Oranges!

 I wish this blog had smell-o-vision because there is no better smell than citrus and sweet orange blossoms.

What to wear to work

It's back...more looks for work

 Dress: Merona from Target. Love! Sweater: H&M

With tights and black boots, BCBG

 A little further away...please ignore the items on my dresser :) I assure you that I put them away minutes after taking this picture.

Family Dinner

 Calla lilies from our yard

 Delicious 5-cheese pasta from Barefoot Contessa.

 Table set and ready to eat

 My mom made this delicious and very different salad of endive, fennel, apples, blue cheese, candied walnuts, and a champagne vinaigrette

 Garlic roasted chicken (this picture makes it not look good I think?)

 What do you do when your nice cloth placemats get dirty? Do you wash and iron? Dry clean?

 Green beans with shallots ands kosher salt

 That red dish was an experiment--quinoa pilaf with beets. The recipe called for golden beets, and of course my store didn't have any...but my mom loves beets so I used red...well the whole dish (zucchini and all) turned bright magenta. Lesson learned!

 The table before being decked out

 And after

Interesting quinoa dish, covered in scallions and chives.

Placemats and napkin rings: Pottery Barn
Napkins: Ralph Lauren (Macy's)
Having beautiful things thanks to your loving family/friends and a wedding registry: priceless

:)

ABCs

Thanks to Jenna.

A. Age: 26
B. Bed size: Queen
C. Chore you hate: Putting away laundry
D. Dogs: Koal
E. Essential start to your day: iPhone. He is my alarm and weather station.
F. Favorite color: Pink
G. Gold or silver: Silver.
H. Height: 5′5″
I. Instruments you play: Piano (Wish I had one!)
J. Job Title: Marketing Writer
K. Kids: None

L. Live: OC
M. Mom’s name: Kim
N. Nicknames: Currently...K-Dog, Deer (yes, spelled that way), Dorkel, and lots of other embarrassing ones from J.
O. Overnight hospital stays: Just when I had surgery last September
P. Pet peeve: People who drive down the right side of a merging lane until the last possible minute.
Q. Quote from a movie:
UHHHHHH...??R. Right or left handed: Right.
S. Siblings: Riley
T. Time you wake up: I try to wake up at 4:15 with J most days!
U. Underwear: Sure! I like it! (Was that a vote? If so, I'm pro-underwear!) Oh and while we're on the topic: I don't need to see yours.
V. Vegetables you dislike: Hmmm...not many, although I get sick of broccoli and I'm not a huge fan of cooked and mushy spinach.
W. What makes you run late: Everything?
X. X-Rays you’ve had: My wrist when Riley broke it! Mean!
Y. Yummy food you make: I think everything I make is yummy...how about mac and cheese?
Z. Zoo animal: I don't remember the last time I saw one, but I guess any baby zoo animal would be my favorite.

Happy (belated) St. Patrick's Day

Last Thursday was St. Patrick's Day. I was supposed to donate blood, and J and I have been dieting, so we were not about have corned beef and cabbage.

Cute dishtowels from Linda

I did decide to make cabbage at the last minute, only if I could make it in a healthy version of the Irish traditional way (no  bacon!). I think it turned out pretty well. I'm not sure what St. Patty's is except a reason to drink...is it celebrated in Ireland, even?

What do you do for St. Patty's?

Garage Cabinets

On Friday and Saturday, J installed some "new" (call them pre-owned if you want...they are from a hospital and we are re-using/recycling them) in our garage and moved things around. These pictures don't really do it justice, but trust me...it's awesome!

Cruisin'

Here are some very short videos of our trip...

Riding through the forest in Jamaica.

J jumping into the White River

Here we had pulled up to the sandbar to see the stingrays. You can see them circling, edges of them sticking out of the water at times, and hear people screaming.

Cruise Recap Part 2

In front of Jamaica's White River, which is crystal clear because it has carved its way out of limestone.

More White River above and below.

Grand Cayman

I'm drinking a Caybeer!

Better pictures (without this pesky water spot) will follow, but I had to share the look on J's face!

My favorite of the towel animals

Cozumel

Action shot!

The picture sums up how much Mark enjoyed this day!!

Love love love this pic.