A la MTV Cribs...The Fridge

First of all, is MTV Cribs even still on the air? I never really watched it because I was generally disgusted with how people chose to spend their money. The one part that I sort of enjoyed was when the celebs would open up their fridge and show the contents. Of course, usually it was filled with perfectly lined up bottles of Cristal Champagne and Gatorade. This fascination coincides with my interest in/critique of the items in other peoples grocery carts. It's a sickness. Nonetheless...I thought I'd give you a cribs style tour of my refrigerator/freezer. 

(And the added bonus is that it would get me to organize the stupid thing...something that I've been meaning to do for ages)

Lets start with the staples: I would say that these are items that we pick up on a weekly basis.

-Organic Milk (I prefer Skim, H prefers 2% so we generally compromise with 1%, but apparently he went and picked it out himself this week, so 2% it is.)

-Yoplait Smoothies (H likes them, I am not a yogurt fan, unfortunately.)

-Mendota Sparkling Water (Love this stuff! I also love mixing it half and half with cranberry juice)

-100% Juice Cranberry Juice. (H loves it but it's a little strong for me, so like I said, I mix it with Mendota.)

-Fresh Veggies (I plan my meals for the week before I go to the store, so the exact type depends on my menu)

-Fresh Fruit (We like to cut up fruit for dessert so I pick out whatever looks good. At the moment I have a zillion apples that I need to use up from our trip to Eckerts.)

-All Natural Chicken Tenderloins (Freezer item--the chicken I use in all of my chicken dishes. I have to hunt these down because most stores don't carry the grain fed/hormone free/ "all natural kind.")

-Frozen Shrimp and Tilapia. (I hate the "fishiness" of most frozen seafood, but I seem to do ok with shrimp and tilapia for some reason.)

-Frozen Peas (I love adding them into sauces for pasta for color and a little nutrition boost)

-Cheese (Shredded and Grated Parm, shredded Mozz, a block of something fabulous to have with a glass of wine. I can't help it.....I love cheese!)  

Notable items:

-My water container. It is made with the "good" type of plastic and holds a ton more than my old Brita filter. I don't mind the taste of St. Louis tap water, so this is perfect for cool drinking water. (I usually add lemon)

-My glass "tupperware." No plastic "leeching" for us. 

Embarrassing Items: Yes, it is full disclosure time. Time to head to the freezer...

-Stir Fry "Meal" (I hate buying stuff like this--you know completely pre-made and processed, but I usually keep a bag of this on hand for those occasional hectic nights.)

-Misc Frozen Goodies (Edy's Mint Chocolate Chip Ice-Cream, Lemon Icy things, Sorbet...I think there are some ice cream pops down there somewhere too.)

-Wonder Bread (I wish I could go to a bakery and pick up fresh bread every day, but  lets face it --that's never going to happen. The tasteless white stuff it is!)

-Spray Butter (Is this one embarrassing? The sad thing is, I think I buy it out of laziness rather than it's "fat free" quality. It is easier to spray this than spread than the real stuff.)

-The large bottle of vodka, numerous beers and open bottle of wine. We like our cocktails!

Am I the only one that finds this stuff fascinating? I'm thinking I might need to do a pantry version....it also needs organizing. :)

Happy Halloween!....plus some irony.

Happy Halloween Everyone!

I sort of laughed six months ago when I scheduled my dentist appointment on Halloween. I thought it was sort of ironic knowing about all of the candy I was going inhale this week. So I go in for my annual cleaning this morning only to find out that I have a cavity that needs to be filled. $@%#^%@^@!!!  And it's extra fun because I don't have dental insurance.  Off to the candy bowl I go.......

Be safe and have fun!!

House I Am Admiring...

As I've said before, I like to surf through cbgundaker.com every once in a while to look for what I call "realistic fantasy houses." I usually use their search function and look at houses in my favorite areas that are between 300-500K. (And I will reiterate for any newcomers....I am not actually looking to move any time soon, so this is just a little guilty pleasure.)

Here's a gem that I came across this week. It is in Webster at is at the highest end of my search bracket.(Exactly $500,000) I am always drawn to historical homes which is ridiculous because most of the time they need a lot of updating, none of which I am capable of. Back to the house...

The exterior. They even put an old photograph from when the houses was built so many years ago. I love that!

Gorgeous foyer...tall ceiling...and all that beautiful wood work! (also hideous wallpaper and carpet, but I'm a glass half full kind of gal.)

And my favorite room....Serioously!!!? I would LOVE to put my own decor spin on this room to update it.

Chandeliers in just about every room!

Well, the photos stop here. Why, you ask? Because they have not included any photos of the kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, second OR third floors, etc. To me that says....WALK AWAY QUICKLY! RENOVATION DISASTER AWAITS!!!  Obviously if this house was properly renovated and updated it would probably cost a lot more than $500K given the size and area. I hope whoever purchased it takes the proper care and turns it into an absolute gem. 

Things I Want But I Can't Find...

Do you ever have items on you shopping (clothing) list that you actually wouldn't mind spending a little money on but that you can't find? I'm constantly coming across things that I like and wouldn't mind owning, but there are a few items on my list that have been a little elusive this year.

(What?! You don't make a shopping list for clothing like you do for groceries? What's wrong with you people?)

1. Metallic Flats. Ok, metallic flats are pretty much everywhere right now, (like this adorable $250 Stuart Weitzman pair--and no, I never spend that much on one pair of shoes.) My problem is that I can't wear flats. Period. I have to have at least a 1 inch kitten heel or else I get charlie horses and foot cramps like crazy. I'm not sure if it's because I've been wearing heels for so long or the height of my foot arch. It's doesn't really matter...all that matters is that kitten heels are no where to be found this year and my casual wardrobe is suffering for it. 

2. The perfect black turtleneck sweater....and brown....and cream. I LOVE turtlenecks!!! I usually have to get a new arsenal of them each winter because the ones from the previous year get all nublley and pilly from frequent use. I have seen a lot of the short sleeve variety, which I also love, but not the regular long sleeved kind. Maybe they will just take a couple more weeks for these to hit the stores. 

3. The perfect gold eyeshadow. My all-time fav gold eyeshadow was in a little pot from Walgreen's made by Loreal. Of course, a little gold eye shadow goes a long way, so the little container lasted years. I finally ran out of it and went to the store only to find that it had been discontinued. I bought a shadow from Bare Escentuals, (where I get the rest of my makeup) but it is a little too Studio 54ish for me. Too much glitter rather than the burnished look that I like. 

4. Brown Pumps. I like a extra details on my shoes like the cute leather strap and heel on this Stuart Weitzman pair. I have a very cute pair similar to these, (more along the lines of $75 from DSW, mind you) but they are also peep toe. I LOVE peep toes, but I'm needing a pair that I can wear with brown tights and skirts as well as pants in the sloppy St. Louis winters. 

Guess I'll just have to suffer through a little more time at the mall. Poor me!

60!!!!!!!!

That's the number of car payments that I have made on my car. I am sending in #60 right now and then it will be paid off!!!!!  Woo Hoo!

And the best part is...A) My little red Toyota still runs great (knock on wood) and B) I still really like it!

Just thought I'd do a little bragging. Now don't bring me down by reminding me that we are only on payment #5 for my husband's car. Oh well....one car payment is better than 2!

Halloween's Past

Now I don't have copies of photos from the Halloween's of my youth, (those are stored at my Mom's house) but I do have a few from the college years. I thought I'd post a few to get everyone into the spirit!

I think this was sophomore year of college...I think this was the only "couples costumes" that we have ever done... Batman and Catwoman!

One of my favorites from Junior year of college...Without further adou...Jem and the Holograms!!!! How do you like my Key-tar? 

OK...so maybe the Greek Goddess costume idea was a repeat. Which year did I make a better goddess? This one is from Senior year of college.

Have a Happy Halloween everyone!

The weekend

As expected, the weekend was quite a whirl wind. Friday night we went to a costume party at my husband's co-workers house. The greek goddess costume that I fashioned out of a $4 Walmart sheet, gold fabric and all of my gold jewelry turned out pretty great. (If I do say so myself!) My husband opted for the standard, "Mr. Peanut." What?! You've never seen someone dress up as Mr. Peanut? Ok...so maybe it's not the most sought after costume, but it is the second time that my husband has ventured to this crumby costume shop in South City to rent it. He was also Mr. Peanut his senior year of high school and claims that it his favorite costume ever, so it had to come back this year. 

The pics....

I didn't take many pics at the party, so I can't show you the get-up that the only other "Greek Goddess" at the party was wearing. Let me preface this by saying that this was a COMPANY party. Everyone in attendance either worked with my husband or was a date/spouse. That being said, the costumes were a little more conservative than at a typical costume party. They were pretty great and outlandish costumes, but there weren't the usual "slutty kitten"..."slutty nurse"..."slutty Sarah Palin"....etc. You know what I mean. Not too much skin on display....That is...until the other greek goddess arrived. She was a girlfriend of my husband's co-worker, but she has been around for quite a while so I would have thought she'd know better. I think she must have gotten the outfit in the little girls department...and then cut a slit in it. She had boobs up to her chin...thigh high gladiator sandals...gold body glitter. The works. I felt like school marm greek goddess next to her. Oh well...

The hosts of the party  just happen to live in my Mom's neighborhood, which is pretty far out. (Chesterfield area--at least pretty far out by our standards.) Being the responsible folk that we are we decided to spend the night at my Mom's. You can't go to a costume party without drinking heavily, after all!

The next day we drove back home and got ready to head down to Columbia for the Mizzou Homecoming game. When we got there we picked up my sister and grabbed a little lunch before the bar hopping/tailgating began. Normally we don't actually go into the games, but we did get tickets this time. We left at halftime to head back to the downtown bar area, but the final score ended up being 58-0 Mizzou. (Give or take a point...I'm a bad football fan.) Go Tigers!!!! As usual we had a blast in Columbia "reliving our youth." :) You know it's a good night in Columbia when it ends with pokey stix!

Sunday we hit the road early and got back to St.Louis by 11. Sunday was spent recupperating, grocery shopping and cleaning the house. Woo hoo!

Banana Republic Fans?

Just a little FYI. If you bring in a used sweater or coat to donate into the store this weekend you get 30% off your entire purchase. I brought in a sweater, assuming that it meant 30% off regular price purchases, (because that is how stores generally operate with special "deals") but low and behold...it includes sale merchandise. I bought a regular priced top that was $80 and a pair of wool dress pants that were $100. (but the pants were already 30% off, so I got an ADDITIONAL 30% off.)

Long story short... my total was $100 for $180 worth of stuff. Now that I know if works on sale stuff I might go back there this weekend. :)

I'd show pics of what I bought, but I can't seem to find them on BR's website.

Happy Shopping!

I'm exhausted...No More Mega Posts

It seems like all of my blog posts lately have been super long with tons of pictures. Between all of my "September 2007" wedding and honeymoon posts and the huge Greece posts I am very tired of sorting dozens of pictures on blogger. I'm ready for some more "everyday life" posts. You know--the good old boring stuff!

This calls for an old fashioned "looking forward to the weekend" post!

Here is what I'm looking forward to this weekend...

Friday night we have a Halloween party to attend. I actually haven't dressed up for the last two years, so I'm glad to have a costume party to go to. I'm not getting too creative, but I thought a Greek Goddess costume was in order given our recent trip. 

Saturday we are heading down to Columbia for a little Mizzou Homecoming fun. Go Tigers! 

I'm looking forward to seeing some pretty Fall colors on the way down to Columbia.

So, as usual, it is going to be a pretty busy weekend. I'm sort of ready for a more relaxing one, but with the holidays coming up I think that is just wishful thinking. 

Greece Trip Continued - Naxos (My Last Greece Post!)

OK...I swear I'm going to wrap this thing up sometime this century. Here we go...

We arrived in Naxos in the early evening. Just in time to check into Alkyoni Beach Hotel and see a sunset. 

Our room and view...

We cleaned up and headed into town to have a beverage before dinner. I was wanting to try a cocktail made with Citron, a distilled liquor made right on the island from their native citron fruits. We just happened to find a outdoor bar near the port aptly named...Citron. I had a delicious Citron Cosmo. We liked it so much that we decided to go into a store to buy a little souvenir bottle. 

After our cocktails we set out to find Picasso, a Mexican restaurant that I had read great reviews of. I made a mental note of it, thinking that after all this Greek food, I might be ready for something a little different. Oh. my. god. It was the best Mexican food that I have ever had. So fresh and delicious. And maybe it was because it had been a while since my last margaritia, but the one I had there was phenomenal. Too bad the best Mexican place I have ever found just happens to be in Greece. Guess I can't schedule my regular "Girls Nights Out" there. :(

The next day we woke early and rented a 4-wheeler to drive along the coast. We spent the whole day doing this and discovered a great beach side restaurant and swam in hidden beaches where there wasn't a soul in site. I loved this day. We drove through farms, saw lots of goats, (that provide the milk for that famous Feta cheese) and enjoyed the scenery. I have been to quite a few beaches in my day and this is by far the clearest water I've ever seen. I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking...

Seriously--this water is like 25 feet deep and it is still that clear!

After our day trip we went and had some wine at a nearby beachfront establishment. 

For dinner that night we went to a near by Greek place and had the one bad meal of the trip. I'll just leave it at that.

The next day in Naxos we walked to the old town. It is built in a slight hill and topped by a castle built in 1204. It was very difficult to navigate through the old town. It was designed in a maze-type pattern to make it difficult for pirates and other invaders to reach the castle. The pictures....

After the castle we went out to the Portara monument. This is the doorway and foundations of a temple that was never completed. It dates to around 400bc.

After these photos I got bad about remembering to take out the camera. We spent the afternoon reading on the beach and then...you guessed it. Watched the sunset with another carafe of delicious wine.

The next day we got back on the ferry for our 5 hour ride back to Athens. Here's a shot from our point of view of getting ready to disembark. It was chaos!

Once we checked into our hotel in Athens (around 4pm) we spent the rest of the afternoon doing a little souvenir shopping in the Plaka. 

I got some great scarves. Here is the last photo of the trip....A gorgeous Athens sunset with some ancient Roman period ruins in the foreground.

Well...you made it through my seemingly endless Greek blogging! The next day we had breakfast and got on our flight back to the States. I would have loved another week in Greece, but we were excited to come home. OK...that was a lie. I would have stayed there in a second. In fact...I want to go back. Think I can convince my husband that we should go there for our 5 year anniversary too?

Greece Trip - Santorini Continued!

So after our big hiking day we decided to take it a little easier the next day. We slept in and then hopped back on the bus back to Oia to do a little more shopping since we didn't have enough time the day before. We didn't buy much in the way of souvenirs, but my husband did get some really pretty cuff links. I would have liked to buy a piece of jewelry, but that didn't happen. I found a tiny little gold ring that I loved with a Greek design, but it was 800 Euros!!! With that and the current exchange rate it was a no go. Santorini has some VERY high end stuff. There were dime sized diamonds in just about every store window! We had lunch in a restaurant with a great view...

After the spending the first half of the day in Oia we headed back to Fira to wander around a little more. We found a great cheese and wine place and took a few items back to our room where we read and enjoyed the sunset once again. This one was particularly fabulous.

That night we ate at a restaurant right down the street from our villa. It was named "Vanilla" and I think I had my favorite meal of the trip there. I can still taste it...We shared the fish soup and a great salad, then I had chicken baked in a clay pot with the famous Santorinian cherry tomatoes. My mouth is watering. Add some great wine and you've got the perfect evening. 

Afterwards we walked the 15 minutes back to downtown Fira when we somehow stumbled upon an Irish Pub that had Major League Baseball on TV. It was actually one of the only bars that we saw that even had TVs, let alone MLB. It wasn't really my idea of a Greek hotspot (only American, Irish and Australian people inside) but my husband was a bit excited, so we stayed and met some great people. Somehow while DH was watching baseball I managed to have quite a few drinks and wander over to the dance floor where I made friends with a bunch of Australian girls. Suddenly the TVs turned off and they place turned into a club complete with a DJ. A few Madonna songs later and my husband had to haul me out of there. The 15 minute walk home was a little troublesome with all those cobblestones. ;)

After getting over my hangover the next day we got on another bus that took us to the far side of the island where we had lunch at a seaside tavern. Then we hiked to the Red Beach. The waves were particularly big that day so we weren't able to swim, but we did enjoy the scenery. 

That night? You guessed it. Another great sunset and delicious meal.

The next day we had a half a day before our transfer was coming to take us to the ferry. We just walked along and tried to memorize the incredible view the best we could. Oh--and we had the best chicken gyros I've ever had for lunch from a little street side spot.

OK--somehow I think I missed a day in there, but oh well....That will shorten this up!

After that, we checked out of our hotel and a transfer picked us up to take us to the port for our ferry to Naxos. The ferries were way bigger and way nicer than I expected. It was a two hour ride and we left our seats and sat on the open air deck most of the time. 

Next up....Naxos!!