gym.  Sometimes it is a struggle to go three to four times a week, but once I am done with my workout, I feel AMAZING.  Like last night....spin class with a different instructor almost killed me, but I loved the workout.  Her music was just ok though.  Who plays country music while spinning?

But ever since getting married, I am not as focused on the gym as I used to be.  Maybe I need to change things up?  Maybe I need a partner there?  Who knows.  But what I do know, is I saw this planking workout which I did in yoga (maybe I should start yoga again), but not as focused as this one.  Basically, I am going to throw this little workout in and see if I can get my abs looking a bit more defined.  My abs look pretty good, but have been the same for months.

I saw this workout on facebook today, so I thought I would post it, do it and see my results.

Do you know the benefits of planking?  And no I am not talking about planking on items.  I am talking about yoga planking.  Planking develops your core muscles: abs, back, hips and butt.  It strengthens your lower back (which is key for me).  It helps you avoid injuries and encourages good posture (which we all know sitting at a computer all day makes you have really bad posture).  And if I can make those abs look even just a bit better, I would say it is a win-win.
Snapshot of the muscles planking works out via runnerunleashed.com

The workout is really simple and can be done almost anywhere.  First get into a pushup position with all of your weight on your forearms as shown above.  Then you hold this position for different lengths of time and that is it.  Ok, not really, you must pull your core in (pull your abs muscles in) and hold it while taking deep breaths.  This is a beginners workout, so you can add more reps through as you get better.

Day 1: 20 seconds
Day 2: 20 seconds
Day 3: 30 seconds
Day 4: 30 seconds
Day 5: 40 seconds
Day 6: rest or 40 seconds
Day 7: 45 seconds
Day 8: 45 seconds
Day 9: 60 seconds
Day 10: 60 seconds
Day 11: 75 seconds
Day 12: 90 seconds
Day 13: rest or 90 seconds
Day 14: 90 seconds
Day 15: 100 seconds
Day 16: 120 seconds
Day 17: 120 seconds
Day 18: 150 seconds
Day 19: rest or 150 seconds
Day 20: 150 seconds
Day 21: 150 seconds
Day 22: 180 seconds
Day 23: 180 seconds
Day 24: 210 seconds
Day 25: 210 seconds
Day 26: rest day or 210 seconds
Day 27: 240 seconds
Day 28: 240 seconds
Day 29: 270 seconds
Day 30: 270 seconds to plank as long as you can

Wish me luck.  I am in pretty good shape as I run, do the rotating stairs, weights, spin class, daily pushups and strengthening exercises, but I do know that planking in yoga was hard and an amazing workout.

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Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Honeymoon Part 3

I finally got my husband to send me some of the ATV tour photos from our honeymoon.

After searching yelp for recommendations, we decided on the Kipu Ranch Adventures.  We scanned through the reviews (ok my husband probably read them all) and decided the three hour ranch tour was the best option for us.  They do offer a four hour waterfall tour, but it was less riding time, the waterfall wasn't flowing as fast at the time and you eat lunch on this tour.  We wanted adventure over relaxing.

Our tour did not disappoint.  We had two amazing tour guides that took us all over the ranch telling us stories.  Did you know that Jurassic Park 1 and 2, The Descendants, Outbreak, Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark and many more?  Hawaii has a really high tax rate, so in exchange for movie companies to film on the ranch, they bargain for other items such as paved roads, fences, atvs, etc.  This makes it super cheap to film movies and tv shows on Kauai.  They filmed Lost all over the island and it was awesome to see some of the locations in real life.

But back to the atv tour.  We opted for single rider atvs whereas some others did the Teryx 4 UTV.
Teryx 4 UTV image via Kipu Ranch
First in line and ready to go!

I really enjoyed this atv tour even though you stop a lot more than some of the other atv tours I have taken (in Puerto Vallarta, Graeagle and Alaska).  You will get amazing pictures like this one...please disregard my lovely helmet head.
The best part of this tour was towards the end of the tour.  Do you remember the scene in Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark where Harrison Ford is running down a hill, grabs onto a rope swing into the water and the plane comes to get him?  Well fear not, if you don't remember it, you can relive it right now.

We went to this area which we hiked down a tiny bit to, and you can do the rope swing yourself.  Don't worry, they have since changed the rope.  There were about 20 people on our tour and only 6 people were brave awesome enough to do it.  And Rory and I were two of those people.
This was after my first rope swing as my husband didn't take any pictures or video the previous time.  Funny thing was he went first and our guide asked if I captured the video and/or photos because most people mess it up.  Not me, but my husband did the first time.  Luckily, he did get a video and pictures the second and third time I did the rope swing.  Since there was only six of us, we went a bunch.  Just try not to swallow the water.
Hubby on his first rope swing.  He killed it!

Check out the video I recorded of him taking the rope swing on.
This tour is worth it if you are in Kauai in the Lihue area.  Make sure you check around online for the best deals on pricing.  Here is one last shot of us after the rope swing (luckily it is hot and humid and you dry relatively fast as before it looked like I wet my pants and was lactating, TMI?).

Let It Snow

Sunday night and all day Monday we received a little white present. SNOW! Luckily it was in the mountains because I am not a fan of driving to work in it, but can't wait to go riding. Hopefully this doesn't mean a short winter as last year was a below average snow fall year. Last year we got lots of snow early on and then bam nothing for so long. Here's to snowing in the mountains. Check out a little snapshot from Mt Rose yesterday.
Monday, October 28, 2013

I Love Shoes

I love shoes, but not as much as my husband does.  We have an ongoing joke about him having more pairs of shoes than I do.  I think he does, but we will have to just count one day, won't we?
image via web

But they really do make me happy!  I got a phone call from my hubby Thursday afternoon saying Walter, our dog, ate some of my shoes.  Now how did he get into my room you might ask?  I think he is a ninja as I definitely closed the bedroom door, but I am thinking, I might have not closed it all the way where he can still push it open.  Total bummer as he decided to feast on my shoes.  So what did he decide to eat?  My gray corduroy Toms (and only one of them inside and out), black sandals from Urban Outfitters (one was found buried in the backyard), golf shoes (luckily they were only wet with slobber and not harmed) and my slippers (only minor markings and slobber).
What can I say, my dog loves shoes...the more sweaty/stinky the better.  You all know how it is when you wear Toms or flats without those tiny socks (that can't be seen over the shoe) that after awhile your shoes aren't the freshest...no, ok?  Well, I was pretty bummed to say the least since I always wear those gray Toms during football/basketball games, and we had a game this last weekend (which we lost).  I didn't get to wear my beloved Toms, but it allowed me to go shoe shopping that day.

I bought not one pair, but two pairs of Toms.  I couldn't find my chewed up ones, so I bought a pair of simple black ones (been wanting these for awhile, but was on a wedding budget) and these soft cozy white, blue, gray, pink colored ones.  They have the fake fur lining and I was in love.  Was my husband in love with me buying two pairs?  Probably not, but I NEEDED them.


Now if my dog would only eat my non-existent black riding boots I have been coveting, I can get these babies....
I don't just want these shoes, I need them for this winter.  Can I have my Christmas present early, please?!

Pack Weekend and a Failure

This weekend was full of fun and failure.  We had Friday off due to Nevada Day, so we decided to go to Sacramento to go to Ikea and West Elm to look for a closet organizer and other items to spruce up our house.  We didn't have much luck other than a new rug.

That evening we went to the new tradition of March the Arch.  This is an event during homecoming where we start off in downtown Reno (at the arch) and march up to the quad on campus for a homecoming celebration.
Notice the blue lights? Well those are only for the Pack. Did they help, NOPE!
Myself and our friend Wolf Man, aka Neil
While we had a really fun time that evening, the next day would bring heartache.  Yes I am over dramatic about our SPOILER ALERT loss.  

We had lots of fun tailgating with former Delta Sig's (my husband is one of them), then the Silver and Blue Outfitters tailgate and lastly hanging out with my in-laws at their mini tailgate.

The Pack didn't play well and lost the cannon.  Total fail after having it for 8 years.  Pretty sad day, but fun none the less.  I guess there is always next year?
Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Rivalry Week for UNLV vs. Nevada

This week is rivalry week for UNLV vs. Nevada, or as I like to refer to it as Southern Nevada vs. Nevada.  This is one of my favorite games of the year.  I have traveled to Las Vegas for many years where we play on their ugly turf (not as ugly as Boise State though).  We have had the cannon for 8 years strong, and hopefully Saturday night will make it 9 years.

During this time it is always brought up about proper etiquette for how we say our name.  I know, pretty lame.  But as evidenced several times on facebook this week, it is Nevada vs. UNLV, not UNR vs. UNLV.

I am pretty excited for this game as it is always brings a sell out crowd and friends of mine who live in Las Vegas always come up for it.  Even if they are Rebel fans.  I just try to ignore it.  Now UNLV has us beat in basketball usually, but football the cannon will always bleed blue.

Are you excited for the game this weekend?

Former Pack player Virgil Green who now plays for the Broncos
Former Pack players Rashard Matthews (Miami Dolphis) and Virgil Green (Broncos)

Battle Ready, Battle Born. Go Pack!

Wedding Cake, Oh so Good!

My lovely friend Stacey from It's not you, it's me, wrote a post yesterday about not being a cake person.  Her post inspired me to write why I love cake, specifically my wedding cake.

I have always been a cake person whether it is cake or a cupcake.  I am more partial to vanilla cake than chocolate cake (I know what is wrong with me?)...always have and always will.  But the best cake is funfetti.  No I didn't have a wedding cake with a funfetti tier.  Why we didn't, I will never know.

So without further ado, here is my amazingly delicious wedding cake.
I still dream about this cake.  We went to two vendors for cake tasting in South Lake Tahoe, California.  We went to Sugar Pine Cakes and Flour Girl Wedding Cakes.  Flour Girl won us over immediately.  Not only did she have about 10 different cake flavors to try, but different fillings (fruits, custards and creams) and frostings.  Plus it smelt heavenly in her bake shop.  Rory isn't a big cake fan and he loved her cakes, so we were sold.

We got a three tiered round cake with an additional sheet cake to store in the kitchen of our venue.  The bottom layer was my favorite, vanilla bean cake with fresh strawberries and Bavarian cream.  The middle tier was lemon cake with lemon curd and cream cheese.  The top tier was spice cake with apricots and preserves with cream cheese.  Our sheet cake was red velvet cake (with a hint of almond) with fresh raspberries and chocolate mousse.  My frosting was a very light buttercream.  Just perfect as I am not a huge fan of gobs of frosting on my cakes.  My mouth is watering right now.

This wasn't exactly our design of our cake as the order and cake sheet were opposites, but the cake turned out beautifully.

Oh what about that cake topper....I made that.  I had such a hard time with an Etsy seller (she took my money and ran with no topper in return) that I thought it can't be too hard to make.  And it wasn't.  With the help of my dad, he cut out an acrylic monogram B that I designed (similar to many online).  Then I bought Swavorski crystals and glued each crystal of different sizes on the topper.  I think it is stunning.  Maybe I should make them and sell them on Etsy as it was one of my favorite DIY wedding projects.

Here is a close up of my cake topper.
Monday, October 21, 2013

What Happened to my Weekend?

My weekend flew by in a hurry.  So sad as I really wanted to sleep in and catch up on my lack of rest from the work week.  I am still dreaming about my honeymoon and wishing I was back there.

I worked my normal half day Friday, ran a few errands which included a trip to Michaels for post wedding supplies and Halloween decorations.  I literally spent 2 hours in there because I wanted to craft out of my mind (yes I made that up) and I couldn't narrow down my shopping cart (spent too much money on the wedding and honeymoon).

I ended up buying a shadow box for my wedding stuff, some letters and paint for the shadow box, spider web, a cute spider (is there any?), glue dots and paint brushes.  I failed to complete my shadow box this weekend, but I did put up the spider web and spider outside.  I also picked my pumpkin I am going to spice up (DIY coming later).

I managed to go through all my wedding stuff, throw stuff away, organize the rest, store what I won't need and put together a test run on my shadow box.  I am in love.  Such a easy project and I think it will look amazing.

I picked up my wedding dress from being preserved.  So sad to see her in a box.  I went through more professional wedding photos and started painting letters, numbers and other things for my shadow box.  Can't wait to reveal it to you all.

We watched Runner, Runner.  Critics said don't go, viewers said go.  I liked it.  I wouldn't see it in the movies, but I would watch it on DVD.

Saturday we went golfing at Washoe Golf Course where I failed miserably.  How can I go from an awesome two performances in Kauai and fail here in Reno?  Maybe I should go back to Kauai, ha.  But really, I think I just cared too much and kept coming up while swinging.  Next time right?  That evening we watched the Nevada Wolf Pack football team lose to Boise State.  Ugh such a sad performance in the second half.  But I got to see my lovely ladies, Stacey and Heather, so it was a good night all in all.

Sunday we errands, cleaning and dinner with my in-laws.  Easy Sunday.  We had amazing dinner and we were able to show off our pro pics and I loved looking at them over and over again.

So this week, I must finish my shadow box, prep for my liver to be hurting after the Pack vs. Rebels game and head to Sacramento for a much needed furniture and household items hunt.
Friday, October 18, 2013

Halloween for Pets

I said I would never be one of those moms who dresses their dogs up.  Guess what, I am one of those moms.  I really want to get Walter a cute Halloween costume because I know he wants one...right?!

I don't think Walter minds that much when I put him in sweaters for the winter months since he tends to cuddle under the covers everyday, pull blankets off a couch to another couch to cuddle in while we are gone EVERYDAY and he has never destroyed them.  So I thought, why not a Halloween costume.  But Rory thinks that Walter won't like my choices.  Psh, it's not like he has to wear it forever.  Just a couple hours for trick or treaters and adorable photos.

I want one of these for Walter, but the time is fast approaching to buy it or just go to Petco or PetSmart and get a probably lame one since I waited so long.  Or you know, not bother him at all with one.  But what fun would that be.  Here are my top choices.  What do you think?
Raptor costume via amazon
Shark costume via Baxterboo

Remember this is what my little pup looks like.
See he obviously doesn't mind wearing clothes...right?

So what do you guys think?  Buy one online and rush it, go to a local pet store or not dress him up?

Honeymoon Part Two

We left off at the end of Friday, which brings me to Saturday and our amazing harder than shit hike in the Napali Coast, Kalalau Trail in the Haena State Park.  This was such a rewarding hike.  They rate this hike as moderate, but couple it with mud, it becomes a lot harder than the Mount Rose Summit hike here in the Reno/Tahoe area.  Round trip it was about 10 miles.  That's from where you park, roaming around while hiking and the actual hike.

Here is an amazing cave near where we parked.
There were several of these caves and were beyond gorgeous.  There are tons of signs warning of falling rocks and to not swim in them.  No thanks.

We started the first part of the hike which wasn't that bad.  You climb over rocks, muddy rocks, muddy areas, hike up and down a lot, and the views are beautiful.
This was at a high point along the trail

Isn't the water so clear?  Please forgive me, I have a ton extra photos on my camera that I have yet to put onto my computer and may do a sub post later.

After a little over two miles, you come down to a "secret" (but not so secret) beach.  Earlier in the day, you can play in the surf at your own caution, but the beaches are so sandy.

These pictures don't even do this area justice.  I have literally another 20 photos of this area as it was so peaceful, the surf was high, the sand so soft, and you just felt at peace here.

We then headed up the next part of the hike which again is a over two miles to the top.  This is where things got more treacherous.  There was more mud, more rocks to actually climb over, more thinned out walking terrain area, creeks to cross back and forth through, more areas to fall down (spoiler: I fell pretty hard once) and more broken guavas on the ground.
Speaking of guava, along the waterfall hike part, there was guavas all over the path EVERYWHERE.  It smelt like fresh fruit along the whole way which was great at first, but then becomes a bit nauseating. 

While crossing one part of the creek (you do this several times up and down), I slipped on a rock and fell in the water.  That wasn't too bad, but smacking my wrist and knee on the muddy rock sucked.  Commence pain and still a half mile to go.  But I toughed it out, rock climbed a million more rocks (or so it seemed) and made it to the waterfall.  Uhh, breathtaking is an understatement.
Approximately 300 foot waterfall

The waterfall was beautiful and well worth the hike.  We read reviews and wore our bathing suits under our hiking clothes, so we were able to swim in the pond to the waterfall.  It was cold, but refreshing.  I have never swam under the waterfall and that was an amazing experience.  So glad we did this.  But so not stoked that we had another 4 1/2 miles or so to hike back...up and down.

We spent about an hour here before heading back.  I got a second wind and the hike back wasn't as bad.  We did get a little lost (you have to follow pink ribbons to make sure you are on course), but not for long.  We hiked, rock climbed and trekked our way back to the hidden beach and then a bunch uphill to get back.  The hubby got really tired and hungry, but we motivated each other and made it back.  It started to rain on us with half a mile left which meant those rocks that you have to climb downhill on towards the end were slippery and muddy.  I almost fell off the side of the cliff and made my husband a widow.  Ok, it wasn't that close, but if I was clumsy enough, I would have gone over.

We made it back to the bottom, washed our feet off and headed back to the car.

I wore Keen sandal shoes which were great for the rocks, water and the hike, but they make your feet dirty (if it is muddy) and get a bit uncomfortable towards the end.  I would recommend getting yourself these shoes for Hawaii.  They may not be the most stylish, but they were great.
The drive home was long and boring after the hike.  It took forever to get home, shower and then we were ready for food and the sunset.

The sunsets are amazing in Kauai as I mentioned before, but here are a few more for your viewing pleasure.


Gorgeous Kauai sunsets in Poipu

Sunday we were exhausted, sore, but ready for a relaxing day.  We hung out by the pool, caught up on some reading and then watched the Niners game at a local bar which included happy hour and many Mai Tai's.  Proceeded by more football and food.

Monday we decided to go golfing again.  But first we headed to Poipu Beach for some sun.  People watching was epic.  Think older lady trying to relax on a bogey board with waves crashing in and she kept flipping.  Yes it was mean to laugh, but even the lifeguard called her out.  We worked on our tans and then headed out to go golfing.
This time we went to the pubic course, Wailua Golf Course.  It was really cheap, in between Lihue and Kapaa, gorgeous course and on the ocean.  My golf game got a hundred times better on this trip and I had so much fun golfing with my hubby.  After golf, we rushed home to shower (humidity = lots of sweat) and head to Roy's Restaurant (please make a reservation and make it for sunset time...for here and Merriman's).

We told them when we called in our reservation that it was our honeymoon and they spoiled us.  We had menus made out for us, welcoming us.  We had the Famous Hawaiian Martini to start (even after bringing a bottle of wine to the restaurant, $18 corkage fee).  Then we had the crab cakes as an appetizer.  So good.  Next up, we asked the waiter for some suggestions on his favorite dishes.  I got the Roy's Island Fish Duo.  I was nervous since I had never had monchong, but it was so good.  I practically licked my plate clean.  It had macadamian nut crusted opah and a lemongrass crusted monchong with spicy red curry.  Aww I am dreaming about how good it was.  My hubby ordered the Blackened Ahi with a spicy soy mustard butter sauce.  Really good, but I loved mine more.  We also enjoyed our bottle of wine we brought with us.  It was a pinot noir I believe.

For dessert, Roy's brought us the melting hot dark chocolate souffle with a raspberry sauce.  My mouth is watering thinking about it.  And a dense dark chocolate cake that was equally incredible.
Spoiled, yes!

This was a really special meal and a nice way to cap off our day.

Tuesday was our last day before leaving and we made it count.  We had a great breakfast followed by an atv tour. I need to get these photos from my husband as I didn't bring my camera or phone since it was muddy and he took one for the team and brought his.  So he has all the amazingness we experienced.  I guess I must save it for part 3 of the honeymoon.

So stay tuned.
Thursday, October 17, 2013

It's Here

I picked up my wedding photos yesterday from the lovely Jerrine Plunket with I Deux Photography, and I can't tell you how much I am in love with them.  I still have another set to go through before posting, printing, making albums, etc.  But in the meantime, here is a picture of her cute packaging.


Cute little touches

If you are in the Reno/Tahoe area or looking to get married in this area, please do yourself and contact Jerrine.  I can't thank her enough for my photos and how professional she and her assistant are.

I am working on my honeymoon part two post, and hope that it is up by this afternoon.