Way Back Wednesday

I'm finally participating!

this picture is old- almost 20 years old! It's also seen better days- the top corner is ripped- hence my fancy editing. haha. But I love this picture so much! I convinced my little brother to dress up... in a kimono! Connor is in Japan right now and I miss him terribly.

taco night & a book recommendation

Not a very exciting post today but I snapped a few pictures with my iPhone while cooking dinner the other night and thought I'd use them. We have taco night about once a week in our house- it's Mike's favorite. :-) Since we don't eat meat we use Fantastic Foods vegan taco filling. It's easy, quick, tastes great and actually good for you!

--and a quick book recommendation-- I just finished The Kind Diet, written by Alicia Silverstone and I highly recommend it! Lots of great information and recipes- perfect for vegans and those who aspire to live a little healthier. It's not preachy, but does present a pretty strong argument for veganism. :-)

Fall Decor Part One

Halloween is a big deal in the Solano house!! :)

We went to our annual Halloween party last night- I won Best Costume and Mike won Most Original Costume!! Woohoo!! Here are our costumes:



I'm Melanie Daniels from Hitchcock's The Birds!!











Mike went as the Unabomber. He carried his manifesto and a package he needed to drop off at the post office. LMAO!

58 Days Until Christmas!

Haha! Does that make you nervous?? I'm not one to rush the holidays-- I still can't believe Hobby Lobby has had Christmas stuff out since July! Insane. But when I see a good bargain, I definitely jump on it. I love to be prepared for holiday decorating. :-)

Usually when Mike sees me walk in with these he starts to sweat and his eyes glaze over:

But, I had already given him a phone call to prepare him for the two large PB bags- and to let him know everything I bought was on clearance! He was a happy camper. :-)

So, check out the pretty glasses I got for our Christmas entertaining:

they're hand blown glass and so pretty in person.

the best part? Originally $108, but with the sale and my 10% off coupon, only $49!

3 posts away

from 500?? That's crazy! I can't believe I've been blogging this long. Trying to decide if I'm going to do something fun for my 500th post. A giveaway maybe? I'll think about it!

Fall From My iPhone

These were all taken within the past week from my crappy iPhone camera...

a view from our front porch:

and another:

our neighborhood lake:

 our backyard:

my favorite house in our neighborhood- it has it's own dock... so pretty!

I Love These Things! :-)

My dear friend Lauryl  gave me this blog award last week and I'm just getting around to posting about it-- thanks Lauryl!

Here are the rules~

1 - Thank the person who nominated you for this award.-- Check, of course!

2 - Copy the logo and place it on your blog.-check!

3 - Link to the person who nominated you for this award. -check!

4 - Name 7 things about yourself that people may not know. -check!

5 - Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers. -check!

6 - Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate. -check!

7 - Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they've been nominated. -I might be too lazy for this... haha!

Hmmm... 7 things you guys might not know about me? This is tough.

1. I took baton lessons as a kid. And I loathed every minute! My mom was a twirler in high school- (she twirled fire batons!!) and she wanted me to give it a try... and I did. I even went to a few contests! I can still twirl a tiny bit.
2. When I get sick I read a Baby Sitters Club book (Mary Ann Misses Logan to be exact). *sooo embarrassed to admit this!!** I have 2 books left from the hundreds I had as a child and for some reason reading about Kristy, Claudia, Stacy, Mary Ann and Dawn makes me feel better!! LMAO! 
3. I love those awful Time Life Music Informercials. love love love them. They put me in a trance, seriously!
4. I've had two facial piercings!! (tongue and eyebrow thank you very much) Both are removed. :-) 
5. I just recently stopped biting my nails. I know, I know- worst.habit.ever. But now I have long pretty natural nails!! woot!
6. I think listening to some music is almost a religious experience.
7. We already have a name picked out for our next pet. Yes we have a house full of animals right now, but when the times comes we've got a name. Matt Damon. I have no idea why we've chosen it, but it's perfectly weird and we love it!

Okay, here are my 7 people:

1. Natalie at One Pork Chop
2. Allison at Half of VAMH
3. Beth at Unskinny Boppy 
4. Mandy at This Girl's Life
5. Jenna at The Hamlett Daily Dose
6. and.... 2 more people who feel like it!!! hahaha! I can't pick so if you feel like it, do it!
   

Show Us Your City: Bella Vista!

Jackie had the awesome idea to dedicate a post to your city--to share a few pictures and explain just how fabulous it is to live there. :-)

So, let me introduce you to Bella Vista, Arkansas:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davedude/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Bella Vista Village is a 36,000-acre recreational community and retirement destination in Northwest Arkansas offering 117 holes of golf, seven private lakes, swimming pools, tennis courts, walking trails and other amenities. The private, member-based community of 38,400 resident and nonresident property owners is located within Bella Vista, Ark., a newly incorporated city with nearly 26,000 residents. Bella Vista was recently ranked one of America’s Top 10 Best Healthy Places To Retire by U.S. News & World Report, and one of the Top 25 best places for affordable homes by CNNMoney.com and Money Magazine.

(from our village website.)

So yeah, basically we live in a retirement community! LOL But we love it. It's safe, gorgeous, tons of outdoor activities, friendly people etc. Our house is surrounded by trees and we can walk to one of the lakes, but we're 15 minutes away from the best shopping. It really is the best of both worlds! :-)

So what do we love about living here? I love being able to see a gorgeous lake from my kitchen window. I love feeling safe and sound- crime here is non-existent. Mike loves the golf- he has access to 7 different courses since we're members of the POA. I love the nature trails and hiking we have just right outside our front door. I also love how close we are (like 15 minutes away!) to the creature comforts you get in a larger city: shopping, the arts, great restaurants, sports etc.

Where I Live Wednesday: The Kitchen

Let's start with some before pictures:

The theme of our house seemed to be layers upon layers of dated wallpaper and let me tell ya- our kitchen was no exception! Removing that was no fun.

While the wallpaper was terrible, the bones of the kitchen are great. Nice cabinets, decent counter tops, new-ish back splash,  decent appliances, etc. 

One of the first projects we tackled in the kitchen was to install new lighting. I hated the old oak light box. My Dad helped Mike install a ceiling fan. It does a wonderful job of keeping the kitchen cool while I cook.

Here are some recent pictures:

I love the little spice cabinet:

So far I've:

• removed all wallpaper and painted it Restoration Hardware's Spanish Moss
• installed new vinyl flooring (all by myself!)
• replaced old white fridge with a new black fridge

Still to do:

• replace stove and dishwasher